A Monumental Pair of 19thC Venetian Engraved Glass Octagonal Mirrors c.1870
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Origin: Venetian
Period: Mid/ Late 19thC
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1870
Height: 40”
Width: 33”
Depth: 3” (each)
The truly exceptional and unusually large pair of nineteenth century Venetian mirrors, each of architectural octagonal form, the substantial central octagonal mirror plates surrounded by two graduated tiers of individually cut mirrored glass panels, extensively wheel-engraved with scrolling foliage, flowers and stylised floral motifs, the individual sections divided by slender moulded glass slips and elaborate applied foliate and flower-head clasps, with further twisted glass edging around the perimeters, the complexity of their construction having copious separate pieces of glass thus producing an extraordinary depth and jewel-like quality and surviving in unmeddled with condition.
The mirrors survive in wonderfully atmospheric order, with extensive natural foxing, silvering, clouding and oxidisation throughout the original-looking plates, together with the expected small chips, losses and historic movement associated with objects of this age and complexity. Importantly, they have not been over-restored. They have recently undergone careful conservation, principally to secure and reinstate loose sections of the spiral/twisted glass ornament and other vulnerable elements, while deliberately preserving the historic surface and appearance. There remain minor losses and imperfections to some applied ornament and glass elements, all commensurate with age and visible in the photographs. The reverses show the original panels and we have added substantial hanging chains for wall display.
Venice had been internationally celebrated for its mirror manufacture since the Renaissance, with the glassmakers of Murano developing increasingly elaborate methods of cutting, engraving and assembling mirrored glass. By the nineteenth century the great Venetian tradition was being revived for an international clientele fascinated by the historic interiors of Venice. Mirrors of this type became compositions in glass in their own right: rather than enclosing a plate within a conventional carved frame, the frame itself was constructed from mirror, engraved and applied with individually worked glass ornament. The remarkable survival of two matching mirrors of this scale is considerably more compelling than a single example, allowing them to be hung either as a formal pair or opposing one another within a room.
A magnificent and highly decorative pair of Venetian mirrors whose considerable scale is matched by the extraordinary richness of their construction. Their beautifully deteriorated silvering gives them a quality that would be impossible to reproduce convincingly today: simultaneously grand, romantic and slightly ghostly. As a pair, they have tremendous presence and are among those rare antiques where age has arguably made the objects considerably more beautiful.
