Lot Essay
It is extremely rare for mirrors of this period to bear any form of documentation. The inscription probably refers to the marchand Mesnard recorded at the Pont Notre-Dame, Paris, who, in a mid-18th century advertisement, promoted his shop as "Au duc de Bourgogne, au milieu du Pont Notre-Dame, vend Glaces, Trumeaux, Miroirs, Commodes, secretaires etc..."
This superb mirror, with its richly carved classical urn cresting and bold use of large-scale husk swags combined with fluted mirrored uprights, which retains its original plates, is a remarkable documentary example, dated 1765, of the early neo-classical style of the 1760's. Its striking use of neo-classical motifs reflects the influence of designers such as Jean-Charles Delafosse, Jean-Louis Prieur and Jean-Joseph Le Lorrain who employed antique Roman and Greek forms and promoted the fashion for the got Grec among sophisticated collectors.
This superb mirror, with its richly carved classical urn cresting and bold use of large-scale husk swags combined with fluted mirrored uprights, which retains its original plates, is a remarkable documentary example, dated 1765, of the early neo-classical style of the 1760's. Its striking use of neo-classical motifs reflects the influence of designers such as Jean-Charles Delafosse, Jean-Louis Prieur and Jean-Joseph Le Lorrain who employed antique Roman and Greek forms and promoted the fashion for the got Grec among sophisticated collectors.