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Lot Essay
This pair of mirrors encapsulates the highly imaginative and fanciful designs of the 'French Picturesque' that prevailed in the mid-18th Century. With their naturalistic palm-wrapped pilaster frames, entwined floral swags and icicles, the mirrors recall designs from Matthias Lock and Henry Copland's A New Book of Ornaments, 1752 and Thomas Johnson's Collection of Designs, 1758. In particular, the playful music-making monkeys relate to the menagerie of exotic animals often featured in Lock’s designs, such as a bubble-blowing monkey which surmounts the cresting of a girandole dated circa 1750 (P. Ward-Jackson, English Furniture Designs, London, 1958, fig 59.)
The depiction of monkeys engaged in human activities can be traced back to prints of the Middle Ages. By the 18th century, artists such as Christophe Huet had developed the theme into a witty sub-genre of the chinoiserie style, where monkeys were shown in pursuits such as playing cards, drinking, making music, and painting. A pair of related mirrors with similar singerie cresting, formerly in the collection of Sir Charles Clockhart Ross, Balnagown Castle, Ireland, sold Sotheby’s, London, 30 June 2004, lot 94 (£89,600 including premium).
The depiction of monkeys engaged in human activities can be traced back to prints of the Middle Ages. By the 18th century, artists such as Christophe Huet had developed the theme into a witty sub-genre of the chinoiserie style, where monkeys were shown in pursuits such as playing cards, drinking, making music, and painting. A pair of related mirrors with similar singerie cresting, formerly in the collection of Sir Charles Clockhart Ross, Balnagown Castle, Ireland, sold Sotheby’s, London, 30 June 2004, lot 94 (£89,600 including premium).