Rare artifact discovered in Tehran

TEHRAN, May 4 (MNA) -- A lacquer pen-box made by renowned Qajar-era painter Saniolmolk was discovered at Tehran’s Malek Museum during the restoration process.

Expert Ramin Mer’ati noticed Saniolmolk’s signature while he was restoring a pen-box which was made from papier mâché with lacquer painting done in European style.

The pen-box was among the luxury lacquer collection of the museum which contains 96 pen-boxes painted in brilliant colors.

The statement “Saniolmolk 1280” was written in gold on the pen box which indicates that the artifact was made in 1863. Before this, the latest work recognized as being done by Saniolmolk was from 1861.

Mirza Abolhassan Khan Qaffari Kashani, known as Saniolmolk, was a talented Persian painter and graphic artist of the early 19th century and, according to extant documents, was born in Kashan around 1814.

Mirza Abolhassan Khan, driven by his innate taste and inherited talent, and with the guidance of his instructors, gradually attained perfection in his painting and soon became a renowned artist of his time.

In 1842, during the reign of Mohammad Shah of Qajar, when only a young man of 29, he was allowed to paint a portrait of the monarch, thus becoming a court painter.

He decided to travel to Italy, then the artistic center of Europe, in order to study the works of the great and famous European artists, particularly those of the Renaissance, and become acquainted with their painting methods.

He spent some time in Italy visiting and studying in the academies and museums of Rome, the Vatican, Florence and Venice, making copies of the paintings of Italian artists which resulted in creation of copies of several European paintings, among which is Raphael’s famous Madonna Di Foligno.

The Malek Museum, which is located in the vicinity of Bagh-e Melli downtown, is affiliated with the Astan-e Qods Museum of Mashhad.