Art of Mirrorwork in Iranian Architecture
Art of mirrors is surely one of the most delicate architectural decorations in Islamic-Iranian civilization. Essentially, mirrorwork is the art of making ordered, symmetric and geometrical designs using large and small pieces of the mirror for decorating interior surfaces of a construction. The first appearance of the art of mirrors in Iranian architecture was in decorating the Porch House of Shah Tahmasib Safavid (921-984 Hejira/ 1524-1576 A.D.) in Qazvin.
Before starting to decorate with mirrors, a designer first designs on paper then he transfers these designs onto walls, ceilings and columns using special needles. After that, pieces of mirror are glued, one by one, onto the surface of walls, ceilings, etc. This requires considerable skill and patience. Ideally, pieces of mirror should be about one millimeter thick.
The art of mirrorwork was extensively used to decorate royal palaces and mansions. The most beautiful and famous of these palaces was “Ayeneh Khaneh” (Mirror House) in Isfahan because a very large number of mirrors were used to decorate the interior of this palace. All the columns, walls and ceilings of the veranda and main reception hall were covered with small pieces of mirror.
Ayeneh Khaneh (Mirror House), Isfahan City
Sa'd Abad Palace Complex, Tehran
This art that seems to be invented by the Iranian architects, and it kept moving in the post-Safavid era and reached its climax at Ghajar era in constructing saloons like Mirror Hall of Golestan Palace and especially in constructing religious and holy monuments. In this period, some amazing and exceptional buildings such as Darolsiadah at Imam Reza Shrine (in 1275 Hejira) in Mashhad and Darolsoroor at Hazrat Masoumeh Shrine in Qum were constructed by using the art of mirrors.
Mirror Hall of Golestan Palace, Tehran
Golestan Palace, Tehran
Imam Reza Holy Shrine, Mashhad City
In more recent years, the art of mirrorwork moved out of royal palaces and became more common, and places such as restaurants, shopping centers, hotels and even private homes are using mirrorwork.
By: Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaeian
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