Collection record · Everyday wonders
Mirror Stand
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated 1800s. Recorded culture or place: Iran, Qajar period (1779-1925).
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Mirror Stand
- Date
- 1800s
- Culture / origin
- Iran, Qajar period (1779-1925)
- Materials and technique
- Steel engraved and inlaid with gold and silver with openwork calligraphic design on hinged door
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 25.5 cm (10 1/16 in.); Overall: 52.5 cm (20 11/16 in.); Diameter of base: 18.6 cm (7 5/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1983.1111
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
The mirror was both a courtly accouterment and a popular poetic device in Persian literature. The central circular panel has a hinge and hook that opens to reveal the mirror. The texts in the ring are verses by different authors referring to mirrors. One says: Have they placed a mirror facing the sun at the door of that tent, Or is it the light rays shining from the forehead? Such mirrors were popular during the Qajar period (1779–1925), but this example evokes the grandeur of the earlier Safavid period by inscribing in the center the name of Shah Sulayman (1648–1694) who, fittingly, spent most of his 28-year reign with women in the harem, where such mirrors would have been used.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Mrs. Mehmed A. Simsar in memory of Dr. Mehmed A. Simsar · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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