CIRCA 1675

Details

A CHARLES II SILVERED MIRROR
CIRCA 1675
With a 19th Century rectangular bevelled plate, the frame pierced and carved with fruit, foliage, flowerheads and wheat ears, the pierced cresting framed by putti and centred by a shell, probably re-silvered over original silver and with later gilt which has now been removed
49½ in. (126 cm.) high; 38 in. (97 cm.) wide

Provenance

Acquired from Phillips & Harris, 20 September 1978.

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 form of carved mirror frame relates closely to the work of contemporary picture frame makers, and the decoration also reflects the carving found on chairs of the period. In particular there are chairs from the 1670s and 1680s featuring on their toprails and front stretchers pairs of cherubs supporting baskets of flowers. The cherubs were referred to at the time as 'boyes', for example in the bill for a set of chairs supplied to the Royal Household by Richard Price in 1686 'For 8 caine Chaires of Wallnuttree carved with Boyes and Crownes...'. While carved mirror frames were less common than veneered frames, the fashion was relatively long-lived; frames carved with 'boyes' feature in an inventory of the cabinet-maker Edward Traherne in 1675 and the form was still popular in the 1690's (A. Bowett, English Furniture 1660 - 1714, From Charles II to Queen Anne, Woodbridge, 2002).

More from Simon Sainsbury The Creation of an English Arcadia

View All