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Auction 13 · Lot 66
BRASS PEN CASE. Turkey or Palestine, late 19th - early 20th century.
- Estimate
- $1,000–$1,500
- Hammer price
- Not recorded
Historical auction record. Hammer prices exclude buyer’s premium and taxes.
Description
Traditional in form, consisting of cast rectangular pen case with flared end and domed lid attached by hinge; at front, square bombé inkwell with shell form cover. Engraved with foliate and geometric decoration, and two Jewish names, Massoud Quicar and Shalom Najara. L: 140mm.
summary
Pen cases such as this were traditional wedding gifts to the groom in Ottoman countries. See Israel Museum Catalogue, Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire (1989) No. 3, p. 199. They are also used by ritual scribes, who would travel extensively for their work.