AN ENGRAVED SILVER PEN CASE (QALAMDAN) WITH SILVER INKWELL (DAWAT)
Isfahan, Pahlavi Iran, ca. 1950 - 60s, stamped Mohammad Taqi

With rounded ends and sliding tray, the exterior and sides finely engraved with typical Qajar and Pahlavi motifs including a merry wine drinking gathering, hunting scenes, pairs of birds and wild animals, all encased within elegant cusped cartouches interspersed amidst vegetal trellis, floral sprays and rosette bands, the underside and inner tray plain except for the circular stamp of the Persian silversmith Muhammad Taqi, 22.2cm long, weight 435gr.

Mohammad Taqi Zufan of Isfahan (1894 - 1979) was the most prominent Iranian silversmith of the 20th century. A rare recipient of an Imperial medal for his artistry, his highly organised workshop trained generations of silversmiths and undertook the most prestigious commissions of the period, the best-known perhaps the gold and silver shrine of the eighth Imam of the Shi'as, Imam Reza, in Mashad. Zufan's iconic molamma' 'milk and sugar' technique, using both gold and silver, was admired by millions of worshippers and pilgrims when it replaced the shrine previously erected by Fath Ali Shah in 1959. In 2001, it was moved to the shrine's museum to protect it from further wear and tear.