Case for writing-utensils

Iran, Qajar period, 19th century

Forged steel, decorated with gold (overlay). The decorative design is composed of foliated motifs with birds and hunting scenes. Sliding inner section.

H: 3.2 cm / W: 3.4 cm / L: 20.6 cm

UMP 4606

The writing-utensil cases owned by scribes could contain not only a pen, but also a pen knife, a pen-knife sharpener, an ink-spoon, and/or a pair of scissors. Iran produced large numbers of cases of this type from paper pulp, especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.