Pen Box with Elderly Saint and Riverine Landscapes
Najaf `Ali
Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends.The top is decorated in vertical format with three cartouches. In the center, an elderly figure, perhaps a saint, with his eyes closed, clasps his hands; in the background is a white church with two domes. In the lower cartouche, a donkey bearing packs passes between buildings in the middle ground, and a waterwheel holds the foreground. The upper cartouche features water fowl and a white building. The sides are similarly composed, with a vignette of dervishes or holy men in the center and rural scenes at the left and right. The base and sliding compartment are decorated with gold arabesque on a red background.
Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard
Qajar period