Fashioned in an overall triangular or deltoid leaf shape with a curved apex, known specifically as a falcate leaf shape, the back of this light green jade mirror has a flat inner plane embellished with a stylized, blossoming lotus plant executed in shallow relief. It is surrounded by a serrated edge of pointed leaves with the tip folded over in the elegant fashion popular in mid-17th-century Mughal painting. The base of the mirror is formed by two splayed acanthus leaves that are pierced along their inner border. An iris flower encircled by its stem forms the perforated handle. The mirror is fronted with a rock crystal panel with traces of gilding. The dynamic asymmetry of the falcate leaf shape results in a much livelier expressiveness than most Mughal handheld mirrors, which are typically circular, oval, square, or octagonal in shape. The slightly stiff stylized treatment of the central lotus plant suggests that this mirror was likely made in the late 17th century.
First imported into Mughal India in the early 16th century, silvered or gilded mirrors were highly prized by the women at court and royal courtiers. Ostensibly used mundanely to aid in the application of cosmetics, handheld mirrors were also regarded as exotic luxury curiosities. Within a century, however, mirrors became commonplace and demand dwindled except for exceptional examples. Myriad small mirrors mounted on a palace chamber’s walls to view myriad reflections of flickering candlelight and, by the eighteenth century, large imported wall mirrors were fashionable trappings of palatial architecture and mansions of wealthy nobles and merchants.
