Lot Essay
The exotic design of this mirror with its paired dragons, pagoda cresting and 'Chinese' fretwork reflects the fascination for the Orient as promoted by George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His ornate seaside pavilion in Brighton, begun in 1802 and presided over by designers John and Frederick Crace, shares many of these same motifs (see M.Aldrich, ed., The Craces: Royal Decorators 1768-1899, 1990). The 'Elizabethan' strapwork clasps resemble those which appear in designs published by Richard Bridgens in his Furniture with Candelabra and Interior Decoration of 1839 (see Pictorial Dictionary of British 19th Century Furniture Design, 1977, p.509).