Page 23 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

The interior shows clear traces of its original divisions into compartments.
At the front is one long compartment, for pens. The back half is divided
into three compartments, with two squares flanking a central rectangle.
This is the arrangement one would expect for a square, probably glass,
inkwell and a matching sand shaker. One sees this format later, but it is
very rare in the renaissance period. On the other hand, for a trader who was
dealing extensively with trade with the East, where a pencase is known as a
prominent symbol of power, it would have been instantly recognised by the
merchants he encountered. And, just as with today’s computer logos, the
direction of the armorial in relation to the hinges is such that it is intended
to be seen by the observer, not the owner. The same orientation, as well as
Palazzo Giustinian Canal Grande Venezia interior divided for pens, inkwell, and sand pot is demonstrated in an unusual
almost contemporaneous penbox now in the Metropolitan Museum now
attributed to early 16th century Iran, signed by the engraver Hassan Ramadan
This appears to be a unique object, a silver inlaid brass penbox, a form that it Shahi and the manufacturer and calligrapher Mawla Yusuf Naqqash
quintessentially Islamic, but produced in Venice for a member of one of the Farisi (inv.no.1975.350.1a–c; "Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum
leading families of the Serenissima. It makes a very interesting comparison of Art New York" in The Arts of Islam, Berlin, 1981. no. 58, pp. 150–51, ill. p.
to the previous lot, indubitably made by a Muslim craftsman, but for the 151). The links of the Venetian versions of “Veneto-Saracenic” metalwork with
Western market. There are various features, apart form the prominent central contemporaneous Iranian metalwork, proposed as a mainstay theory in her
armorial, which make it clear that this penbox is part of the group of inlaid book on Mahmud al-Kurdi by Sylvia Auld (op.cit.) are clearly reinforced in the
brass vessels that are attributed with relatively little controversy to European current penbox. Certain elements in our penbox show a clear knowledge and
craftsmen working in Venice, working in the idiom that had been imported understanding of Persianate source material – the border design used in the
from the Islamic world. upper left and lower right quadrants for example has a very similar structure
to that of Tabriz medallion carpets, especially the way the terminal leaves lie
The surface is divided up into panels by raised bands onto which have
across the meandering vine stems – see for example lot 128 in this sale.
been hammered silver wire which at times expand and split in the form of
arabesques, which were also silver overlaid, but using sheet metal keyed The arms are almost certainly those of the Giustiniani family, a very
in around the edges with an engraved band, and further encouraged by prominent family in 14th-17th century Venice who also had bases in Genoa
pouncing through the silver to the brass body. Much of the wire remains; and elsewhere. Five of their palazzi survive in the city of Venice, four of
the sheet has however mostly disappeared over time. The designs are very which overlook the grand canal. Interestingly they were also the owners of
similar to those produced in the Islamic World, but denser, using more the island of Chios with its monopoly on the production of mastic, that rare
complex knot-motifs, and are more exuberantly curvilinear in feel. Similar substance highly prized by the Romans, the Byzantines, and subsequently
work is seen on a number of dishes, for example a spectacular example in the Ottomans under whom it was worth its weight in gold. The initial I can,
the Victoria and Albert Museum, also with central Italian armorial, bought at and frequently did stand for Giustiniani, in its Latin form Iustiniani; some
Christie’s from the Bernal collection in 1855 (inv.no.2061.1855; Sylvia Auld, members of the family claimed direct descent from the Roman Emperor
Renaissance Venice, Islam, and Mahmud the Kurd –a Metalworking Enigma, Justinian. It has not however been possible to identify a member of the family
London, 2004, no5.27, pp.235-6). The same publication illustrates further with double P first names. This highly prestigious penbox would have been
closely related examples. an appropriate and immediately recognisable demonstration of importance
within the Islamic world for a member of such a prominent family.

In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty 21
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.