Gilded wood mirror, Paris Regency period circa 1720

Important mirror in lime wood, finely carved, engraved and gilded.

The frame is made of baguettes "à la Bérain", decorated with friezes of gadroons, flowers and bundles of acanthus.
It is supported by two feet carved with shells.

The central glass is framed by beveled rods "in the manner of Venice", it is framed on each side by large beveled glass panels decorated with spandrels with falls of interlacing, shells and flowers of lily of the valley, and a mask of fame ("un masque de renommée") in the lower part.

The amounts are treated in the manner of an ancient temple and support Corinthian capitals with delicate openwork.
On the sides, two acanthus scrolls ending in eagles' heads support the imposing original pediment.

The latter, finely openwork with horns of plenty, music trophies, and antique style cassolettes on a mirror background, is topped with a large acanthus leaf.

Rare state of preservation ; original gilding, original backgrounds and glasses with mercury.

Parisian work from the Regency period (1715-1723) attributable to the royal ice factory of Saint-Gobain.

Dimensions :

Height : 195 cm ; Width : 110 cm.

Our opinion :

The exceptional mirror that we present is characteristic of the most beautiful French productions of the Regency period.
The rich ornamentation "à la Bérain", is wonderfully rendered by the finesse of the sculpture and the meticulous work of engraving in the primers which constitutes in our eyes the quintessence of the art of gilding in France in the XVIIIth century.
The talent of the gilder who worked on our mirror is added to that of the royal manufacture of the glasses, which excels in the polishing of glass and produces glasses of great qualities.

Unlike small factories, the glass is not blown but poured on the floor, which gives a smooth surface, with a homogeneous distribution of mercury, and thus a virtually defect-free tint.
Due to the extremely high cost of production, this type of piece was reserved for the king's buildings and wealthy members of the nobility.

If few of these mirrors were produced, few have survived, especially in this state of preservation.