page_title: Āina-kāri
hierarchical_section_title: Āina-kāri
caption_attribution_description: Español: El Palacio de Golestán es el antiguo complejo real kayar situado en Teherán, capital de Irán. El monumento, Patrimonio de la Humanidad según la UNESCO, pertenece a un grupo de edificios reales que estaban situados dentro de los muros de la antigua ciudadela, y es uno de los monumentos históricos más antiguos de la ciudad. English: Golestan Palace is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city, Tehran. The UNESCO World Heritage Site belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran's arg ("citadel") and is one of the oldest of the historic monuments in the city. Polski: Pałac Golestan w&#160;Teheranie, stolicy Iranu, dawna siedziba szachów z&#160;dynastii Kadżarów. Zespół pałacowy, który został wpisany na&#160;listę światowego dziedzictwa UNESCO, należy do&#160;grupy królewskich budynków otoczonych murami teherańskiej cytadeli (arg) i&#160;jest jednym z&#160;najstarszych zabytków w&#160;mieście. This is a photo of a monument in Iran identified by the ID 417 Čeština: Palác Golestan, bývalé královké sídlo dynastie Kádžárovců v íránském hlavním městě Teheránu patří do Světového dědictví UNESCO. Magyar: A Gulisztán-palota belseje (Teherán, Irán) Italiano: Il Palazzo del Golestan, storica residenza della dinastia Qajar (1781 - 1925) a Teheran, in Iran. 한국어: 골레스탄 궁전은 이란의 수도 테헤란에 위치한 옛 카자르 왕조의 궁전 단지이다. 이 유네스코 세계유산은 진흙 지붕의 벽으로 둘러싸였던 테헤란 성 내부의 궁중 건물군에 포함되며, 테헤란의 가장 오래된 역사기념물 중 하나이다. Македонски: Голестанскиот дворец во Техеран, Иран — поранешен царски дворец, денес светско наследство на УНЕСКО. Nederlands: Het Golestanpaleis in Teheran is het paleis van waaruit de Kadjaren tot 1925 over Perzië regeerden Português: Interior do Palácio do Golestão, antigo complexo real qajar situado em Teerã, Irã.
context_page_description: Āina-kāri is a kind of interior decoration made by Iranian artists who assemble finely cut mirrors together in geometric, calligraphic or foliage forms. 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 is used as a strong durable cover for an interior space of a building.
  In the Zand and Qajar periods, 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 Āina-kāri mirrorwork. It also appears as an external architectural facade, within semi-domed ayvāns that mark the entrance of tālārs, courtyards, gardens and reflecting pools.
  Elements of this craft have been attributed to Venetian glassmakers invited to Iran by Shah ʿAbbās I in the 17th century.
context_section_description: Āina-kāri (Persian: آینه‌کاری‎) is a kind of interior decoration made by Iranian artists who assemble finely cut mirrors together in geometric, calligraphic or foliage forms (inspired by flowers and other plants). 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 is used as a strong durable cover for an interior space of a building.
  In the Zand and Qajar periods, 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 Āina-kāri mirrorwork. It also appears as an external architectural facade, within semi-domed ayvāns that mark the entrance of tālārs, courtyards, gardens and reflecting pools. 
  Elements of this craft have been attributed to Venetian glassmakers invited to Iran by Shah ʿAbbās I in the 17th century. This art form may have also evolved from the creative reuse of shattered fragments of imported mirrors, reminiscent of kintsugi and influenced by Sufi philosophy regarding the symbolism of broken objects and reflected light. 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. 
  Āina-kāri is closely associated with sculptures by contemporary artists such as Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian and Timo Nasseri. Artworks like these are either been made in collaboration with Iranian artisans, or seek to reproduce the appearance of this craft in materials such as stainless steel. Contemporary furniture and interior designers have also adapted this craft for new audiences, such as the restaurant of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. 
  When interviewed in 2013 about the use of Persian mirror work in contemporary art, Timo Nasseri said:
  "I chose the mirrors for different reasons. I liked the idea that the mirrors in the sculpture reflect themselves. What can you see in a mirror that reflects another mirror? As you see, this is an abstraction of infinity. Even though in my mirrors you will see fragments of the space that surrounds you, you’ll never get the whole picture as we cannot see and understand everything around us. The other idea is that you will stand in front of these sculptures made of hundreds of mirrors but you will not see yourself reflected in them because of the way they are arranged. That relates to the idea of aniconism."
caption: Āina-kāri in the main hall of Emarat-e Badgir in Golestan Palace
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