NAPLES, EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF SOUTH ITALIAN GILT-VARNISHED SILVERED (MECCA) MIRRORS
NAPLES, EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Each with arched rectangular divided plate within a moulded frame, carved with foliate scrolls, flowerheads, and interlaced strapwork, the pierced cresting centered by a cartouche-shaped plate headed by a husk-adorned stylised shell, the apron decorated with rockwork and foliate scrolls
Each: 111 in. (282 cm.) high; 53 in. (134.5 cm.) wide (2)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This rare pair of Neapolitan mirrors retains its original gilt-varnished silvered ('mecca') decoration, a decorative technique commonly used in the South of Italy, achieving a gilding with a deep luster. Interestingly, a pair of giltwood mirrors of related features is in Palazzo del Principe in Genoa and illustrated in A. González-Palacios, Il Mobile in Liguria, Genoa, 1996, p. 118, ill. 142.

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