Mirror Case with the Virgin and Child with Attendants

Artists

Description

Rectangular mirror case with fitted lid. The outer surfaces of the mirror case feature open-terrace scenes, with figures of the seated Virgin and Child and various attendants. In the backgrounds, putti hover over trees and fanciful architecture. The inner surface features a young prince and his attendants visiting a religious sage. The figures occupy a double-balustraded terrace in the middle ground. The background offers a vista of fanciful European towers with arched openings set within a riverine landscape.

Dimensions

frame: 23.4 × 15 × 1.7 cm (9 3/16 × 5 7/8 × 11/16 in.) lid: 21.2 × 12.9 × 0.5 cm (8 3/8 × 5 1/16 × 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.