From early times in the Ottoman Empire it was traditional for each lady of the Harem to have a personal mirror. Due to an ancient superstition, mirrors were kept upside down to face the wall when not in use. Since it was the backs of the mirrors that were exposed most of the time, it became customary to use these back surfaces for decorative or ornamentation purposes. Craftsmen produced a wide diversity of mirror frames made of wood, ivory, iron, silver, mother-of-peal and gold, decorated with different motifs in techniques like carving, inlay, relief and engraving. While the wealthiest families had gold mirrors studded with precious gems, silver was one of the most common materials used for mirror framing. This sterling silver mirror frame is made by using the KAKMA technique.