Mirror, high-tin bronze (speculum metal); on the back, largely gilded, the 'Virgin & Child with Angels and Music-making Putti' with a foliate integral frame, in the style of Luca della Robbia, Florence, Italy, second quarter of the 15th century.

Mirror, high-tin bronze (speculum metal); the mirror-back, largely gilt, depicting 'Virgin & Child with Angels and Music-making Putti' in the style of Luca della Robbia with a foliate integral frame

There are two or possibly three other extant versions of this relief, one of which on the London art market in (Christie's, December 2005). The edge of this mirror is rough and unpolished, as is the one that was sold in London, which is, however, crisper in character and ungilded. They both have three small grooves, our one on the top edge, and the Christie’s one on the bottom edge. These might indicate that the roundel was inserted into a surrounding frame, with the grooves forming part of the means of attachment. When the mirror was acquired by the then South Kensington Museum in 1861, it was inserted in a circular wooden frame (7694-1861), which has been romantically associated with Lucrezia Borgia in light of its decorative motifs.

Most likely used in a bedroom or study, this mirror probably swivelled on a stand. The relief of the Virgin also provided a focus for meditation. The reflective surface of metal mirrors could be
difficult to maintain. Efforts to repolish one of Isabella d’Este’s steel mirrors in 1536 failed because of the poor quality of the metal alloy.

There are two other extant versions of this relief, although neither of these is described as a mirror (a third one, which is also a mirror, was sold at Christie’s in Winter 2005/ Spring 2006). The mirror is related in style to the work of Luca della Robbia, but cannot be firmly attributed to his workshop.

7694A-1861