Antique Furniture

Antique Mirrors

Mirrors have a long history of use both as household objects and as objects of decoration. The first man made mirrors were constructed out of volcania rock called obsidian and dated back to 6000BC.  Greek mirrors dating back to 400 BC were uncovered and found to have carved wooden frames and handles and were made from silver, brass, bronze and copper, polished to a reflective surface.

The use of glass with a metallic backing commenced in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, and, by the time of the Renaissance, Nürnberg and Venice had established outstanding reputations as centres of mirror production.
From the late 17th century onward, mirrors and their frames played an increasingly important part in the decoration of rooms. The early frames were usually of ivory, silver, ebony, or tortoiseshell or were veneered with marquetry of walnut, olive, and laburnum

In 1835 a German chemistry professor was the first to product a glass mirror using a perfected silvering technique.  Mirrors were silvered with tin, mercury or silver.  Today, aluminium is the main metal used for mirror silvering.  

By the end of the 18th century, painted decoration largely supplanted carving on mirrors, the frames being decorated with floral patterns or classical ornaments. At the same time, the French started producing circular mirrors, usually surrounded by a Neoclassical gilt frame that sometimes supported candlesticks, which enjoyed great popularity well into the 19th century. Improved skill in mirror making also made possible the introduction of the cheval glass, a freestanding full-length mirror, supported on a frame with four feet. These were mainly used for dressing purposes, though occasionally they had a decorative function.

New, cheaper techniques of mirror production in the 19th century led to a great proliferation in their use. Not only were they incorporated into pieces of furniture, such as wardrobes and sideboards, but they were also used extensively in decorative schemes for public places.

Toilet Mirrors

Toilet mirrors became popular in the eighteenth century and can be divided into fixed, swinging and triptych or three fold mirrors.  The most common is the swing mirror which has a base with drawers in it of sufficient depth to make them valuable for the disposal of various toiletries. Some toilet mirrors stand in a simple frame on feet with no drawers in the base.  The outstanding advantage of the toilet mirror is that they can be arranged on a table or chest sufficiently high to make a practical dressing table and never appear out of place.

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