Mirror Stand (1800s): Art, History and Details

Mirror Stand (1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Mirror Stand
• Date: 1800s
• Culture: Iran, Qajar period (1779-1925)
• Type: Metalwork
• 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.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1983.1111

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Mehmed A. Simsar in memory of Dr. Mehmed A. Simsar

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.