A Pair of George III Giltwood Mirrors, Circa 1765

Jeremy Ltd., London, April 1981;

The Collection of Fred and Kay Krehbiel, Chicago, Hindman, Chicago, 15 March 2023 lot 7.

These mirrors, with a single plate enclosed by a pierced Rococo border, are a common model at the end of George II’s reign and the beginning of his grandson George III’s. A larger-scale variation of the mirror includes marginal plates and sometimes two principal rectangular plates, more appropriate for a larger wall space, and with more extensive carving to the crest and apron. On smaller single-plate models like the present lot, the carving on the frame generally tracks the rectangular shape of the mirror more closely; despite these differences, the high cost of a large single mirror plate, the gilt surface and the expressive, high-quality carving means that these mirrors would certainly have been considered luxurious objects in the mid-eighteenth century. The vertical uprights feature columnar supports with capitals – these appear to have been common on mirrors of the period, bringing an underlying sense of structure and support among the trailing leaves, icicles and C-scrolls of fluid, Rococo ornament.

A highly similar mirror, differing only in minor details, is illustrated in Graham Child’s important book World Mirrors.¹ Another comparable pair sold at Sotheby’s London, 7 November 1997, lot 55.

¹ Graham Child, World Mirrors, London, 1990, p.114, fig. 142.