This is a lovely and very decorative French Rococo Revival giltwood mirror, circa 1880 in date.This mirror is richly carved with phoenix cresting to the top sides and bottom flanked by foliate acanthus rococo foliage scrolls and fitted with a rectangular mirror plate.The quality and craftsmanship of this stunning piece are absolutely superb. Add a touch of French elegance to a special place in your home with this fantastic mirror.Condition:In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.Dimensions in cm:Height 127 cm x Width 77 cm x Depth 5 cmDimensions in inches:Height 4 foot, 2 inches x Width 2 foot, 6 inches x Depth 2 inchesMirrorsare commonly used for personal grooming or admiring oneself (in which case the archaic term looking-glass is sometimes still used), decoration, and architecture.The earliest manufactured mirrors were pieces of polished stone such as obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass. In classical antiquity, mirrors were made of solid metal (bronze, later silver) and were too expensive for widespread use by common people; they were also prone to corrosion. Due to the low reflectivity of polished metal, these mirrors also gave a darker image than modern ones, making them unsuitable for indoor use with the artificial lighting of the time.The method of making mirrors out of plate glass was invented by 16th-century Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano, who covered the back of the glass with mercury, obtaining near-perfect and undistorted reflection. For over one hundred years, Venetian mirrors installed in richly decorated frames served as luxury decorations for palaces throughout Europe, but the secret of the mercury process eventually arrived in London and Paris during the 17th century, due to industrial espionage. French workshops succeeded in large scale industrialization of the process, eventually making mirrors affordable to the masses.Our reference: A3920<...

Antique Number: SA1075491

Dateline of this antique is 1880