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 () 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 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.
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
This art form may have evolved from the creative reuse of shattered fragments of imported mirrors. The craft of ayeneh-kari began during the Safavid era, when it became closely associated with the ornamentation of Shia shrines and imamzadehs. In these sacred spaces, walls and vaulted ceilings were decorated with intricate, geometric mosaics of small cut mirrors. While mirror-work was also employed in secular palatial architecture, its application in shrines differed significantly through the use of fractured and shattered glass that intentionally distorted individual reflections. 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
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. Mofakham's House of Mirrors in Bojnord, North Khorasan is another notable example of ayeneh-kari in the Qajar era. 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 Iwans that mark the entrance of tālārs, courtyards, gardens and reflecting pools.Eleanor G. Sims, “ĀĪNA-KĀRĪ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/7, pp. 692-694
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian was an Iranian artist who, by re-interpreting Ayeneh-kari, brought the art form into the contemporary art scene.
Gallery
See also Glass mosaic, a similar Burmese mosaic technique
References