Composition Depicting Portal of the Shrine of Massumeh

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 architectural composition likely depicts the holy shrine of Ma‘sumeh in Qum. It contains an inscription in black on a glittery gold ground that reads "Oh, Her Holiness Ma’sumeh" in a leaf-shaped medallion at the top.