A LACQUERED PAPIER-MÂCHÉ PEN CASE (QALAMDAN) WITH DECOUPAGED WESTERN CHERUBS AND NASTA'LIQ CALLIGRAPHY
Qajar Iran, late 19th - early 20th century

With rounded ends and a sliding tray, polychrome-painted, heightened in gold, enhanced with decoupaged decoration, and lacquered, the decoration arranged in horizontal order, the top featuring six Western winged love cherubs with bows and arrows flanked by two oval cartouches each with two lines of black ink nasta'liq calligraphy in gold cloudbands quoting Sonnet 304 by the Persian poet Hafiz, the sides featuring similar calligraphic cartouches in both nasta'liq and shekasteh nasta'liq scripts interspersed amidst stylised golden rosettes and fretwork bands, the text presenting a ruba'i in praise of Mir Imad al-Hasani's calligraphy, the underside of the case and inner sides of the sliding tray plain black, 23.8cm long.

The calligraphy on this pen case acts as both decoration and emblem of this lot's purpose. Indeed, the focus is on the art of calligraphy and the wish of the owner to perfect his talent by praising the impeccable work of the great Safavid calligrapher Mir Imad al-Hasani (1554 - 1615).