Due to our occupation, we want to share with you masterpieces of mirror architecture.
Look at Golestan Palace (Tehran, Iran). Golestan Palace appeared on the territory of the Tehran fortress in the late 18th century, when the Qajars came to reign, and moved the capital of their Kingdom to Tehran.
The Palace was under construction until the end of the 19th century. The Palace has gardens, swimming pools, conventionally it is divided into 7 parts and consists of 20 buildings: Anthropological Museum, Diamond Hall, Aks Khane (Museum of Photography), Howse Khane (Portrait Gallery), Negar Khane (Art Gallery), Shams ol Emareh hall and Marble Throne.
Perhaps the brightest of them are the halls lined with mirror tiles and mosaics. Interior design with abundant use of mirrors excites the imagination. Entering the Palace, you immediately find yourself inside the box with mirrored walls. Probably, your mind loses orientation in space, looking at these mirrors. You have no idea where to focus.
Decorating the Palace, architects successfully combined Persian and modern traditions, they used European architectural experience. The result is an interesting mixture of European palace architecture with ornate Oriental ornaments. The interior, like a diamond, shines with thousands of highlights and reflections. Honestly, we're impressed. We can imagine how it was made. In fact, there were no glass cutters or machines — it's fantastic!
SALAM HALL
Mirror (Diamond) hall was made by Iranian artists throughout many years, they installed small geometric mirrors on the ceiling and walls of the hall by hand. The walls of this hall are reminiscent of long Iranian people suffering during Shah's reign. The Mirror hall is primarily known for Mirza Muhammad Khan by Kamal-Mulk Gaffari, painted in 1891. Salam hall is located near the Mirror hall walls. At the entrance to this hall, magnificent chandeliers and porticos attract the eye. Salam hall was built as a museum, used for official receptions and military salute. On the lower floor of the Salam hall you can find Houz Khane (basement with swimming pool). Currently, Houz Khane is divided into two art galleries: the Eastern side exhibits paintings by European artists (mainly portraits), and the Western side of Negar Khane exhibits paintings by Iranian artists.
Central and most significant room of the Palace is Marble Throne (Takht e Marmar). The hall was used for official receptions, it is richly decorated with paintings, frescoes, mirrors, marble tiles and wood carvings. The throne, made of yellow marble, is the pinnacle of Iranian architecture. Ingenuity of Persian artists combined with unique architecture, painting, stone-cutting, tiled, stucco work, mirror decoration, mosaic and wood carving in the middle of the Shah's palaces created an incomparable work of art. We should also note that the oldest buildings in the Golestan complex, i.e. Marble Throne and the "Karim Khani Nook" ("Khalvat e Karim Khani") also belong to Karim Khan Zend reign.
We wanted to share this beauty with you and had a tour around mirror world in Golestan Palace!