The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 21, 2024
Mirror Stand
1800s
(1779-1925)
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.)
Location: not on view
Description
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.
- c. 1943–1983Dr. Mehmed A. [1902–1981] and Mrs. Louise Dean Simsar [1900–1986], New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1983–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 2018-October 28, 2019).
- {{cite web|title=Mirror Stand|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=21 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.1111