Description:

: A FINE INSCRIBED AGATE SEAL & SILVER BOX, 19TH CENTURY
Persia, 19th century

Description:
An elegantly crafted silver box with a hinged lid, inset with an inscribed oval agate seal. The lid of the box is finely engraved with a cartouche containing dense naskh or nastaliq script bordered by foliate scrollwork and rosettes. The sides are intricately repoussé and chased with floral vines and birds in flight, demonstrating a refined mastery of Persian silverworking techniques.

The agate seal is skilfully inscribed with a religious invocation or poetic verse, rendered in minute, confident calligraphy, suggesting it was intended for both decorative and talismanic purposes. The piece likely functioned as a personal container for betel, snuff, or other precious contents, carried or kept by a member of the Qajar elite.

Dimensions: Weight: 94g, Length 6cm

Comparable examples:

  • A Persian inscribed silver box with inlaid agate panel sold at Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 13 June 2022, Lot 105, for £5,250.

  • A 19th-century Persian silver snuff box with figural repoussé work achieved £4,750 at Christie’s, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 27 October 2016, Lot 198.

  • A similar inscribed silver and agate talismanic box sold at Sotheby’s, Arts of the Islamic World, 25 October 2017, Lot 174, for £4,000.

Note:
This type of seal-mounted silver box reflects the Qajar penchant for combining script, symbolism, and craftsmanship into compact luxury objects. The combination of calligraphy and semi-precious stone would have lent this item a layer of personal significance and protective value.

 

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
London, United Kingdom

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£2,000 £4,999 £200
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£10,000 £19,999 £1,000
£20,000 £49,999 £2,000
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£500,000 £999,999 £50,000
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