TWO QAJAR REVERSE GLASS PAINTINGS WITH FLORAL TRIUMPHS
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Qajar Iran, late 19th - early 20th century

Opaque pigments, pencil, polychrome enamels, gold and white wash on glass, comprising a glass roundel decorated with a blue and white porcelain vase filled with a lush bouquet of roses, irises and blue daisies, all against a densely gold-sprinkled ground; and a similar larger composition in rectangular format, with pairs of birds and the negative mirror space designed as scrolling vegetal sprays, both painted in the Persian technique known as naqqashi-ye posht-e shishe (نقاشی پشت شیشه), or reverse glass painting, mounted, glazed and framed, 23cm x 23cm and 65cm x 48cm including the frames.