Gilded wood mirror with the arms of the city of Marseille circa 1790

Rare mirror in gilded lime wood with a rectangular leaf surmounted by a pediment.
The finely carved frame of a frieze of palm leaves and a frieze of heart stripes is connected in the corners by dice with rosettes.
The delicately openwork pediment consists of a caduceus and a trident crisscrossed and tied with garlands of laurels.
In the center of the composition, a rooster seen in profile stands under a stick surmounted by a helmet.

Very good condition, in its old gilding, later silver glass.

Height: 172 cm; Width: 88 cm

Marseille Revolutionary period around 1790-1793.

Our opinion :

The rare mirror that we present is adorned with the great arms of the city of Marseille as they were registered on July 10, 1699 following Colbert's edict regulating coats of arms.
We find the caduceus of the god Mercury, attribute of exchange and commerce, intersected with the Trident of Neptune representing the sea and travel, which perfectly symbolizes the maritime crossroads and the commercial power of the Phocaean city.
However, the absence of other attributes, such as the bull and the lion, the central cross or the crown surmounting the composition indicates to us that we are after June 21, 1790, date when the Constituent Assembly decrees the abolition of these arms, too often. associated with the nobility and the old order. The azure cross, a religious symbol, officially disappeared during the revolution before reappearing a few decades later.
The choice of our sculptor not to include the two animals, attributes of the apostles Mark and Luke, and the absence of the crown, symbol of the monarchy, indicate to us that we are in the midst of the revolutionary period, probably in the years 1792 or 1793.
This hypothesis is reinforced by the presence of the rooster, symbol of the young republic which replaced the constitutional monarchy in September 1792.
Finally, for a patronage deemed more neutral, the crown is replaced by the helmet of Mercury.
In addition to its decorative character characteristic of Provençal productions and its symbol of maritime trade, our mirror is also a moving and rare testimony to the revolutionary period.