Mirror
ca. 1760 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This mirror is very similar to the overmantel in the Chinese Bedroom, Badminton House, Gloucestershire which was sold at Christie's on 30 June 1921 lot 74. Both mirrors have a pagoda-shaped top, a central alcove with a pierced, domed top and side borders of naturalistically carved branches and foliage. Both have a lower ledge carved with rockwork and a double flight of steps leading up to a platform with Chinese fencing.
Materials & Making
The original japanned (painted) decoration imitating Asian lacquer survives. The lacquer is in particularly good condition on the steps leading up to the platform, which are japanned in green and then outlined in gold to represent crazy paving.
Subjects Depicted
Both the decoration and the content are inspired by the fashion for Chinoiserie which was particularly sought after for garden buildings and the furnishings of ladies' bedrooms and dressing rooms. The seated Chinese figure above the alcove is flanked by dragons which are similar to those on the four corners of the Chinese bed from Badminton House.
This mirror is very similar to the overmantel in the Chinese Bedroom, Badminton House, Gloucestershire which was sold at Christie's on 30 June 1921 lot 74. Both mirrors have a pagoda-shaped top, a central alcove with a pierced, domed top and side borders of naturalistically carved branches and foliage. Both have a lower ledge carved with rockwork and a double flight of steps leading up to a platform with Chinese fencing.
Materials & Making
The original japanned (painted) decoration imitating Asian lacquer survives. The lacquer is in particularly good condition on the steps leading up to the platform, which are japanned in green and then outlined in gold to represent crazy paving.
Subjects Depicted
Both the decoration and the content are inspired by the fashion for Chinoiserie which was particularly sought after for garden buildings and the furnishings of ladies' bedrooms and dressing rooms. The seated Chinese figure above the alcove is flanked by dragons which are similar to those on the four corners of the Chinese bed from Badminton House.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved pine, japanned (painted with layers of pigmented varnish) and gilded |
| Brief description | Mirror, lacquered and gilded wood, English 1755-1760 |
| Physical description | Mirror, carved wood frame, with decoration gilt; gilt on ruby and green lacquer grounds and painted in colours. Irregular conical frame of gilt rusticated branches with scrolled rococo detail entwining leafy sprays; some straying across the surface of the glass. At the top, beneath a projecting openwork summit of pagoda form, is a seated figure of fancifully Chinese type with costume painted in colours, flanked by confronting gilt dragons on pedestals. Below, between a pair of gilt metal candle-holders of rusticated leafy sconce form, is a splay-fronted alcove surmounted by a domed top decorated with openwork frets and quarter foils and with gilt draper patterns, and sustained by four slender tapering columns (those at the rear engaged) partly in openwork, resting on a recurved balcony-platform decorated in power-gold on black, and approached from lateral platforms with 'cracked ice' designs in gold on red by symmetrical flights of six steps emerging behind recurved corner balcony railings of openwork frets. Horizontal base in the form of irregular rockwork and moss. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | British Galleries:
This mirror is very close in style to one made to accompany the bed and armchair from Badminton House, exhibited here. Its construction, with a central arched alcove and slender, naturalistically carved framing devices, is very unusual, as is the decoration of japanning with gilding. However, its flimsy Chinese architectural elements are typical of 18th-century Chinoiserie design.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Murray Bequest |
| Object history | Probably made in London |
| Summary | Object Type This mirror is very similar to the overmantel in the Chinese Bedroom, Badminton House, Gloucestershire which was sold at Christie's on 30 June 1921 lot 74. Both mirrors have a pagoda-shaped top, a central alcove with a pierced, domed top and side borders of naturalistically carved branches and foliage. Both have a lower ledge carved with rockwork and a double flight of steps leading up to a platform with Chinese fencing. Materials & Making The original japanned (painted) decoration imitating Asian lacquer survives. The lacquer is in particularly good condition on the steps leading up to the platform, which are japanned in green and then outlined in gold to represent crazy paving. Subjects Depicted Both the decoration and the content are inspired by the fashion for Chinoiserie which was particularly sought after for garden buildings and the furnishings of ladies' bedrooms and dressing rooms. The seated Chinese figure above the alcove is flanked by dragons which are similar to those on the four corners of the Chinese bed from Badminton House. |
| Other number | 1938/4757 - RF number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.65-1938 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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