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Object Record
Metadata
Object name |
Mirror |
Place of origin |
New York |
Materials and techniques |
mahogany and glass |
Physical description |
Hepplewhite mahogany and gilt mirror with swan neck. It has a gilt pediment with rosettes and a central urn with sheafs of wheat and leaves on wire stems. The top has a flower motif and light wood inlay. Its base is restored. |
Historical context |
The early Gregorian wall mirrors, of mahogany or walnut, with carved and gilt surround and inside enrichment, were extensively copied in America, and so faithfully that it is often extremely difficult to distinguish between the work of the Eastern States and the English originals, especially when, in the latter, the frame was surmounted by an eagle. The mirrors, both in England and America, were often made in balancing pairs. With the English mirror, the backboard was cut inside the framing, and beaded from behind, whereas, with the American, the usual custom was to make the backboard larger than the opening, and to nail it to the frame. The result was a space between the backboard and the silvered face of the glass, which, in preventing condensation or abrasion, was the better method, calculated to preserve the silvering for a greater length of time. Perhaps the American craftsmen learned by experience. |
Current exhibit |
Private Dining at Fraunces Tavern |
Catalogue number |
1963.01.018 |
Collection name |
Furniture and Decorative Arts |
Credit line |
Bequest of William Taylor Morson, 1963 |
Subjects and places |
New York United States |