A Terracotta Pen-and-Inkwell Case from Jerusalem

Excavations in the Strauss Building, located next to the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem, yielded a unique ornamental two-level terracotta pen-and-inkwell case, comprising an upper level with a rectangular pencase and a bowl-shaped inkwell holder, and a lower level with two compartments. The sides of the pencase have incised decorations depicting a throne and a throne room, and the base bears an Arabic inscription composed of a paraphrase of two verses from a maqāma poem by Badī‘ al-Zamān, and the name of the poet or/and the owner, Mūsā. The dating of the pencase to the Fatimid period is determined by the lifetime of Badī‘ al-Zamān, who died in 1008 CE, and by eleventh-century CE pottery found with the pencase. The pen-and-inkwell case, made of Moẓa clay from the vicinity of Jerusalem, is a local production for a Jerusalem intellectual.