Carved and Gilded Rococo Oval Mirror

There are lots of great and rare rococo frames on the market, but the key factor with this oval frame is its scale. Five foot mirrors are rarer, as a rule, simply because the height of the mid 18th century ceiling was often twelve feet and more. Hence, most mirrors were made to fill a space of eight feet or more. A five foot mirror would be too small for such a room. However, not every room nor every house was the same and smaller, but robust frames like this one were made. This frame, therefore, fits 20th and 21st century rooms where the ceilings are often under eleven feet. Finding this kind of scale, both in the height of sixty inches and in the breadth of forty inches, is rare. In addition, the quality of the frame is undeniable, a carver of the first order working in a top cabinetmaking firm such as Chippendale or John Linnell's shop is likely the maker- -focus on the detail--it has an exuberance and always a sense of meaning of the whole. Finally, the frame is dry stripped, meaning that the frame retains much of its original gesso and clay colors, allowing for very accurate re-gilding. The mercury plate and backboards are later.

Original gesso and clay with a period but not original plate. Mirror was dry stripped (or scraped) and regilded. Height 60" Width 40"

A similar oval mirror was sold at Christie's, NY on April 16, 2002. Another was on offer at Sotheby's New York on April 24, 2008.