Large calligrapher's chest

Large calligrapher's chest

Ottoman Turkey, 18th century

Large chest entirely decorated with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, rectangular in shape and standing on four short legs, with a drawer in the front. Each side is decorated with a complex geometric pattern known as the girih motif, composed of interlocking star-shaped polygons. The panels are edged with ribbons of micro-mosaic interlacing. H. 35 cm ; W. 62 cm ; D. 36 cm. This desk is typical of those used by scribes for calligraphy, an art form highly prized by the Ottoman court. In addition to serving as a scribe's desk, these chests were used to store the tools used by the calligrapher, such as the pencil sharpener, inkwell and maqta' (the flat, long, rectangular tool, generally made of ivory or bone, used to sharpen and perfect the nib of the reed pen).This geometric motif, in the same mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell inlay, is repeated on the doors of the Baghdad Pavilion in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace. Provenance : Jean-Charles Tauzin Collection (1889-1957) References McWilliams, Mary and David J. Roxburgh, Traces of the Calligrapher, Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, C. 1600 -1900, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA, fig.30-34, p.49-51. A large Ottoman mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell cabinet,Turkey, 18th century