Antique Barbola Mirrors
A small dressing-table or wall mirror whose frame carries barbola: moulded, hand-painted gesso flowers applied in relief around the plate, made for British bedrooms and boudoirs between the wars.
Antique Barbola Mirrors
Barbola is a decorative treatment rather than a factory. Composition or gesso is moulded into flowers, painted by hand and applied in relief to a frame. It gave an inexpensive looking-glass a decorative finish, which is why it settled on dressing-table pieces, boxes and other bedroom furnishings in Britain between the wars.
The version you'll meet most often on Sellingantiques is a small standing mirror of the 1930s. Of the nine listings in the archive, six carry a 1930s date, and standing formats outnumber wall-hung ones four to one: easel backs, table mirrors, dressing-table mirrors, one described as a cheval. A single wall mirror appears against them.
Frame shapes are oval or shaped, with the oval the only shape named more than once. A triple-plate dressing mirror, with a central glass and two hinged wings, turns up once. Titles reach for Art Deco or Deco era as the period label in four cases, the commonest framing after the word barbola itself.
Dating is approximate. Every dated piece falls between 1920 and 1930, several hedged with a c1920 or c1930, and one labelled Edwardian while its own title says early twentieth century. The category has no earlier or later tail here at all.
Where The Range Splits
Glass count does most of the work. The one triple-plate dressing-table mirror in the archive sits at the very top of the range, and single-plate mirrors hold the lower end. More plate means more frame, more barbola and a piece built to sit on a dressing table rather than lean on it.
After that it's the glass itself and the format. Bevelled plate is specified in a single title out of nine, and that piece is near the top too. Dressing-table and table formats sit above the plain floral easel mirrors at the foot of the range.
How much the decoration is spelled out tracks the money as well. Listings that name floral work, gesso floral decoration or barbola work occupy the middle and upper part of the range, while a bare description of a floral barbola mirror sits at the bottom.
Antique Barbola Mirrors Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for barbola mirrors, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
Every dated barbola mirror on Sellingantiques falls between 1920 and 1930, so the category has no earlier or later tail at all.
The Antique Barbola Mirrors Glossary
- Barbola
- Moulded and hand-painted composition or gesso ornament, usually flowers, applied in relief to a frame.
- Plate
- The silvered glass itself, as distinct from the frame around it.
- Easel back
- A hinged strut behind the frame that lets the mirror stand on a table.
- Bevelled
- A plate with an angled, polished border running around its edge.
- Triple plate
- A dressing mirror with a central glass and two hinged side wings.
- Cheval
- Strictly a mirror on its own supports, used loosely in these titles of a standing dressing mirror.
Antique Barbola Mirrors: Frequently Asked Questions
Are barbola mirrors meant to stand or hang?
Standing, for the most part. Easel, cheval, table and dressing-table formats outnumber wall-hung examples four to one in the archive.
Only one listing describes a wall mirror, and it was titled as Art Deco barbola work.
What is barbola actually made from?
Moulded composition or gesso, a plaster-and-size paste, modelled into flowers and painted by hand.
The flowers are applied in relief onto the frame, so the decoration stands proud of the surface rather than being painted flat.
One title in the archive names gesso directly.
When were these mirrors made?
Between the wars. Every dated piece on Sellingantiques falls between 1920 and 1930, and six of the nine are given a 1930s date.
Several titles hedge with a c1920 or c1930, so treat the years as approximations. One piece is labelled Edwardian while its own title reads early twentieth century.
Who made barbola mirrors?
The listings don't name anyone. Barbola describes the decorative technique, not a workshop, and no maker, factory or retailer appears anywhere in this archive.
Dealers date and describe these by their form and decoration instead.
Why do dealers call them Art Deco?
It's the period label the trade reaches for. Four of the nine titles use Art Deco or Deco era, making it the commonest descriptive framing after the word barbola.
It sits comfortably enough with the 1920s and 1930s dates the rest of the listings carry.
How often do barbola mirrors come up for sale?
Rarely. About two a year are listed on Sellingantiques, and five dealers have handled them between them.
That makes the category a small one, with a narrow spread of dates and forms behind it.