Mirror Case with Scenes of a Baby Boy's Birth and Circumcision
c. 1830-1850
Description
Rectangular mirror case with fitted lid. This mirror case is decorated with figural scenes celebrating the birth and circumcision of a baby boy. All of the vignettes take place on a well appointed porch with red drapery and a distant view of trees. On one side of the lid, a young woman has just given birth to a tiny baby. She is attended by a midwife, while attendants wrap the afterbirth. On the other side of the lid, a servant brings melon to two women who are seated on either side of the naked, smiling baby. On the back of the case is a circumcision scene.
Dimensions
frame: 23.8 × 15.3 × 1.6 cm (9 3/8 × 6 × 5/8 in.) lid: 20.9 × 12.6 × 0.4 cm (8 1/4 × 4 15/16 × 3/16 in.)
Provenance
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014. Note: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.
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