Pen Box

Pen Box


Metal pen boxes were produced in large numbers by Muslim craftsmen and often were lavishly decorated with silver and sometimes with gold inlays. A typical shape for these objects in the medieval period in western Iran would have been oblong, with rounded ends, like the present example. The lid would have been hinged to the lower part of the box on a long side, and a clasp would have secured it on the opposite side when the box was not in use. On this particular pen box, the hinges and hook are later additions. The interior would have included a receptacle on one side (now missing) to hold the inkwell, while the remaining space would have been filled with a variety of reed pens with different-sized tips. A small, sharp knife to cut the tips would also have been provided. A pen box, thus, contained basic writing equipment.

For obvious reasons, the inlays in the interior are better preserved than those on the exterior. Inside, on the bottom, five medallions set against a background of vegetal designs include individual musicians and single figures of drinkers. The underside of the lid, visible only when the box is open, contains a knotted-kufic benedictory inscription interrupted by three medallions decorated with geometric patterns inlaid in gold. A second inscription of blessings to the owner of the object, in naskh script now too worn to be fully legible, is enclosed inside a narrow band on the top of the lid. The main field is occupied by three large medallions with personifications of three Planetary Lords: The Moon is in the center, traditionally represented as a female holding a crescent, with Jupiter, in Pisces, to her right, and Venus, a lute player, in Libra, to her left. Pisces and Libra are meant to symbolize the zodiacal signs associated with the owner's birth. The Moon, which is not depicted with her sign, Cancer, here takes on a talismanic relevance, since its image is also duplicated at the two ends of the box, thus symbolically protecting the entire object. Additional musicians and drinking figures are visible within lobed medallions around the sides of the pen case.

Notwithstanding the loss of inlay, it is still possible to appreciate the sophisticated decorative program of this box, which made it a prized possession with special meaning for its anonymous owner.

[Carboni 1997]

Inscription: Inscribed in Arabic:
Top of lid: in naskh script: Glory, victory, prosperity, wealth, generosity, glory, virtues, and Hatim*–like generosity...
Bottom of lid: in knotted kufic script: And on your side the Arabs and Persians ... ..

*Hatim at-Ta'I was an Arab man whose excessive generosity became a legend.
(Translated by Yassir al-Tabba)

Joseph W. Drexel, New York (until d. 1888); his widow, Lucy Wharton Drexel(1888–89; gifted to Museum in Joseph Drexel's name)

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art," February 4–August 31, 1997, no. 6.

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nature of Islamic Ornament Part I: Calligraphy," February 26–June 28, 1998, no catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Balcony Calligraphy Exhibition," June 1–October 26, 2009, no catalogue.

Schimmel, Annemarie. "Islamic Calligraphy." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., vol. 50, no. 1 (Summer 1992). p. 19, ill. fig. 23a (b/w).

Carboni, Stefano. Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. no. 6, pp. 18–19, ill. (b/w).