A LACQUERED PAPIER-MÂCHÉ MIRROR CASE WITH FIGURAL MOTIFS
Qajar Iran, late 19th - early 20th century

Of typical rectangular shape, the mirror case painted in polychromes, heightened in gold, and lacquered, the front and back covers decorated with traditional Qajar interior scenes showcasing a maiden first pining for her lover (front) and then celebrating his return and their reunion (back) surrounded by female attendants, musicians and an acrobat, each panel framed within concentric decorative borders with stylised vegetal sprays in gold against black and burgundy grounds, the inner panel of the front cover decorated with a Qajar couple meeting in the wilderness under the attentive gaze of a black female servant holding a qalyan (water pipe), perhaps the scene depicting the very first encounter of the couple represented on the front and back covers, 25cm x 17.5cm.

The progressive unfolding of the narrative of these two lovers, starting from the inner panel of the front cover and carrying on all the way to the back cover, leads to suggest this mirror case could have been commissioned as a wedding gift. The aim of this mirror case's decorative program was to both record the various stages in the development of a romantic relationship and mentally prepare the lover to face moments of solitude and melancholy in view of future joyous moments deriving from the reunion with the beloved.