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The Doha Ivory Box: Fabulous or Fake?
Oliver Watson's lecture focuses on an object that has been the subject of considerable controversy: an inscribed penbox of intricately-carved ivory, dated 394H/1003 AD, which is part of the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
The box, made of intricately carved ivory, is dated 394H/1003 AD and can be related to a splendid known group of carved ivories from Islamic Spain. However, it comprises a number of strange features, including bad spelling mistakes in its inscription and, therefore, doubt was thrown on its authenticity by several scholars and specialists.
Dr. Watson's research has now resolved the urgent question is it a fabulous and important medieval object, or is it a sophisticated fake?