Middle Islamic pen-box
- Gallery: Room 42
- Culture: Middle Islamic
- Made in: Mosul
- Date: 1230-1250
- Object type: pen-box
- Materials: brass; copper; silver
- Museum number: 1884,0704.85
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a finely crafted pen-box from the Middle Islamic period, created in Mosul, in northern Iraq, around 1230 to 1250. The object is made of engraved brass, inlaid with silver and copper, and its surface is richly decorated with astrological and symbolic imagery linked to the heavens. The box features a long section for holding pens, and smaller compartments for ink, sand, and cleaning threads. Inside, a carefully inscribed Qur'anic verse adds a spiritual dimension to the piece. Along the front, vivid scenes depict celestial figures—like the Sun riding a lion, or Venus playing a lute while seated on a bull. The box likely belonged to an important scribe, as its design reflects both function and artistry. This object is not only a tool but a statement of cultural and intellectual identity in the Islamic world.
See it in person
Middle Islamic pen-box is on display in Room 42 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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