What is the difference between a toilet and dressing mirror?

None, in practice. Both names describe the same table-top mirror on a stand, and dealers pick whichever term they favour. "Dressing" appears in 141 titles and "toilet" in 81, with "vanity" used the same way. Reading past the word to the description tells you what the object actually is.

Which wood is most common?

Mahogany, by a wide margin. It leads the timber vocabulary at 131 titles, with walnut a distant second and oak thinner again. Satinwood, kingwood, harewood, burr maple, laburnum, birch, beech, rosewood, teak and padouk each surface only once or twice across the sampled range, and they sit at the upper end of it.

Do these mirrors have drawers?

Many do. The archetype is a swing plate on a box base fitted with a single drawer or a run of two or three, and drawer counts turn up throughout the titles. Others stand on a plain shallow platform with no drawers at all.

How old are most of them?

The dealer-entered dates run from 1750 to 1950, a full two centuries, with 155 listings carrying a clean year. Much of the dating is broad rather than exact. "19th Century" is the largest single bucket, followed by Victorian, 18th Century, Georgian and Regency, all period labels rather than years.

Are wall mirrors included in this category?

Yes, around one in eight. Wall-hung pieces appear under the vanity heading, along with a handful of hall and framed mirrors, and gilt or giltwood examples including rococo frames. The table-top mirror on a stand still accounts for roughly half to two-thirds of the category.

Do vanity mirrors come as pairs?

Occasionally. Ten titles offer pairs and a couple offer trios, so more than one at a time does happen. Single pieces are the norm.

Home > Mirrors > Vanity Mirrors > Page 5

Antique Vanity Mirrors

394 items · page 5 of 25

← Page 5 of 25 →

A vanity mirror is a small dressing mirror, usually a wooden plate on a stand that tilts, made for washing, shaving and dressing rather than for hanging on a wall.