What timber are they usually made from?

Mahogany, in half the titles on Sellingantiques: 267 of 516. Walnut is second at 72, and oak appears only twelve times. Beyond those, satinwood, rosewood, kingwood, harewood, laburnum, burr elm and padouk are named where they occur, generally in higher-placed listings.

How old are most of these mirrors?

The dated field runs from 1700 to 1930, but the ends are thin: the earliest rests on a single early walnut mirror, the latest on a 1930 oak Arts and Crafts piece and a walnut Art Deco one. The bulk sits under era labels rather than years. Georgian accounts for 109 entries, 18th Century 84, 19th Century 74, Regency 41, Victorian 35 and Edwardian only 15. Titles are often more specific than the date field, naming George I, George II, George III, George IV or William IV.

Why are they called toilet mirrors?

It's the period term for a small mirror on a stand for the dressing table, from the days when a lady's or gentleman's toilet meant dressing and grooming. Dealers use toilet mirror and dressing table mirror for the same object, frequently in one title. Dressing appears in 210 titles, dressing table in 129.

What is a cheval toilet mirror?

A mirror standing in its own free-standing frame rather than swinging from a box base, made here at table-top scale. Thirteen titles use the term. One of the odder examples in the archive is a Chinese Qing cheval inlaid with mother of pearl.

Are Continental examples common?

No. English hardwood pieces dominate, and everything else is scattered well under a tenth of the archive. French mirrors number about ten, with a small run of Dutch marquetry. Italian, Swedish birch, Russian and Vienna, Anglo-Indian teak and padouk examples are single sightings.

Which unusual forms turn up in this category?

Rarely, but they exist: a commode seat mirror, a boot maker's mirror, a gentleman's travelling shaving mirror, a telescopic shaving mirror on a stand, a hand-held ebonised double-sided mirror and a miniature dressing mirror. Bureau-fitted mirrors, where the base works as a small writing fitment, appear a handful of times and sit at the very top of the range, one of them black lacquered and Queen Anne.

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Antique Toilet Mirrors

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A small mirror that swings between two uprights on a dressing table or chest, usually raised on a shallow drawered base that held combs, pins and cosmetics.