Featured Persian papier-mache & lacquer boxes

I got these three boxes at a recent auction. I have found similar examples attributed to Persia during the 19th century Qajar period, as well as the warning that "the market is flooded by reproductions of the Islamic and Indo-Persian antiques, which for inexperienced collectors look the same as the authentic objects"

I am wondering if anyone here might be familiar with such work, to say if these might be recent repros or actual antiques.

Two have interior marks, which I doubt are signatures. Perhaps they were used to match lid with base in the workshop where more than one of the same shape was being made. The ovoid one is marked Iran-Persia inside.

Any insights welcome.

 

Nice boxes.

 

Did you consider dating the last box by when Iran became the internationally recognized name?

 

Good suggestion.
"Iran was always known as 'Persia' to foreign governments and was once heavily influenced by Great Britain and Russia. In 1935, however, the Iranian government requested that all countries with which it had diplomatic relations call the country by its Persian name, Iran."
But given that the Iranians always considered themselves Iran, apparently, the use of both terms might not point to a specific date-after-which. The box that has the country name in it strikes me as possibly a bit later than the other two, although I have no firm basis for saying so.

 

I had thought that Iran was a more modern international name, so that's why I mentioned it. It could have been just a joyful exhibition of patriotic pride.

 

"This box comes from Iran......OK, Persia, if I must say so for those who don't know better."

 

It is possible that it was made for export (or at least was allowing for that possibility). That could indicate a late 19th century date (or later) for that box.

 

Don't you think that it would be written in Farsi if it was for Iran/Persian consumption.

 

yes...very nicely decorated...

 

It doesn't seem they would need a label if it was for local use, but having a label would not preclude local use.

 

labels can fall off over time.....

 

the interior marks are number 7 and 8. either model or size or part of a bigger set.

 

Thank you! It did not occur to me to check Arabic numerals.

 

just a little trick I learnt when working in Bahrain and couldn't make heads or tails of phone numbers: start turning them by 90 ° till you're at the start again. only ones that were a bit difficult were the potatoe for 5, which symolises a fist, and the full stop for zero.

 

Lacquered boxes isn't really what I collect but I do collect early (19th-18th c) Persian art boxes and there is some lacquer on those, if they were mine I would say they are 1960's onward tourist wear. When it comes to painting the artwork hasn't changed a great deal. The artwork on these reminds me of 1960's + Khatam edged boxes...sorry

 

Thank you. Can you point me toward some images of the 18th-19th century Persian boxes you collect, so I can see the differences?

 

These are 2 posts from my collection and there are a pair of trays further down that are also Persian from around the same date. Early Khatam from this period isn't the same as what you have or what I mentioned above and as I said I'm not an expert by any means especially on painted lacquer so I could well be wrong but you tend to get an eye for these things. I do have a painted Persian lacquer box, I don't think it's old, if I can find the photo of it I'll post it.
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/t...here-in-the-world-19-18thc.17348/#post-238692
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/large-19th-c-persian-khatam-vanity-box.17281/

 

Sorry I did do a post about this box but I didn't take any photos of it I just posted the ebay link because I was yet to receive it (see thread below) I still have the box but I don't have any way of taking photos ATM so a copied photo from my ebay history is the best I can do.
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/has-anybody-seen-anything-like-this-before.26732/

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-...715790?hash=item469b17724e:g:udsAAOSwc9VcMexA
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-ANT...991252?hash=item2ad4185694:g:nOQAAOSweRpddoKq
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-...040926?hash=item5d3559df9e:g:E9oAAOSwAYtWJBM0