Mirror, Italian; Genoa, 1735-1740, carved and gilt pine frame

Mirror in wooden frame, carved and decorated with gilt gesso. Surrounding the mirror plate, which has an arched top of irregular outline, are borders of mirror decorated with engraved floral and arabesque designs and set within enriched mouldings. A Scrolling cresting elaborately carved with flowers and foliage encloses another panel of engraved glass. The edges of the frame are carved in a similar style.

Construction
The mirror frame is built up on a structural frame of pine boards, approximately 15 cm in width, lap-jointed at the lower corners and the upper joints with the two sloping boards that meet in the centre of the top. These provide the support for the mirror plates of the frame and two additional boards are butt-jointed to the sloping boards, to allow for the curvature of the upper framing panels of mirror glass. The carved sections of the mirror are built up onto this base framing, in sections, that are attached to the boards and reinforced with pine struts, the original struts carefully chamfered at the back, replacement struts apparent in that they are not chamfered. These were originally pinned and glued on, with replacement being screwed in place. A diagram in departmental files shows how the grain runs in different directions for different sections of carving. The frame of the upper, oval section is built up in a similar way, of several support sections, lap-jointed and reinforced at the back with two vertical, applied struts, chamfered at the edges. The separate frame, with horizontal mid-rail, that supports the main plate, is in red-stained pine and appears to be a replacement. Two additional, vertical struts are pinned to the centre of the base of the frame. These are presumably design to relieve possible pressure on the carving of the base, when the mirror is hung on the wall. Two large iron hooks are affixed to the back of the frame behind the outermost 'shoulders' of the mirror.

Given by Mrs Mathias

The mirror was given to the Museum in 1931 by a Mrs Mathias, of 41 Berkeley Square. It was one of a pair which Mrs Mathias had bought at Mrs Charles Hunter's sale on 12th May 1931 (lot 135) for £57.15. The mirrors were then considered Venetian, of the first half of the 18th century. This attribution had been revised by the early 1970s according to the opinion of Alvar González Palacios, who considered it to be north Italian, either from Piemonte or, most probably, from Genoa. Because of the presence of the numeral '3' on the back of this mirror, it is likely that it was originally part of a larger set of mirrors.

The mirror had previously been included (with its pair) in an earlier sale of the contents of Mrs Hunter's residence, Hill Hall at Theydon Mount, Essex. The mirror was lot 155, and was described as 'A Venetian wall mirror, with border plates etched in lattice panels and flowers, framed in gilt wood, carved in elaborate scrolls of foliage and flowers, the surmount with lunette' and illustrated in plate VIII of the catalogue hanging above a commode and next to a bureau bookcase in the Music Room of Hill Hall.

Other comparable examples exist in Genoese palaces, such as a mirror by Francesco Maria Mongiardino in Palazzo Spinola (commissioned by Maddalena Doria Spinola in 1736) and another by Bartolomeo Steccone, Genoa's leading carver of the period, in Palazzo Rosso (1735). The grand palaces of Genoa were noted for the abundance of glass and gilt furniture in their state apartments, and this mirror and its pair were probably originally intended for such a setting.

This mirror is characteristic of the early Italian Rococo style, or even a very late version of Baroque known as Barocchetto (see Baccheschi). Although the frame is highly elaborate in its decoration, its form is still comparatively restrained, with predominantly symmetrical decoration. However, the asymmetrical cresting and the combination of floral and some rocaille motifs with C scrolls highlight the shift in style towards Rococo. The flowers and scrolls of the carved and gilded frame are echoed in the flowers, scrolls and lattice work engraved into the glass border of the mirror.

This mirror is typical of Italian Rococo at its most flamboyant. Although the shape of the actual mirror is comparatively restrained, it is decorated with lavish acanthus 'C' scrolls in giltwood and gilt gesso, and with flowers, scrolls and lattice work on engraved glass. The mirror is thought to have been made in Genoa, and is similar to an example in the Palazzo Rosso by Bartolomeo Steccone, who died in 1739. Steccone was Genoa's leading carver at that time. The grand palaces of Genoa were noted for the abundance of glass and gilt furniture in their state appartments, and this mirror, the maker of which remains unknown, was probably originally intended for such a setting.

W.35-1931