Pen Box with Flowers and Birds

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in horizontal format. The top and sides are similarly decorated with birds and flowers on black background. On the base a gold arabesque is painted on a red background. The inscription referencing the late 18th-century artist Aqa Muhammad Zaman provides a date earlier than the floruit for the maker of the pen box itself (third quarter 19th century), so should probably be understood as homage to the celebrated lacquer painter.