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Lot Essay
This sophisticated pier mirror can be attributed on stylistic grounds to John Belchier (fl.1699 - d.1753). Described by a contemporary as 'a very eminent cabinetmaker', he is recorded with premises at 'The Sun' on the south side of St. Paul's Churchyard London from at least 1717. Renowned for supplying mirrors, one of his printed trade bills records that he was making up and providing 'all sorts of fine Peer and Chimney-Glasses and Glass Sconces' (Ed. Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Furniture History Society, Leeds, 1986, pp. 59-60). Belchier's most significant known commissions include the provision of mirrors to St. Paul's Cathedral and during the same period, between 1722 and 26, of pier glasses and furniture to John Meller at Erddig in Clwyd, North Wales. Of the extant mirrors at Erdigg, one in carved and gilded gesso and of the 'most expensive glass' at a cost of £50 was installed in the Best Bedchamber. The flattened arch to the top of the Erddig mirror incorporates a bold double-scroll flourish that is reflected in the ornamentation of the example offered here (Adam Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture 1715-1740, Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, 2009, p. 292). A second mirror, on a less impressive scale but surmounted in a similar fashion and also attributed to Belchier was sold from the Pearson collection, Dunecht House, Aberdeen, in that case the plume was centred by a mask, rather than the clam shell seen here (sold, The Cowdray Sale, Christie's House Sale, 13-15 September, 2011, lot 211 - £21,250). A further related mirror with a similar plumed mask, also attributed to Belchier, formerly in the Untermyer Collection, is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, (Yvonne Hackenbroch, Highlights of the Untermyer Collection of English and Continental Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1977, p. 73, no. 126).
It is interesting to note that this mirror, the outer frame of the pier mirror, lot 50, and the two triple-plate overmantel mirrors all appear to have been supplied by the same maker, with the three larger sharing the same distinctive corner bracing to the reverse (see also lots 110 & 120) suggesting that they were all commissioned together, possibly for Ombersley, by Samuel, 1st Baron Sandys when the house was built and remained there since. Furthermore, the table in the following lot, may also have formed part of the same commission. It seems likely that this mirror may have hung between the windows in the boudoir (or drawing room, as it appears to have been called in the 18th century inventory), for most of its existence and it is possible that it was commissioned for that room and hung there from new till the house was sold in 2017.
It is interesting to note that this mirror, the outer frame of the pier mirror, lot 50, and the two triple-plate overmantel mirrors all appear to have been supplied by the same maker, with the three larger sharing the same distinctive corner bracing to the reverse (see also lots 110 & 120) suggesting that they were all commissioned together, possibly for Ombersley, by Samuel, 1st Baron Sandys when the house was built and remained there since. Furthermore, the table in the following lot, may also have formed part of the same commission. It seems likely that this mirror may have hung between the windows in the boudoir (or drawing room, as it appears to have been called in the 18th century inventory), for most of its existence and it is possible that it was commissioned for that room and hung there from new till the house was sold in 2017.