This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Qajar lacquer Casket

Location:

Hamburg, Germany

Holding Museum:

MKG Museum for Applied Arts

About MKG Museum for Applied Arts, Hamburg

Date of Object:

Hegira 13th century / AD early 19th century

Museum Inventory Number:

1873.67

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Lacquer, wood

Dimensions:

Height: 42cm, Width: 30cm, Length: 24cm

Period / Dynasty:

Qajar

Provenance:

Iran

Description:

This lacquer casket depicts the second ruler of the 19th-century Qajar dynasty, Fath’Ali Shah. Seated on the legendary Mughal Peacock Throne, he is flanked by three of his sons, ministers, and other important figures. The side panels, decorated with raised medallions on a gul-ol-bulbul (rose and bulbul bird) background, show courtiers in Western clothing, landscapes, and hunting scenes. The caskets are mentioned in William Ouseley’s Travels into Various Countries of the East; More Particularly Persia (1823), based on his visits to Iran. Ouseley claims these caskets—made of paper and a serish glue—were mass produced in Isfahan; there are now a number of similar objects in various museums and collections. He also mentions beautifully painted, varnished boxes similar to the Fath’Ali Shah caskets. Common subjects included battle scenes and hunting parties as well as depictions of popular romances.

How date and origin were established:

By comparison with similar objects from the Qajar period.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased in 1873.

How provenance was established:

Weltausstellung 1873 Wien (World Exposition 1873 Vienna).

Selected bibliography:

Khalili, N. D., Robinson, B. W. and Stanley, T., Lacquer of the Islamic Lands, London: Nour Foundation; Oxford: Oxford University Press; London: Azimuth Editions, 1993.
Robinson, B. W., An Exhibition of 50 pieces of Persian, Indian and Turkish Lacquer: from 10 June to 27 June 1986, London: Bernheimer Fine Arts, 1986.

Citation of this web page:

 "Qajar lacquer Casket" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;de;Mus21;13;en

Copyedited by: Caitlin Link

MWNF Working Number: DE1 13