Mid C18th Italian Mirror

A mid 18th Century Florentine carved and parcel-gilt frame and mirror, the well-defined frame of c-scrolls, convex and concave shapes, decorated with flowers and fruit, surmounted with a boldly carved shell crest over a pair of putti heads and gold wings, reminiscent of William Kent’s bed he designed for Sir Robert Walpole at Houghton Hall in 1722. In very good condition, the mirror plate having been replaced the back showing signs of repair and evidence of a super structure rising above the shell.

This attractive mirror with its fine proportions and bold outlines is characteristic of the Italian Baroque and late-Baroque aesthetic. It placed a high premium on lively surfaces and interlacing shapes and forms. In an age before electric and gas lighting, the reflective surfaces of mirror glass and decorative elements either gilded or polished, added to the appeal and richness of well-appointed eighteenth-century domestic spaces.