A Large Victorian Giltwood & Gesso Girandole Mirror by Charles Nosotti

A Beautiful Victorian Gilt Wood & Gesso Girandole Mirror by Charles Nosotti of Oxford Street, London. The large mirror of oval form topped with central crest and leaf detail. The outer frame with acanthus leaf detail terminates with three sconces with petal supports. In fantastic original condition with some foxing to the plate which you would expect on a mirror of this age. Makers plate to reverse. A handsome mirror that will be further enhanced with flickering candles reflecting in it! Ideal for a bedroom, bathroom, lounge or hallway.

Charles Andrew Nosotti (1798-1854) was born in or near Milan. His year of birth is recorded on his plaque on the Dissenters’ Chapel at Kensal Green Cemetery. According to a subsequent claim, he was in business in London by 1822. In 1827 he married Amelia Ruenia Garbanati, daughter of Joseph Garbanati, another Italian carver and gilder in London. Initially, he seems to have traded as Andrea Nosotti with Francis Nosotti, possibly his brother, as looking glass manufacturers, until the partnership of A. and F. Nosotti, also styled as A. Nosotti & Co, 21 New Compton St, was dissolved in 1826 (The Times 16 November 1826). Andrea Nosotti appears to be the individual listed as A. Nosotti at 19 Great Windmill St in 1828, and as Andrea Nosotti at 2 Dean St in 1829. Francis Nosotti traded at 298 Oxford St as a looking glass and picture Frame Maker, 1829-31. C.A. Nosotti was listed at 198 Oxford St in 1838, perhaps in error since he appears at 398 Oxford St thereafter. Charles Andrew Nosotti advertised a sale of his surplus stock when he moved to Oxford St in 1838, including pier and chimney glasses in rich gilt frames, console and pier tables, cornices, picture frames etc (The Times 9 July 1838). His new showroom was at 399 Oxford St, with his gilders’ shop in adjoining premises around the corner in Great Chapel St, according to plans lodged with the Metropolitan Building Office. He produced a Victorian marquetry side cabinet in conjunction with Howard and Sons for J.D. Allcrofts house at Lancaster Gate, later removed to Stokesay Court. Commissions included a cabinet for the Countess Waldegrave for Strawberry Hill, exhibited at the 1862 London Exhibition. Two other notable commissions were undertaken for Catholic patrons, in the late 1850s decoration of the chapels of the London Oratory at Brompton (‘The London Oratory’, Survey of London, vol.41, South Kensington, 1983, p.51) and in the late 1860s and 1870s refurbishment at Norfolk House in London (Country Life, 23 May 1991, p.98; Apollo, June 2006, p.57, n.9). Nosotti supplied the frames for James Sant’s Duc d’Aumalle and Duchesse d’Aumalle, exh.1860 (Royal Collection). In his will, made 11 July 1853 and proved 18 April 1854, Nosotti requested to be buried in the Basilica of St George at Cuggiono, near Milan, presumably his birthplace, but his remains were housed in the Dissenters’ Chapel catacomb at Kensal Green Cemetery, according to the cemetery’s records.