Antique Mirrors: Antique Wall & Overmantel Mirrors
A wide and varied selection of Antique Wall Mirrors, Fireplace Overmantel Mirrors and Period Giltwood and carved Mirrors.
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Stock: 16692
A beautiful 18th century Venetian mirror with original mercury mirror plate. The gilded frame takes a loosely organic form and interprets the French Rococo style, with a rather more traditional frame boldly embellished with the addition of organic c scrolls and foliate flourishes to the edges.
Venetian, c.1760.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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31 7⁄8"
81 cms |
46 1⁄2"
118 cms |
3 7⁄8"
10 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,000 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16652
A 19th century French giltwood overmantel mirror with a Rococo foliate surmount above a cushion moulded, ogee frame. This encloses the crisp bevelled glass. A very elegant mirror.
French, late 19th century.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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37 3⁄8"
95 cms |
57 1⁄8"
145 cms |
5 1⁄4"
13.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16618
A fine Louis-Philippe overmantel gilt gesso mirror. The surmount is decorated with a flaming torch, a quiver of arrows and a laurel wreath, and is mounted on an elegant frame, with a slightly distressed gilded finish showing traces of the red bole underneath. The frame is further decorated with a Greek key pattern embossed on the surface.
French, mid-19th century.
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Width |
Height |
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36 3⁄16"
92 cms |
55 7⁄8"
142 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16697
An exceptional giltwood Venetian wall mirror. The fine frame has strapwork cresting, pierced sides and apron, the whole carved with rocaille, c-scrolls and floral flourishes, enclosing the mirror plate, which is surmounted by a fine cartouche also with mirror plate to the crest.
Venice, c.1780.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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47 5⁄8"
121 cms |
65 3⁄8"
166 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Listed Price: £8,900 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16125
A rare American giltwood wall mirror by E. F. Caldwell & Co. This finely carved oval mirror embodies the Baroque Revival style, the winged ignudi and other details carved in high relief. This mirror was likely specially commissioned to accompany wall sconces of the same design made by the company, with the addition of three branches.
Original mirror plate.
United States, c.1900.
Notes: See the E. F. Caldwell & Co. Collection, Smithsonian Institution, C012765 to see this model catalogued as three light wall appliques.
Edward F. Caldwell & Co. were America’s preeminent lighting manufacturers of the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries, illuminating some of the most notable buildings in the United States. In addition to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and the White House in Washington, D.C., the company’s masterful light fixtures also adorn the homes of some historically prominent figures, such as J.P. Morgan and Phillip Lehman.
The firm was founded in 1895 by American Edward F. Caldwell and Victor F. von Lossberg from Latvia.
In 1901 Edward F. Caldwell & Co. opened a foundry and quickly rose to the top of the electric light manufacturing business with their shared vision, choosing to deliver quality elegant fixtures that frequently drew on historic European designs. The firm produced magnificent lighting pieces, as well as finely crafted decorative objects and mirrors. Their neoclassical designs borrowed heavily from Baroque and Rococo styles.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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30 1⁄4"
77 cms |
44 7⁄8"
114 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Listed Price: £7,600 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16544
A very fine Piedmontese giltwood pier mirror. This beautiful mirror has a wonderfully patinated arched mercury plate, which is enclosed by a slender marginal plate of the same glass. The refined rocaille frame is topped by the most magnificent pierced scrollwork crest, and the whole is raised on sweeping acanthus feet.
Piedmont, c.1750.
This mirror would be magnificent over a fireplace, or a console table.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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35 13⁄16"
91 cms |
71 11⁄16"
182 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Listed Price: £6,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16559
A grand late Regency overmantel mirror of exceptional quality. The giltwood frame is richly embellished with acanthine and scrollwork decoration, with a particularly magnificent crest. This encloses the original silvered plate.
English, c.1810.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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60"
152.5 cms |
72 3⁄8"
184 cms |
4 11⁄16"
12 cms |
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Listed Price: £6,000 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16541
An exceptionally fine and rare pair of Venetian giltwood mirrors or pier glasses. Mirrors of this type, especially those in an original pair are vanishingly rare. Their gilded giltwood frames take an organic form, the whole carved with rocaille, c-scrolls and floral embellishments, with a mirrored rocaille crest. This Rococo design encloses the more traditional frames that are the signature of the Venetian style, which in turn borders the most magnificently patinated original mercury plates.
Italian, c.1760.
Provenance: From a palazzo in Venice.
Notes: It is likely that this pair of mirrors was made on the island of Murano, known as the 'Isle of Glass'. It has been the centre of fine glassmaking for centuries.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| Each |
39 3⁄8"
100 cms |
54 1⁄2"
138.5 cms |
5 7⁄8"
15 cms |
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Listed Price: £26,000 (+VAT where applicable)
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Stock: 16519
An interesting Louis Philippe period overmantel mirror with an elegant water gilded frame, enclosing a mercury plate. The frame is topped by a later surmount, ornately carved with ribbon tied wheat, vines and fruit, centred by an urn.
French, mid-19th century and later.
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Width |
Height |
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28 1⁄4"
72 cms |
66 1⁄8"
168 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16522
A fine and large Irish William IV convex mirror. The original convex plate is enclosed within a reeded slip, which is bordered by an ornate giltwood frame which is mounted with acanthus scrollwork, bunches of grapes, a sunflower and twin candleholders. Most unusually, the surmount depicts a stag resting under an oak tree. Mounted with wired girandoles.
Irish, c.1830.
Similar to stock no. 16491.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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25 5⁄8"
65 cms |
47 3⁄16"
120 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,600 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16515
A fine and exceptionally large George IV giltwood overmantle mirror. The water gilded frame is enriched with deeply carved stylised scrolling foliage and simple half round mouldings, all set below the boldly carved cornice. The gilded carving is enhanced with burnished highlights and to the back the substantial frame encloses a panelled back board.
English, circa 1820.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| top |
73 3⁄8"
186.5 cms |
72 3⁄8"
184 cms |
3 7⁄8"
10 cms |
| bottom |
75 1⁄8"
190.7 cms |
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Listed Price: £8,000 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16510
A very fine early George III giltwood wall mirror in the manner of John Linnell (1729–96). The oval mercury mirror plate is framed by an exquisitely carved frame of foliate design, surmounted by a rocaille cartouche which is echoed on the bottom of the mirror, which terminates in a similar fashion.
English, circa 1740.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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27 5⁄8"
70 cms |
39 3⁄8"
100 cms |
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Listed Price: £6,500 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16503
An exceptionally fine eighteenth-century Piedmontese pier mirror. The ornately moulded frame is surmounted by elaborate scrolling foliate surmount, which looms over the mirror plate. The wonderfully foxed mercury mirror plate is framed by a slender mercury glass marginal plate with applied floral paterae decoration. The frame rests on outswept feet, to support it on a console, mantel or similar.
Italian, mid-18th century, Piedmont with restorations.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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37 3⁄8"
95 cms |
79 7⁄8"
203 cms |
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Listed Price: £9,500 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Sold
Stock: 16487
A Victorian overmantel mirror with its original distressed gilded finish to the frame and applied foliate carving. This encloses the original arched mirror plate.
Victorian, c.1860.
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width |
height |
depth |
| top |
37 3⁄16"
94.5 cms |
49 5⁄8"
126 cms |
2 13⁄16"
7 cms |
| bottom |
43 1⁄4"
110 cms |
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Sold
Stock: 16518
A very ornate and large Louis XV style giltwood overmantel mirror with a beautifully carved frame. The ornate frame comprises slender foliate pilasters, which support a grand pediment embellished with acanthus scrollwork and a floral crest, whilst enclosing marginal plates.
A very decorative Rococo revival mirror.
English, c.1950.
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Width |
Height |
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52 3⁄8"
133 cms |
74 13⁄16"
190 cms |
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Sold
Stock: 16501
A very large and grand Venetian overmantel mirror. The frame is profusely decorated with c scrolls and floral flourishes, and is surmounted by a mirrored cartouche with a rocaille surmount. The original gilding is beautifully worn, with the warm red bole glowing through.
Italian, 19th century.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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width |
height |
depth |
| top |
49 3⁄16"
125 cms |
70 7⁄8"
180 cms |
6 1⁄4"
16 cms |
| bottom |
36 5⁄8"
93 cms |
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Stock: 16108
A tall and elegant early Victorian overmantel gilt gesso mirror with a slender pilastered framed, and a ribboned pediment surmount.
English, c.1850.
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Width |
Height |
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54 1⁄4"
138 cms |
70 1⁄4"
178.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 15998
A late 19th century French gilt gesso wall mirror, with a pierced scrolled pediment and shell surmount, fitted with a bevelled central plate, flanked by angled marginal mirror plates.
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Width |
Height |
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27 3⁄16"
69 cms |
49 5⁄8"
126 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,400 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16488
A fine George III giltwood and carton-pierre wall mirror in the manner of James and Robert Adam. The slender frame encloses the rectangular plate and is surmounted by opposing griffins centred by a slender urn and ears of wheat.
English, c.1770.
Provenance: The Estate of the late Sir George Dowty (1901-1975, inventor, engineer and businessman) and Lady Marguerite Dowty, thence by family descent.
Notes: Carton-Pierre is effectively a type of papier mache, popularised in the 18th century for its ability to be moulded to create adornments for mirrors or even ceiling cornices, as a cheaper alternative to plaster.
Final image credit: Office of Robert and James Adam, 'Design for a Pier Glass, 1772, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London”.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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25 5⁄8"
65 cms |
64 5⁄8"
164 cms |
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Stock: 16191
The most charming gilt gesso mirrored hanging shelves. The arched mirror plate is beautifully adorned with ferns, convolvulus and foxgloves that are exquisitely modelled around the frame. The rods supporting the three shelves terminate in foxglove flowerheads.
The shelves embody the Victorian obsession with ferns, in a period known as the 'fern craze'; which saw a widespread fascination in identifying, collecting and cultivating the plant.
English, mid-19th century.
Near pair with stock no. 16190.
Photo before restoration.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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18 1⁄8"
46 cms |
33 7⁄8"
86 cms |
6 11⁄16"
17 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,100 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16184
A very ornate Adam style oval girandole mirror. The gilt gesso frame is adorned with a fan and bellflower decoration very much in the Adam style. The mounted triple girandole sconce is of scrolling foliate form and this is echoed in the surmount, where putti hold sprays of laurel over a floral garland.
English, c.1870.
Provenance: The Grange Goathland.
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Listed Price: £4,500 (+VAT where applicable)
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Stock: 16494
A fine pair of Florentine giltwood oval wall mirrors. The frames are profusely decorated with acanthus leaves and flowers, and topped with a small crest.
Original mercury plates.
Italian, mid-19th century.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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30 1⁄4"
77 cms |
40 3⁄16"
102 cms |
2 3⁄16"
5.5 cms |
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Stock: 16471
A Rococo overmantel mirror in gilt gesso, with a moulded frame that has been beautifully gilded and slightly distressed to reveal the warm red bole underneath. This is surmounted by a Rocaille crest.
English, late 19th century.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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41 1⁄4"
105 cms |
64 1⁄4"
163.2 cms |
5 7⁄8"
15 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Sold
Stock: 16486
A striking Napoleon III ebonised and parcel gilt mirror, with a bound laurel frame and acanthus corners enclosing marginal plates. The mirror has a beautifully modelled cartouche and laurel surmount.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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40 5⁄8"
103 cms |
59 3⁄8"
150.8 cms |
3 1⁄8"
8 cms |
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Sold
Stock: 16238
A large Victorian gilt gesso overmantel mirror with gently arched top supported by spiral turned columns and a slender barley twist moulding, with some foliate embellishments.
Victorian, c.1860.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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62 7⁄8"
159.7 cms |
62 7⁄8"
159.7 cms |
2 13⁄16"
7.2 cms |
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Stock: 16491
A fine Irish Regency convex mirror. The original convex plate is enclosed within a reeded ebony slip, which is bordered by an ornate giltwood ropetwist frame and mounted with acanthus scrollwork and twin candleholders. Most unusually, the surmount depicts a stag resting under an oak tree.
Irish, c.1820.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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24 3⁄8"
62 cms |
38 5⁄8"
98 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,600 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16469
A fine George III giltwood and gesso wall mirror in the Chinese Chippendale style. The rectangular mirror plate is enclosed by a delicate frame embellished with c scrolls and trailing garlands, surmounted by a palm leaf pagoda.
English, c.1765.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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27 3⁄16"
69 cms |
46 7⁄8"
119 cms |
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Listed Price: £7,900 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16317
A very large and grand Victorian Aesthetic Movement gilt gesso overmantel mirror. The top of the mirror is surmounted by a latticed gallery very much in the Aesthetic Movement taste, with a broken pediment. This is mounted over a bold egg and dart moulding, and supported on slender spindle pilasters with foliate capitals, which enclose foliate spandrels and a silvered plate.
English, c.1880.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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62 3⁄16"
158 cms |
71 11⁄16"
182 cms |
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Listed Price: £5,600 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Sold
Stock: 16485
A very fine George III wall mirror, with a delicate giltwood frame embodying the lightness of the Chippendale style, with slender c scrolls, trailing foliage and an elegant crest. The frame encloses a very foxed mercury plate.
English, c.1760.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| External |
28"
71 cms |
46 1⁄2"
118 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Sold
Stock: 16128
A fine gilt gesso George III wall mirror with delicate carving. The intricate frame has fine detailing throughout, including a well carved and delicate crest of foliate form and flowering vines and foliage within a framework of c scrolls.
English, c.1770.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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21 1⁄8"
53.5 cms |
41 1⁄4"
105 cms |
4 1⁄8"
10.5 cms |
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Stock: 16468
A very unusual George III Rococo wall mirror. The giltwood frame is carved with a wonderfully organic design, with foliate flourishes, trailing flowers and fruit, but the most unusual detail being the asymmetrical interlocking c scrolls to the lower portion of the frame.
English, c.1770.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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23 5⁄8"
60 cms |
51 5⁄8"
131 cms |
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Listed Price: £6,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16258
A large and ornate gilt gesso Louis XVI style wall mirror with a shield shaped frame,
profusely decorated with a bound laurel decoration, with applied floral swags and surmounted by a torchere and quiver crest.
French, c.1880.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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28 11⁄16"
73 cms |
55 1⁄8"
140 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16473
A charming eighteenth century wall mirror with an ogee shaped giltwood frame, surmounted by a foliate and floral crest comprising oak leaves and roses. These trail over the scrolled shoulders, the rest of the frame decorated with cross hatching. This encloses a mercury plate.
Southern French, mid-18th century.
Provenance: The contents of The Birches, Kingston-upon-Thames
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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19 1⁄4"
49 cms |
38 3⁄16"
97 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16187
A very large Victorian gilt gesso overmantel mirror, with ribbed border and floral mounts. The gilding is beautiful, with the warm red bole showing through.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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45 11⁄16"
116 cms |
67 7⁄8"
172.5 cms |
3 1⁄8"
8 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16470
A pair of ornate French giltwood wall mirrors. The shield shaped frames are ornately worked with acanthus scrolls and enclose marginal plates in mercury glass.
French, c.1800.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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22"
56 cms |
35 13⁄16"
91 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,400 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
Antique mirrors
There is something alluring about an antique mirror - perhaps the combination of a finely carved frame and the shimmering surface of original glass - that has led to their enduring appeal amongst antique furniture collectors.
A short history of antique mirrors
The earliest mirrored glass was made in Murano in the 16th century, where glass was coated in mercury and tin to create a silver reflective layer on its reverse. This process was a closely guarded secret, and spies were sent from the French court of Louis XIV to Venice to discover the process. Their efforts paid off, and the French became renowned producers in their own right. Antique mirrors were made using mercury glass until other safer methods of manufacture became more widely available in the 19th century.
Earlier antique mirrors also tend to be slightly smaller, or made with separate panels of mirrored glass, as there was not the technology to produce single sheets of large glass until the late 18th century. Only the very wealthy could afford very large panes of glass, so mirrors were objects of prestige and magnificence.
Varieties of antique mirror
Whether an antique wall mirror, an overmantel mirror or a pier mirror, it is often the frame that catches the eye. Particularly fine mirrors are carved from mahogany or rosewood, or gilded using gold leaf, rather than paint. Mirror frames tend to be made of carved wood or carved wood and gesso. They are called giltwood mirrors if a thin layer of gold leaf has been applied over the carved and primed surface. Such mirrors exude quality and vary from bright gold through to a more worn, soft patina. An antique gilded mirror is often deemed more valuable than its wooden counterpart and is seen as a timeless addition to interiors of all styles.
Eras of antique mirror
Antique overmantle mirrors embody the elegance of a period home, and can inject both sophistication and character into an interior. Victorian mirrors often come in overmantel form, as in 19th century England, the mantelpiece was the heart of the home, a space to display precious objects and convey taste. The earlier Regency overmantel mirrors were often horizontal in form and more modest in design. Victorian mirrors were not only gilt, but often carved from wood such as oak, mahogany and rosewood.
In France the overmantel mirror was similarly significant, and in many cases, much taller, utilising the space above the fireplace enabled by higher ceilings and grand rooms. These Antique French mirrors are usually gilded, and wood was not widely used without a gilded adornment.
Often smaller, antique wall mirrors are an excellent thing to hang above a piece of furniture or in a hallway, where they can create the illusion of a larger, lighter space. They are less dominant than an overmantel, and serve a function in rooms such as bedrooms or hallways.
If you are looking for an overmantel or any Antique mirrors London is the place to look. Our showroom has numerous options all on display for you to browse, from early Georgian wall mirrors through to large Aesthetic movement overmantels.