Qajar Pyx, Chased Brass Depicting Seated Princes, Flowers, Cats And Birds, 19th Century

A beautiful Qajar pyxis, with a lid in the dominic style, engraved all over, in very good condition.
A 19th-century object with a lovely patina.
In the Islamic world, pyxises, small cylindrical boxes with lids, likely served as containers for "ushnan" (soda in the form of plant ash used for laundry).
A pyxis was also a box for cosmetics and ointments;
it could also hold small toiletries or decorative items.
Some pyxises date back to the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, 13th and early 14th centuries.
The rim is carved with three rondos representing seated princes, separated by landscape scenes of flowers and animals: a hare representing the believer (only one, as there can only be one believer, the owner of this box), birds representing fidelity, and cats representing wisdom.
The whole evokes a vision of earthly paradise.
The theme of the "seated prince" has been very present in Persian culture and tradition for centuries.
The dome is engraved with a scene representing three figures, which appears to be a wedding or court scene, with a seated prince in the center (dominant), the whole surrounded by friezes.
This type of design is found in Persian miniatures, particularly those of the Tabriz school of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Qajar dynasty (Qājār, Qadjar, Qajar, Persian: قاجار) was a Turkmen dynasty that ruled Iran from 1786 to 1925.
The fine engraving demonstrates the dexterity of Persian engravers.
This object probably originates from the Kirman region.
These objects are found in major Islamic art museum collections worldwide :
- Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy.
- Museum für Islamische Kunst, Staatliche Museum zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

France free shipping : 0€------- Europe : 15€--------  World : 25 €

Dimensions: Diameter: 11.2 cm - Height: 9 cm - Weight: 312 g.
We invite you to view our collection of oriental objects (from the 11th to the 19th centuries) for sale on Proantic.
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Texts and photos by Winstein, all rights reserved.
Ref: Winstein 1144