.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
This rare and highly decorative mirror is distinguished by its exquisite chinoiserie verre églomisé decoration, combining the brilliance of reverse-painted and gilded glass with the exotic ornamental vocabulary that captivated French patrons during the early 18th century. Richly engraved and heightened with gilding, the decoration incorporates delicate chinoiserie motifs alongside grotesque and arabesque ornament derived from the designs of the celebrated ornemaniste Jean Bérain, reflecting the sophisticated taste and technical virtuosity of the Régence period.
The technique of verre églomisé, practiced since Antiquity, consists of applying gold or silver leaf to the reverse of a glass panel, engraving the design with a dry point, and subsequently backing the composition with coloured varnishes. The resulting effect combines exceptional luminosity with remarkable precision of detail. In France, the fashion for verre églomisé experienced a revival during the early 18th century, preceding the widespread enthusiasm for European lacquer and chinoiserie decoration. The term itself derives from Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711–1786), the Parisian print merchant and engraver associated with the renewed popularity of the process.
Verre églomisé mirrors represented some of the most technically demanding and costly luxury furnishings of their day. Their manufacture required the collaboration of highly skilled glassmakers, gilders, engravers and decorators, while their inherent fragility ensured that relatively few examples have survived. As a result, they remain among the rarest expressions of French decorative art from the period.
Known surviving examples are exceptionally scarce and appear in blue, black and red grounds. Comparable mirrors with very related Chinoiserie decoration and with similar giltwood clasps include red-ground examples formerly in the René Weiller Collection, sold at Sotheby's Monaco, 15 June 1996 as well as a red-ground example from the collection of Lucian Solanet illustrated in Connoisseur in November 1987. Exapmles on blue-ground include on sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 13 February 1983, lot 430, and another preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor. A black-ground mirror featuring the metamorphosis of Daphne and formerly in the Collection of Wendell Cherry was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 20 May 1994, lot 96. Another example on black ground was sold Phillips New York, 11 June 2002, lot 27.
As with these celebrated comparables, the present mirror displays ornament ultimately derived from Jean Bérain's published ornamental designs of circa 1690. Here, however, the addition of finely executed chinoiserie elements lends the composition a particularly fashionable and exotic character, reflecting the growing fascination with Asian-inspired decoration among French collectors. The engraved gilding and richly coloured verre églomisé panels, would have formed a striking complement to the contemporaneous marquetry furniture of André-Charles Boulle and his circle.
The technique of verre églomisé, practiced since Antiquity, consists of applying gold or silver leaf to the reverse of a glass panel, engraving the design with a dry point, and subsequently backing the composition with coloured varnishes. The resulting effect combines exceptional luminosity with remarkable precision of detail. In France, the fashion for verre églomisé experienced a revival during the early 18th century, preceding the widespread enthusiasm for European lacquer and chinoiserie decoration. The term itself derives from Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711–1786), the Parisian print merchant and engraver associated with the renewed popularity of the process.
Verre églomisé mirrors represented some of the most technically demanding and costly luxury furnishings of their day. Their manufacture required the collaboration of highly skilled glassmakers, gilders, engravers and decorators, while their inherent fragility ensured that relatively few examples have survived. As a result, they remain among the rarest expressions of French decorative art from the period.
Known surviving examples are exceptionally scarce and appear in blue, black and red grounds. Comparable mirrors with very related Chinoiserie decoration and with similar giltwood clasps include red-ground examples formerly in the René Weiller Collection, sold at Sotheby's Monaco, 15 June 1996 as well as a red-ground example from the collection of Lucian Solanet illustrated in Connoisseur in November 1987. Exapmles on blue-ground include on sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 13 February 1983, lot 430, and another preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor. A black-ground mirror featuring the metamorphosis of Daphne and formerly in the Collection of Wendell Cherry was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 20 May 1994, lot 96. Another example on black ground was sold Phillips New York, 11 June 2002, lot 27.
As with these celebrated comparables, the present mirror displays ornament ultimately derived from Jean Bérain's published ornamental designs of circa 1690. Here, however, the addition of finely executed chinoiserie elements lends the composition a particularly fashionable and exotic character, reflecting the growing fascination with Asian-inspired decoration among French collectors. The engraved gilding and richly coloured verre églomisé panels, would have formed a striking complement to the contemporaneous marquetry furniture of André-Charles Boulle and his circle.