Looking Glass

Dateca. 1750

MediumDeal, gesso, gilt, and glass

DimensionsOH: 85"; OW: 42"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1936-380,1

DescriptionCarved deal, gesso and gold gilt looking glass with multiple shaped mirrored glass pieces around lower rectangular mirror; phoenix figures and elaborate rococco scroll and leaf designs.Label TextObjects in the rococo taste often featured frothy confections of three-dimensional, naturalistic carving. The fashion was popularized by Thomas Chippendale, Thomas Johnson, and other English designers who published drawings for exuberantly and whimsically carved household furnishings. Some artisans followed them exactly and others used them as inspiration for their own creations. Gilt looking glasses were especially well suited for such work. The example seen here is one of a pair that once hung in a large English country house.

Expansive sheets of plate glass were costly and often broke during production. Complex frames like this one allowed the maker to extend the expanse of glass by incorporating smaller pieces into a complex frame.
ProvenanceFormerly at Milton Abbey, Dorset, England