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Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Dynasty who lived in the 1600's, had heard from his dignitaries in Venice about that city's beautiful venetian mirrors. The Shah had up to 20 huge venetian mirrors commissioned for his palaces. When the mirrors arrived in Isfahan, Iran's capital in those times, after such a long and turbulent journey, the mirrors were shattered into thousands of pieces. The Shah, who was an avid lover of the arts, asked his skillful artisans to see if they could do something with the beautiful shattered pieces of the mirrors, and thus the art-form of Persian stucco mirror art came into existence. The pieces of mirrors are cut into tiny ornamental Persian patterns and dress the walls and ceilings of countless palaces, mosques and other buildings throughout Iran. The reflection of chandeliers and candles create a dazzling effect of such beauty that no picture can make justice to it - it has to be experienced in person!
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North Africa/Middle East
