How heavy should an overmantel be?

Edwardian mirrors with their original plate glass carry substantial weight. The thick, bevelled plates used during this period are much heavier than modern float glass equivalents. You must ensure your wall fixings are load-bearing. Plasterboard alone cannot take the strain without locating the studwork or using heavy-duty toggle fixings.

I bought an oval frame with a very dull grey reflection, and I'm wondering if there is any way to clean the dark spots behind the glass?

Those dark spots are known in the trade as foxing. They occur when damp reaches the silvering on the reverse of the plate, causing the chemical coating to break down and detach from the glass surface. You cannot clean them away from the front. The only way to remove them is to have the glass stripped and re-silvered by a specialist. Most dealers prefer to leave the plate alone, as original foxing adds character and confirms the age of the piece.

Can you replace missing inlay?

Missing sections of boxwood stringing or satinwood crossbanding are routine jobs for a restorer. They cut new veneer to match the gap and glue it into the original channel. Once the new timber is coloured back and polished, the repair blends into the surrounding frame. It is a simple fix that brings a tired piece back to life.

The wooden backboards on my mahogany mirror are splitting down the middle, so should I tape them up or pull them off completely?

Leave the original backboards exactly as they are. Shrinkage splits in pine deal boards are a natural result of central heating drying out the timber over a century. Taping them traps moisture and pulling them off destroys the historical integrity of the piece. If the glass feels loose, a restorer can add small wooden blocks inside the frame rebate to secure it without altering the original back.

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Edwardian Mirrors

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Edwardian mirrors typically feature light mahogany or walnut frames with delicate inlay, serving both as functional looking glasses and as understated decorative accents that brightened the formal reception rooms of early twentieth-century homes.