* A QAJAR LACQUERED PAPIER-MÂCHÉ SQUARED PEN CASE (QALAMDAN)
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
Iran, mid to late 19th century

With square ends and removable lid, lacquered, polychrome-painted and heightened in gold, the top painted with a horizontal composition divided in three cartouches filled with the typical gol-o-bolbol motif, lush bloomed flowers and birds amidst them, interspersed with two oval portrait medallions of bejewelled Qajar maidens, the sides with similar decoration against gold-sprinkled ground, the interior of the lid painted with a naked lady in the centre inviting a Qajar prince to approach her, to the right an attendant looking after the horses, to the left a cityscape, the base with a stylised gilt lotus and rosette scrollwork against red ground, 26.5cm long.