Ayeneh-kari
{{Italic title}}
{{short description|Iranian mirror-work}}
File:Palacio de Golestán, Teherán, Irán, 2016-09-17, DD 27-36 HDR PAN.jpg, Tehran, Iran]]
Ayeneh-kariEleanor G. Sims, “ĀĪNA-KĀRĪ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/7, pp. 692-694; http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aina-kari-mosaic-of-mirror-glass Retrieved 10 December 2019 ({{langx|fa|آینهکاری}}) is a kind of Iranian interior decoration where artists assemble finely cut mirrors together in geometric, calligraphic or foliage forms (inspired by flowers and other plants).Seyed Fazlollah Mirdehghan and Hamid Azizi. 'Study of Symbolic Motifs in Mirroring (Aina-Kari) of Qajar Houses in Yazd City' https://nbsh.basu.ac.ir/article_2736_en.html Retrieved 10 December 2019 This creates a beautiful shining surface covered with complex facets, reflecting light as intricate abstract patterns or glittering reflections. Beside their decorative use, this art form is used as a strong durable cover for interior spaces.{{cite book|last=Moein|title=Farhang-e Moein|trans-title=Moein Persian Dictionary|language=fa|year=2004}} This type of mosaic work is commonly done in Iran, Pakistan and is also found is Mughal era buildings of India.
Etymology
The word Ayeneh-kari is a Persian compound word, composed of the words ayeneh and kari. Ayeneh means mirror. Kari means to do or place something onto something else. Together, the word Ayeneh-kari means mirror-work.
History
In ancient Iranian cultures, water and mirrors symbolised purity, light and truthfulness, and their use in Iranian architecture also has the same meaning and comes from the same concept.
During the Zand and Qajar eras, this craft was applied over doorways, window-frames, walls, ceilings, and columns in pavilions and private houses, tea-houses and zūrḵānas, as well as royal buildings and shrines. The funerary complex of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz, Iran, features extensive use of Ayeneh-kari. It also appears as an external architectural facade, within semi-domed ayvāns that mark the entrance of tālārs, courtyards, gardens and reflecting pools.Eleanor G. Sims, “ĀĪNA-KĀRĪ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/7, pp. 692-694
Elements of this craft have been attributed to Venetian glassmakers invited to Iran by the Safavid shah, Abbas the Great, in the 17th century.H. Wulff, The Traditional Crafts of Persia, Boston, 1966, p. 169 This art form may have also evolved from the creative reuse of shattered fragments of imported mirrors. By the 19th century, affluent homes in Isfahan featured a 'mirror room' as a reception space, in which mirror work was combined with carved stucco and the display of artist's prints.Parviz Tanavoli, 'European Women in Persian Houses: Western Images in Safavid and Qajar Iran' Bloomsbury Publishing, 29 Jan 2016 pp. 32-34
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian was an Iranian artist who, by re-interpreting Ayeneh-kari, brought the art form into the contemporary art scene.
Gallery
File:Aina-kari near Zarih of Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran.jpg|Ayeneh-kari of Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom
File:Mirrored interior of Shah Cheragh mosque (49687468007).jpg|Ayeneh-kari on the ceiling of Shah Cheragh shrine, Shiraz
File:Chehel Sotoun ceiling.jpg|Ceiling of Chehel Sotoun's mirror hall that contains Ayeneh-kari, Isfahan
File:2011 Sahebqraniyeh Palace Tehran 6250140114.jpg|Ayeneh-kari in Sahebgharaniyeh Palace, Niavaran Complex, Tehran
File:Golestan Palace, Tehran, Iran (53760330898).jpg|Ayeneh-kari in the Brilliant Hall of Golestan Palace, Tehran
File:Golestan Palace, A UNESCO WHS - Tehran.jpg|Ayeneh-kari on the stairs leading up to the Salam Hall of Golestan Palace, Tehran
File:Iranmall's Mirror Hall.jpg|Ayeneh-kari in the Mirror Hall of Iran Mall, Tehran
See also
- Glass mosaic, a similar Burmese mosaic technique
References
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