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Lot Essay
The overall shape and naturalistic ornament of this pair of mirrors are closely related to a mirror of larger proportions (approx. 6 ft. high) and surmounted by birds, which is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (G. Wills, English Looking Glasses, London, 1965, p. 100, fig. 91). An identical mirror was previously in the Tom Devenish Collection and later sold at Sotheby's New York, 23 May 2012, lot 408 ($28,125); and an identical pair was noted in that latter catalogue, possibly these mirrors, as having been sold at Phillips, London in the 1970s.
THE GILDING
An analysis of the gilding on this pair of mirrors revealed that the front of the each mirror has been stripped and the present water-gilt scheme is recent. The backs, however, were not stripped and show that the mirrors have been decorated several times, with layers of yellow paint and gesso separated by thick coats of dirt, representing a number of different phases of re-decoration.
THE GILDING
An analysis of the gilding on this pair of mirrors revealed that the front of the each mirror has been stripped and the present water-gilt scheme is recent. The backs, however, were not stripped and show that the mirrors have been decorated several times, with layers of yellow paint and gesso separated by thick coats of dirt, representing a number of different phases of re-decoration.