2014.382: Mirror Case with Flowers in Diaper Pattern
MirrorsThis case consists of a mirror surrounded by a yellow frame with a vine-like pattern. A lid sits within the frame. The lid is painted red with an orange border. In the center of the lid is a portrait of a young, medium-skinned woman with a red dress, a yellow veil, and dark hair styled in two braids. The woman looks directly at the viewer. One hand is at her waist, and the other holds a flower next to her face. The background behind the woman is black. A lobed border in a rounded diamond shape surrounds the portrait.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 2014.382
- Title
- Mirror Case with Flowers in Diaper Pattern
- Classification
- Mirrors
- Work Type
- mirror case
- Date
- c. 1750
- Places
- Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
- Period
- Zand period to early Qajar period
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/351908
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, metallic particles, and lacquer over metallic layer on pasteboard
- Dimensions
-
frame: 11.2 × 8.6 × 0.9 cm (4 7/16 × 3 3/8 × 3/8 in.)
lid: 9.7 × 7.2 × 0.3 cm (3 13/16 × 2 13/16 × 1/8 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014.
Note:
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar
- Accession Year
- 2014
- Object Number
- 2014.382
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
- Rectangular mirror case with fitted lid. The outer faces are decorated with a diaper-patterned repeat of flowers. On the inner face of the lid, a three-quarter length portrait of a young woman holding a flower is set within a lobed ogival medallion.
Publication History
- Massumeh Farhad and Mary McWilliams, ed., A Collector’s Passion: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar and Persian Lacquer, Harvard Art Museums and Freer/Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution (Cambridge, MA/Washington, D.C., 2017), p. 108, cat. 33
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu