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Mirrors,
Mirrors
Reflections on the grand, ancient plates of glass. |
By
Robert Israel and Fred Imberman |
Charles II olivewood oyster veneered cushion mirror
with floral marquetry and fretted cornice veneered with
walnut. Circa 1680. Provenance: Nantclwyd House, Ruthin,
Wales. |
One of a pair of Regency giltwood convex girondole mirrors
with eagle surmounts. Circa 1820. See Graham Child's
World Mirrors, 1990, plate 255. |
One of a pair of George III
giltwood mirrors in the Chippendale
manner, with acanthus crests and
c-scrolled pierced frames. Circa 1780. |
Mirrors
were considered a great luxury in 17th- and 18th-century houses.
Ornate frames protected, displayed and showed off these highly
valued plates of reflective glass that were frequently imported
from Venice and France at a premium price. Even though fledgling
glass industries existed throughout northern Europe and England
during this time, the glass produced was of insufficient quality
for mirror manufacturing.
Frequently used today to enlarge and brighten a room, mirrors
have been a crucial element in interior decoration for many
centuries. Rooms heated only by fireplaces had small windows
and thick walls to conserve warmth, and mirrors reflected
daylight into these otherwise dark interiors. At night, the
reflections of candles and a fireplace caught in a mirror
more than doubled the available light in a room. Important
joyous social gatherings appeared exponentially larger and
more festive when reflected in the long mirrors hung at both
ends of the room, an effect noted by guests in the legendary
Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
Advances in mirror production occurred during the 18th and
19th centuries. Skilled glassblowers had long made mirror
plate glass by slicing enormous bubbles of molten glass in
half, then flattening the molten glass to dry in large metal
pans. In an improved process called “casting,”
a flat pan or “cast” was filled with molten glass,
smoothed and leveled with a metal rod, then allowed to dry.
Mirrors produced using this process were thicker and heavier
than the handblown glass previously used. The reflective mirror
surface was created by adhering thin metal foil to the reverse
side of the glass using a very thin film of mercury. This
dangerous process was discontinued in the 19th century and
replaced with “silvering,” which used only a thin
film of molten silver.
The value of an antique mirror today is determined by the
quality and condition of the frame, as most mirror glass needed
to be replaced over the intervening centuries, and few of
the original mirror plates exist. Due to their rarity, antique
frames with their original mirror plates are highly valued
and sought by collectors and museums. Pairs of mirrors also
command a premium price, their rarity occurring often because
of a propensity to divide pairs among siblings.
Three mirrors serve to illustrate mirror designs prevalent
from the 17th through the 19th centuries. The Baroque Charles
II cushion-molded frame with pierced fretwork cornice and
colorful marquetry inlay (reminiscent of marquetry seen by
Charles II during exile in Europe) reflected the increasing
influences of an expanding world on a previously insular 17th-century
England. The pair of giltwood rectangular mirrors, in the
Chippendale manner, mirrored the exuberance of the rococo
style popular throughout the mid-18th century and demonstrated
the dramatic impact of the larger mirror plate made available
by new techniques in the glass industry. The rare pair of
neoclassical giltwood convex girondole mirrors, with eagle
surmounts over unusual Greek key tablets, celebrated the classical
elements of the highly evolved cultures rediscovered in Pompeii
and Egypt during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Robert
Israel is the president of the Art and Antiques Dealers League
of America, the founding sponsors of the Connoisseur's
Antiques Fair in NYC. Robert Israel and Fred Imberman own
Kentshire Galleries and specialize in antique English furniture,
paintings, decorative accessories and antique jewelry.
Kentshire Galleries
NYC
212.673.6644
www.kentshire.com
Photo credit:
Courtesy of Kentshire Galleries |
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