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: 16749
A pair of small, pleasantly distressed Victorian Aesthetic period wall mirrors, with the diamond registration mark for 1878. Each gilt and ebonised frame is decorated with painted stylised foliage, fruit and flowers in the typically Aesthetic movement style. The central painted tablet at the top of the frame sits below a pediment which is flanked by a balustrade and painted frieze, all topped off with turned finials.
English, circa 1878.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| Each |
26 13⁄16"
68 cms |
40 7⁄8"
104 cms |
2 5⁄8"
6.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,700 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16754
A fine and large profusely decorated French gilt gesso overmantel mirror in the Rococo taste. The deeply moulded arched frame is carved with floral and foliate motifs in low relief, and encloses the original bevelled plate. The pediment is boldly carved with foliate c-scrolls and floral embellishment, centred by a stylised shell.
French, circa 1850
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| Top |
38"
96.5 cms |
70 1⁄4"
178.6 cms |
9 13⁄16"
25 cms |
| Bottom |
36 13⁄16"
93.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £6,500 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16750
A pretty, late 19th century French gilt gesso overmantle mirror. The pierced cresting of twining, scrolling acanthus and floral decoration is centred by a neoclassical flaming urn. Above an arched, heavily moulded and beaded frame.
French, circa 1890.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
|
32 3⁄8"
82.4 cms |
62 5⁄8"
159 cms |
5 7⁄8"
15 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,300 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16268
A late 19th century gilt framed overmantle mirror. The moulded gilt frame enriched with foliate decoration, this is crowned by pierced cresting of a pair of winged griffons ether side of a central framed cartouche.
English, circa 1880.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
|
33 1⁄8"
84 cms |
61"
155 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16772
A Regency giltwood and gesso overmantle mirror. The arched gilt rope twist frame is terminated with a scroll and acanthus, on a black lacquered plinth, frames the original mercury plate.
English, circa 1830.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
|
63"
160 cms |
42 11⁄16"
108.5 cms |
3"
7.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,850 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16700
A fine and boldly carved Spanish parcel gilt and ebonised overmantle Baroque style mirror. The tall carver and pierced crest is profusely carved with acanthus and floral decoration surrounding a central shield. This is echoed at the bottom of the richly moulded arched frame.
Spanish, circa 1890.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
|
58 7⁄8"
149.5 cms |
78 1⁄2"
199.5 cms |
3 11⁄16"
9.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 15633
An elegant and simple William IV overmantel mirror with reeded ebonised border within a gilt frame, the two columns to each side with foliate bands.
English, c.1830.
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Width |
Depth |
Height |
| Top |
47 3⁄16"
120 cms |
5 11⁄16"
14.5 cms |
28 13⁄16"
73.2 cms |
| Bottom |
42 7⁄8"
109 cms |
4 1⁄8"
10.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16696
An unusual Italian giltwood wall mirror in the Rococo style. The original mercury glass plate is enclosed by the frame, which is very organic in form, with rocaille c scrolls and trailing foliage forming an asymmetrical border. Possibly a more provincial piece from the Veneto, rather than the grand Venetian mirrors often associated with this style, and very charming for it.
Italian, Veneto, c.1760.
Awaiting restoration to some small losses.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
|
42 1⁄2"
108 cms |
56 1⁄2"
143.5 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16624
A charming Victorian giltwood overmantel mirror, the arched frame mounted with an acanthine and shell surmount, this decoration is echoed on the bottom of the frame. English, c.1860.
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Width |
Height |
|
|
40 7⁄8"
104 cms |
65 11⁄16"
167 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16673
An extraordinarily fine and large George II pier mirror in the manner of Thomas Johnson (1723-1778). The giltwood frame is finely carved, embracing the asymmetry of the Rococo style, with c scrolls, rocaille, waterfalls and acanthine motifs, surmounted by a ho-ho bird. This exquisite frame encloses the original plate, which has been later re-silvered, but you will notice the undulations of the original plate.
English, c.1760.
Please note that the backboards were likely replaced when the mirror plate was re-silvered. Awaiting further research.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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28 11⁄16"
73 cms |
67 1⁄8"
170.5 cms |
4 11⁄16"
12 cms |
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Listed Price: £22,000 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16657
A large Regency Period convex wall mirror, having a reeded ebony border and applied ball decoration, within an ornate gilt gesso surround modelled as scrolling acanthus leaves.
English, c.1820.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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29 7⁄8"
76 cms |
49 13⁄16"
126.5 cms |
3 1⁄4"
8.5 cms |
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|
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Listed Price: £2,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16554
An ornate antique French wall mirror with cushioned marginal plates. The egg and dart and bead and husk frame is surmounted by a typically French ribboned rose and laurel garland.
French, mid-19th century.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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36 3⁄8"
92.5 cms |
50"
127 cms |
5 1⁄2"
14 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16042
A fine French 18th century Louis XVI gilt gesso mirror, with a beaded slip and trailing leaves decorating the frame. There is a beautifully modelled laurel ribboned garland centred by a quiver of arrows and a trophies of war to the surmount. This detail perhaps alludes to the unrest in France at the end of the 18th century.
French, c.1780.
Original gilding but a later mirror plate.
Provenance: From the estate of the late Marguerite Littman.
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Width |
Height |
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32 1⁄4"
82 cms |
69 13⁄16"
177.2 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,000 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16699
A fine French Louis XVI gilt gesso overmantel mirror with an elegant tongue and dart moulding to the frame, which is beautifully burnished so to contrast with the matte gilding which borders it. This is surmounted by a spray of olive leaves and a corbel cartouche. The fine frame encloses a crisply bevelled mirror plate.
French, mid-19th century.
Provenance: The Grange, Wendover.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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46 1⁄8"
117 cms |
68 7⁄8"
175 cms |
4 11⁄16"
12 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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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.
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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: 16689
A fine and ornate giltwood Louis XVI overmantel mirror profusely decorated with floral swags and sprays of laurel and surmounted by an urnular crest filled with flowers.
French, mid-19th century.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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38 13⁄16"
98.5 cms |
68 11⁄16"
174.5 cms |
3 1⁄2"
9 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16660
A fine gilt gesso 19th century mirror in the manner of William Kent. The rectangular mirrored plate in enclosed by a bead and reel moulded slip, and the frame is embossed with a scrolling foliate design and a diamond pattern, with stippling to the lower portion of the frame. The mirror is topped with a broken pediment, centred by a central cartouche.
English, c.1860.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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24 1⁄4"
61.7 cms |
49 3⁄8"
125.5 cms |
2 13⁄16"
7 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 16671
A fine 18th century giltwood Rococo wall mirror. The mirror frame is confidently and finely carved, with c-scrolls, acanthine flourishes and trailing flowers, typical motifs of the Rococo style. The gilding is lovely, and beautifully burnished to give the gold a soft glow.
English, c.1770.
Later mirror plate.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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23 3⁄16"
59 cms |
47 3⁄16"
120 cms |
2 3⁄8"
6 cms |
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Listed Price: £5,400 (+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: 16651
A beautiful French oval wall mirror, the egg and dart frame enclosing a bevelled plate, and topped with a Rococo surmount and trailing flowers. The gilding has been rubbed back to give it a soft glow of warmth from the red bole underneath.
French, mid-19th century.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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23 3⁄16"
59 cms |
36 5⁄8"
93 cms |
4 11⁄16"
12 cms |
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Listed Price: £1,800 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 9515
A large and grand finely carved oak mirror in the Chippendale Rococo manner, with shell, rocaille floral and scroll work typical of the period. English, 19th century.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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82 11⁄16"
210 cms |
70 7⁄8"
180 cms |
5 1⁄8"
13 cms |
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Listed Price: £5,200 (+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)
More info?
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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.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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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.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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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.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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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: 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.1850.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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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.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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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.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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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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Sold
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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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.