Very Fine De Riemer Family Federal Giltwood and Églomisé-Paneled Looking Glass, New York, circa 1815

backboard retains an old retailers label for Edward Baker of Poughkeepsie and two handwritten labels, one inscribed This Elsie De Riemer / mirror belongs - / to Mark VK Sauft - / Sara S. Van Kleeck / Elizabeth Sauft North / daughter of Mary V.K. Sauft / Granddaughter of Sarah Van Kleeck; the other inscribed This mirror was owned by / Elsie Babbington De Riemer, wife / of Peter De Riemer of New York / mother of Elsie (De Riemer) Sleight / who was the wife of /Jacobus Sleight. / Jacobus Sleight and Elsie / De Riemer Sleight were the / parents of Henry A. Sleight – (who married Mary A. Ward) / the parents of Harriet S. Scott / A--- M. Sleight – Sara S. Van Kleeck. // The family of De Riemer / lived in the Glebe House / from 1796 to 1815.

Petrus De Riemer(1739-1814) and Elsie Babbington (1744-1818), Albany and Dutchess, New York;
Elsie Sleight (1777-1841), Albany and Dutchess, New York, daughter;
Henry Sleight (1817-1879), La Grange, Dutchess, New York, son;
Sara S. Van Kleek, daughter;
Mary Swift, daughter;
Elizabeth Swift North, daughter;
Christie's, New York, Important American Furniture, Silver, Prints, Folk Art and Decorative Arts, January 21, 2000, sale 9314, lot 154;
Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Losses to eglomise panel. Backboard replaced. Some refreshing to gilding.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The elaborately carved eagle flanked by flowering urns surmounting an églomisé panel, are all elements that were often incorporated in New York State during the early nineteenth century.  At one time, looking glasses of this form were called "Albany Glasses," as it was thought they were made exclusively in Albany, New York.¹ 

An example with a similarly carved eagle and frame is held in the collection of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State (illustrated in Treasures of State, edited by Alexandra Rollins, 1991, p. 238, no. 147).  Another similar example is in the Museum of the City of New York, illustrated in Barquist's American Tables and Looking Glasses, p. 325, fig. 74 and Sack's American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, p. 1533, P4582.

"The Glebe House," acquired by members of Christ Church in 1767, and later abandoned by loyalist Reverend John Beardsley when the Revolutionary War broke out, was purchased by Peter De Riemer in 1796.² The house in Poughkeepsie, New York is still open and is held by the Junior League and the Dutchess County Historical Society.

¹ Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State, curated by Clement Conger and edited by Alexandra Rollins, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991), p. 238.
² Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1990), pp. 74-75.