12022-06-16T12:39:04-07:00Brooke Hendershottb0a907cd0f989ee79e94592378a1545647719cfb394478plain2023-01-23T06:16:40-08:00Amanda Luyster17d39c1ecea88fb7ff282fe74a410b89478b8327The patrons of ivory objects such as this pen box included powerful rulers like Muslim caliphs, Latin or Byzantine emperors, European monarchs, and high-ranking ecclesiastics and noblemen, all of whom took advantage of the ivory supply being imported from Africa. As we know, this box was originally owned by a powerful ducal family in Italy. The earliest recorded history following the Mansone family is Baron Albert Oppenheim, who owned the pen box in 1900. The object was then purchased by J.P. Morgan's estate from 1906-13, and subsequently gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1917. Despite the gaps in our knowledge of its history, this pen box was treasured by many different individuals over its long years of existence.