Variations on the Hexagon
Mosaic Panel
2006 (made)
2006 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This panel is one of six that made up the installation Variations on the Hexagon. The installation was created in a workshop in Tehran specifically for display at the Victoria and Albert Museum for the opening of the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art in July 2006.
The primary technique employed was mirror mosaic (ayinah-kari), by which pieces of silvered glass are cut to shape and set in a plaster matrix according to a predetermined design. The result is a patterned mirror surface. This technique has been in continuous use in Iran since silvered glass mirrors were first imported in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Since the 1970s, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian has been using this technique to make works based on the Islamic tradition of geometric ornament. Her work is not a pastiche, however, but a creative response to her country's artistic traditions.
The geometric patterns she uses come from outside traditional mirror work, and she combines the mirror with other material, such as reversed-painted glass. In the case of the V&A panel, she has used blue glass beads that are a traditional talisman against the evil eye to create a pattern suggestive of peacock feathers.
The primary technique employed was mirror mosaic (ayinah-kari), by which pieces of silvered glass are cut to shape and set in a plaster matrix according to a predetermined design. The result is a patterned mirror surface. This technique has been in continuous use in Iran since silvered glass mirrors were first imported in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Since the 1970s, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian has been using this technique to make works based on the Islamic tradition of geometric ornament. Her work is not a pastiche, however, but a creative response to her country's artistic traditions.
The geometric patterns she uses come from outside traditional mirror work, and she combines the mirror with other material, such as reversed-painted glass. In the case of the V&A panel, she has used blue glass beads that are a traditional talisman against the evil eye to create a pattern suggestive of peacock feathers.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Variations on the Hexagon (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Mosaic of mirror tiles, blue glass tiles and glass amulets |
Brief description | 'Variations on the Hexagon', mirror mosaic panel with blue glass and glass evil eye amulets, by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Iran, 2006 |
Physical description | Panel of mirror mosaic (ayinah-kari) with geometric patterns of silvered glass based around a central hexagon. Includes elements of blue glass and traditional glass evil eye amulets. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label |
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Credit line | Given by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian |
Production | This is one panel from 'Variations on the Hexagon', a larger work composed of 6 panels. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This panel is one of six that made up the installation Variations on the Hexagon. The installation was created in a workshop in Tehran specifically for display at the Victoria and Albert Museum for the opening of the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art in July 2006. The primary technique employed was mirror mosaic (ayinah-kari), by which pieces of silvered glass are cut to shape and set in a plaster matrix according to a predetermined design. The result is a patterned mirror surface. This technique has been in continuous use in Iran since silvered glass mirrors were first imported in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 1970s, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian has been using this technique to make works based on the Islamic tradition of geometric ornament. Her work is not a pastiche, however, but a creative response to her country's artistic traditions. The geometric patterns she uses come from outside traditional mirror work, and she combines the mirror with other material, such as reversed-painted glass. In the case of the V&A panel, she has used blue glass beads that are a traditional talisman against the evil eye to create a pattern suggestive of peacock feathers. |
Collection | |
Accession number | ME.1-2006 |
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Record created | November 13, 2006 |
Record URL |
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