Kalamdan (pen case), papier mâché and leather
Turkey; 17th-18th century
H: 10.5; W: 9.2; L: 34.5 cm
Inventory number 13/1985
A number of Ottoman pen cases of this kind have been preserved, the most famous in the collection of Türkenbeute in Karlsruhe mainly taken from the Ottomans at their siege of Vienna in 1683.
The embossed and partly gilded cloud band decoration is characteristic of Turkish work in the 16th-18th century, when bookbindings with similar ornamentation were also made. The pen case has room inside both for pens and for various calligrapher’s tools.
The embossed and partly gilded cloud band decoration is characteristic of Turkish work in the 16th-18th century, when bookbindings with similar ornamentation were also made. The pen case has room inside both for pens and for various calligrapher’s tools.
Published in
Published in
Sotheby’s, London, 15/10 1984, lot 172;
Mentioned in Christie’s, 18/10 1994, lot 215;
Kjeld von Folsach: Islamic Art. The David Collection, Copenhagen 1990, cat. 14;
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (ed.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal. The History and Culture of the Islamic World, National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat. 112;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat. 91;
And All That Is in Between. Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Riyadh 2025, p. 227, cat. 182 (incorrect ill., see ill. 181);
Mentioned in Christie’s, 18/10 1994, lot 215;
Kjeld von Folsach: Islamic Art. The David Collection, Copenhagen 1990, cat. 14;
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (ed.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal. The History and Culture of the Islamic World, National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat. 112;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat. 91;
And All That Is in Between. Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Riyadh 2025, p. 227, cat. 182 (incorrect ill., see ill. 181);
