CIRCA 1740

This grand mirror encapsulates the naturalistic, highly individual designs frequently termed the 'French Picturesque Fashion' that prevailed in important commissions at the middle of the 18th Century. Its distinctive combination of reeds embellished with paired dragons and a laurel-crowned mask draws upon the designs of London cabinet-maker Matthias Lock (d.1765) and is derived from a 'sconce' pattern in his Six Sconces, 1744, pl. 4. (M. Snodin ed, Rococo; Art and design in Hogarth's England, London, 1984, pl. XIII and L4). A related mirror by Lock was supplied to the 2nd Earl Poulett for the Tapestry Room at Hinton House, Somerset (c.1735) now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (D. Fitz-Gerald, Georgian Furniture, 1969, pl.40).