A Qajar lacquered papier-mâché qalamdan (pen case), Iran, second half 19th century, with rounded ends and sliding tray, polychrome-painted and lacquered, the top decorated with a horizontal composition depicting a Sufi shaykh instructing his pupils in the wilderness, the half-naked shaykh reclined on a rock, next to him the youngest pupil wearing a woollen Sufi cap and holding a spoon, next to the youngest another pupil with a begging bowl (kashkul), the sides depicting scenes of mercy and compassion in a rural setting, with young dervishes dispensing advice and receiving alms from local villagers, the tray base and underside of the pen case with scrolling golden vines with many plentiful grape bunches against a red ground, 22.1cm long.