AN OTTOMAN SILVER MIRROR WITH THE CHRISTIAN SYMBOL OF THE SACRED HEART
Istanbul, Ottoman Turkey, late 19th - early 20th century

The handheld, portable mirror in the shape of an inverted heart, set within a silver sheet frame with engraved rosettes, the handle engraved with foliate motifs, embossed silver plaques with foliage and rosettes soldered on the bottom and top of the mirror, the back enhanced with a silver sheet worked in repoussé with the Christian symbol of the Sacred Heart, a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by two arrows, a clear reminder of the Passion of Christ, each element stamped with silver standard and assay marks (sah and scratch mark), and a tughra mark next to the Sacred Heart, possibly of Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876 - 1909) or Sultan Mehmed V (1909 - 1918), the mirror a typical example of the blend of cultures and religions present in the Ottoman Empire, 26.8cm long.

284gr.

Dimensions: 26.8cm long