A LACQUER KIYANI PEN BOX BY IBRHAHIM ISFAHANI (PERSIAN 19TH CENTURY)

A LACQUER KIYANI PEN BOX BY IBRHAHIM ISFAHANI (PERSIAN 19TH CENTURY) an oblong papier-mache pencil box (qalamdan-i kayani) with sliding drawer, lacquered overall with narrative scenes; length: 23.5 cm (9 1/4 in.)PROVENANCEBoisgirard, Paris, June 21, 1996, lot 230. (Copy of invoice available upon request)Acquired at the above by a prominent Armenian-American FamilyLOT NOTESSimilar pencil boxes, known as "royal" or "imperial" were particularly popular during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848-1896), and are remarkable for their continuous, dense compositions of mythic and historic scenes.