VENICE, CIRCA 1720

This magnificent mirror, richly decorated with exotic Chinoiseries and mother-of-pearl, typifies the fascination Venetian craftsmen had for the alluring products of the Orient, made available through Venice's extensive trade contacts with the East. A Venetian mirror in the National Gallery, Prague, with closely related delicate japanned decoration in combination with mother-of-pearl inlay, but without the exuberant giltwood crestings of this example, is illustrated in H. Huth, Lacquer of the West, Chicago, 1971, figs. 103-4, while a mirror with similar japanned cartouches to the cresting is illustrated in G. Child, World Mirrors, London, 1990, p. 261, fig. 548. A pair of closely related Venetian mirrors was sold in these Rooms, 21 June 2000, lot 150 (£196,250).