Antique Brass qalamdan (pen box)

This unusual piece came from an antiques dealers private collection. 
He obtained it over Fifty years ago, whole travelling in the Middle East, and it passed down to his son. It’s believed to date from the 1880s.

Made of solid brass and embossed with figures of deer and trees, it has two parts, one for the ink pen or quill to stay safe in, and the other for the ink. The long part was apparently just tucked into the belt of the owner, most likely a scribe of some sort, traversing the desert on his camel or donkey.