A LACQUERED PAPIER-MÂCHÉ MIRROR CASE WITH GOL-O-BOLBOL MOTIF
Qajar Iran, 19th century

Of typical rectangular shape, the mirror case painted in polychromes, heightened in gold, and lacquered, the front and back covers decorated with the beloved Persian literary topos of the rose and the love-struck nightingale (gol-o-bolbol), each panel showcasing a lush floral triumph and the nightingale, either alone or with a flock, perched on a rose stem surrounded by smaller rose buds, irises, carnations, daisies, hyacinths, foliage, and nuts, and moths, the inner panel of the front cover depicting a Qajar lady getting dressed, checking her look with a pearl choker in the mirror, flanked by two female attendants, one white and the other black, each panel encased within concentric floral and vegetal borders in gold on dark grounds, 22.8cm x 14.5cm.