10196 A large Dutch carved giltwood Rococo wall mirror, the top cresting carved with scrolls and pendant flowers, the sides with flower-draped columns on scrolling bases, the divided central plate within a carved giltwood border. Original mirror plates. With old restoration to the gilding.
Holland, Amsterdam
1750-1765
Height: 76.5 ins (194 cms)
Width: 32 ins (81 cms)
£14,000
Description
This unusual and large wall mirror is notable for the original mirror plates as well as the slender and elegant carving of the frame. Dutch carvers of this period excelled in carving as lightly as possible sometimes seeming to imitate the fine scrolls of silver and metalwork. These comparisons were made clearly in the exhibition Rococo in Nederland, 2001 Rijksmuseum, following on from the influence of the Genoese sculptor Agostino Carlini working at the Royal Palace in The Hague. The oil gilding, typical of Dutch work is original though showing signs of old restoration and some losses.
The mirror glass, with the exception of one small piece of the 17 border sections, is entirely original. Over the centuries, moisture absorbed from the back boards has created a lovely, even frosting to the silvering adding to the atmosphere of this exceptional mirror.
