Ayeneh-kari

Ayeneh-kari[1] (Persian: 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).

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.

It also appears as an external architectural facade, within semi-domed ayvāns that mark the entrance of tālārs, courtyards, gardens and reflecting pools.

[4] Elements of this craft have been attributed to Venetian glassmakers invited to Iran by the Safavid shah, Abbas the Great, in the 17th century.

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.