A LACQUERED PAPIER-MÂCHÉ PEN CASE (QALAMDAN) WITH THE VIRGIN MARY AND CHILD
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
Qajar Iran, signed Najaf 'Ali (Ya Shah Najaf) and dated 1272 AH (1855 AD)

With rounded ends and sliding tray, lacquered, polychrome-painted and heightened in gold, the top and sides painted with horizontal compositions featuring lobed cartouches of group gatherings alternating with oval medallions of miniature portraits of Qajar beauties and beaus, some actively copying Western models with foreign outfits and accessories, the group gatherings featuring strong Christian iconography, the central cartouche on the top signed Najaf 'Ali (Ya Shah Najaf) and dated 1272 AH (1855 AD) and portraying an enthroned Virgin Mary holding Christ on her lap as two angels kneel before them paying their respects, two further scenes on each end of the pen case with Jesus playing in the wilderness (left) and looking pensive when handed a goldfinch by a Western-looking maiden (right), the sides with stylised Annunciation scenes alternating with romanticised Western landscapes, the underside with golden vine trellis and grape bunches on a black ground, the sides of the sliding tray with floral sprays and foliage in gold on a deep red ground, 23.5cm long.

The decorative vocabulary used in this qalamdan is strongly influenced by Christian engravings depicting Mother and Child scenes. Such scenes were introduced to Persia and India by Western missionaries and travellers during the 17th and 18th centuries. That said, some of the paintings on this pen case show an element of originality and departure from the standard Christian canon, creating new iconographic solutions like in the scene of the little bird offered to Jesus, this time by a maiden instead of St. John the Baptist, or of the Annunciation, in which Mary is shown resting in a green landscape with an attendant. Lastly, although in Christianity birds and grapes have always borne a strong connection with the figure of Christ himself, the way these subjects are depicted on the underside of this pen case is quintessentially Persian, thus creating a composition appealing to both Christian and non-Christian crowds.