Scene from The Battle of Karbala

Reverse painting on glass is a decorative technique in which artists apply paint, gold leaf, and silver leaf to the back of a glass panel. The image is then viewed from the front, through the glass. The technique began in Europe and, after the seventeenth century, spread to China, India, Africa, and Iran. In Iran, it became especially popular in the early twentieth century, when artists used it to create portraits of rulers, princes, princesses, and royal couples.

This small panel shows a scene from the Battle of Karbala, which took place in 680 CE in the desert city of Karbala. The battle was fought between the small group of followers and family members of Imam Husayn and the army of Yazid ibn Mu'awiya, the son of Mu'awiya I and the Umayyad caliph. Husayn refused to recognize Yazid’s authority, believing his rule to be unjust. As a result, Husayn and his small band of supporters were surrounded and attacked. In the battle, Husayn was killed, and nearly all his companions and family members were also martyred. Only one male member of his immediate family survived: ‘Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-‘Abidin. The Battle of Karbala became a defining event in Islamic history. It is central to Shi‘i identity and is widely regarded as a key moment in the development of the division between Sunni and Shi‘i Islam.

The panel depicts Imam Husayn placing the Prophet’s signet ring in his son, ‘Ali Akbar’s mouth to comfort him and quench his thirst in the scorching desert of Karbala as his wife and her companions look on. The tents of the encampment are visible in the background.