Pen and Ink Box

Description This box once contained a pen and, in the lower compartment, a wad of wool soaked with ink. It was carried on the owner's belt and must have belonged to a statesman, since its side is inscribed with the maxim: "Your government shall rise without declining, if it has as its basis the largest number of people from every place." Hunt imagery, like the scenes on the box, was popular among the nobility as this sport required the valor and skills also needed in battle.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
2/03/1976	Treatment	cleaned; repaired
8/15/2007	Treatment	cleaned
7/17/2013	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• The Arts of Islam. Hayward Gallery, London. 1976.
• Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984-1985.
• The Art of Writing Instruments from Paris to Persia. 2011.
• Court and Craft: A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq. The Courtauld Gallery, London. 2014.

Provenance Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

Inscriptions [Translation] Your government shall rise without declining, if it has as its basis the largest number of people from every place.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters