How many girandoles come up for sale?

About nineteen a year come to market on Sellingantiques, and 87 different dealers have listed one at some point. That spread tells you something. It's a form almost every mirror dealer handles occasionally, rather than anyone's specialism.

Are girandoles usually sold in pairs?

Pairs are the common way they come. The word appears in a large share of titles, and matched pairs sit at the top of the archive. Singles do turn up, and dealers tend to flag them in the title so there's no confusion.

What period do most examples date from?

The dated field runs from 1750 to 1930. The single most-used label is the vague "19th Century", followed by Regency and Victorian, three overlapping ways of describing much the same thing. Only eight listings are called 18th Century. There's a tail of 1920s and 1930s revival pieces at the other end, several of them Florentine or Regency-style pairs.

Why do so many listings say convex mirror?

The circular convex plate in a gilded frame is closely tied to the Regency period in Britain, and it makes up a good slice of the archive. It's more prominent in current stock than in the sold record, so a browse now will show more of them than the archive would suggest.

Are all girandole frames gilded wood?

Most of what appears is gilding on wood or gesso, sometimes over moulded composition instead of carving. Metal frames make up a smaller steady group. Cast brass turns up in fifteen titles, with bronze and ormolu appearing only a few times each, plus one hand-beaten Arts and Crafts brass frame.

Do Italian girandoles appear on the site?

Italy is the recurring foreign origin. Venetian, Florentine and Italian giltwood pairs appear across the whole range of the archive. Several of the Florentine ones are 1920s and 1930s revival pairs rather than earlier work.