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March 1989
Interior Design
The great age of papier mache is English of the Georgian and Victorian
periods, but the origins of this unusual craft are a thousand years old.
One early Chinese use of papier mache was as a material for war helmets,
which were then toughened with lacquer Another example was the recent
discovery of some red lacquered pot lids attributed to the Han Dynasty
circa 206 a.d.
The term papier mache, which is composed of French words, appears not to
be of French origin. The phrase was probably used by the French emigre
workers in the London papier-mache shops of the eighteenth century At
that time, the pulp was descriptively and colorfully referred to in
English as chewed paper. The French words for the verb to chew is
matcher, and, of course, papier is paper
The paper industry did not flourish in England until the end of the
seventeenth century The manufacture of papier mache began shortly
afterwards, early in the eighteenth century, as paper products began to
be used more widely. Paper pulp consisted of mashed paper mixed with a
binder of glue and gum arabic. Sometimes flour, sawdust or plaster was
added, depending on the purpose for which the pulp was to be used. This
prepared pulp was molded into articles like inkstands, card trays, bread
baskets and other small items. The hand-turned molds were made of wood
with a hole in the center through which the excess water and paste
drained away. Some molds had intaglio designs cut into them for
obtaining raised figures on the surface of the object. As more
sophisticated techniques of pressing, molding and shaping were
developed, more intricate and complex products appeared.
One of the most innovative uses for papier mache was for wall and
ceiling moldings. In 1778 a Frenchman, in admiration of this English
style and its practicality, wrote: "The English cast in cardboard the
ceiling ornaments that we make in plaster They are more durable, break
off with difficulty, or if they do break off, the danger is of no
account and the repair less expensive"
At Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill, a bedroom ceiling had star and
quatrefoil compartments with roses at the intersections, all made of
papier mache. In Alscot Park in Warwickshire, a fireplace was ornamented
with flower festoons in burnished gold. Even the House of Lords, when it
was rebuilt after the fire of 1834, had ceiling cornices and wall
moldings of papier mache.
Most of the papier mache, however, was used for furniture and
accessories, and these were ornamented with lacquer, gold, paint in
various colors and mother-of-pearl. Chairs and tables, small in size but
sturdily constructed, were popular The sewing table in the accompanying
photograph is a fine example. Dated 1850, it is stenciled in gold with
inlaid mother-of-pearl and chinoiserie painting. Elaborate bedroom
suites were created and decorated with colorful floral panels and gilt
edging. Trays were made in all sizes and shapes, and their decoration
ran the gamut. Also in demand were small chests, tea caddies, albums and
lap desks. Freestanding screens and wall panels were practical adjuncts
to the earlier ceiling and wall moldings. Most of them were decorated in
the Chinese style. Oriental figures and landscapes were drawn with metal
leaf, paint or imitation tortoise shell. Then the faces and hands were
made of a mixture of whiting and varnish that was laid onto the drawn
figures and molded with small sticks or modeling tools. When dry they
were painted pink or white, and the features were drawn in. This made
for an interesting three-dimensional quality
The Italians probably learned to make papier mache from the Orient via
the Venetian trade, and from there the art spread to Persia and India.
There were excellent craftsmen in Germany who produced tobacco and snuff
boxes as well as molded toys and doll heads. In Russia, lacquering on
papier mache was first done by peasant craftsmen who created a
distinctive kind of folk art. And in America, where English style has
always been valued, papier mache has been sought after since Washington
used it in his Mount Vernon home.
The popularity of papier mache in furniture and accessories, is not
surprising. It is highly decorative and fits perfectly into the English
country style so many designers favor. I have used a papier mache a
small chest as an end table and a tray made into a coffee table. It
furnished just the right touch of whimsey to a formal sitting room with
colorful floral panels and gilt edging.
There are several places in New York to find papier mache, One good
source is Kentshire Galleries on East 12th Street, where we found the
illustrated sewing table. Another is Garvin Mecking, around the corner
on 11 th Street. I have bought small but choice pieces of papier mache(I
remember best a perpetual calendar) from Vito Giallo on Madison Avenue.
And for exquisite papier mache mantel and wall clocks, try Fanelli's
Antique Timepieces on Madison Avenue.
April 1989
Interior Design
The use of ornamental borders to surround and enhance a picture dates
back to antiquity The earliest frames were really suggestions of edges-a
bas-relief, mosaic or fresco outlined with a margin of the same material
in a contrasting color or an ornamental figure in a linear design. Walls
and ceilings were natural frames for most paintings, just as niches for
sculpture were part of architectural plans.
The need for frames did not arise until painting evolved as a portable
art in the Middle Ages. These early works were made of wood, and the
first frames were probably necessary to reinforce the wooden panels and
keep them from warping. The borders for these pictures were made by the
artist, who considered the frame an extension of the painting itself.
The arched and vaulted outer edges of the frames reflected the Gothic
architecture for which they were created, and the rich ornate gold
decoration was full of religious symbolism that underlined the
ecclesiastical paintings.
As the demand for portable paintings increased, painters confined
themselves to painting, and the need for fine frames launched a new
craft. Artisans evolved into artists, and picture frames grew more
significant. Frames played an increasingly important role as reflections
of architectural style and interior decoration. By the 15th century
subjects for paintings began to move away from the purely devout. Frames
became less elaborate and more specific to the nature of the painting.
The Renaissance brought to frames, as it did to many other art forms, a
new dimension of excitement and creativity. Italian Renaissanceframes,
often works of art in their own right, mirrored the exuberance of the
architecture, with elaborately carved and gilded columns, pilasters and
pediments. The richness of the frames reinforced and heightened the
glowing images of the paintings inside them.
Italian Renaissance frame makers influenced French artists and craftsmen
of the 16th and 17th centuries. During this period the courts of France
were bursting with artistic creativity. Rich, dramatic frames were
designed to complement the larger-than-life subjects of baroque
paintings and enhance the opulent interiors of royal and noble homes.
In England, frame making reached its zenith in the late 17th and 18th
centuries. Leading furniture makers such as Thomas Chippendale and
William Kent included ideas for frames in their pattern books, and their
styles displayed the refinements of their furniture designs. Grinling
Gibbons, whose exquisite carvings of birds, fruits, flowers and
streamers were unrivaled, brought an unsurpassed elegance to the art of
the frame.
The Adam brothers also designed frames as well as furniture and an
chitecture during this period, and Robert Adam incorporated frames into
the interior design of the stately homes he planned. He went one step
further by designing frames for specific pieces of furniture.
Although foreign styles influenced the evolution of frames in America,
early domestic designs were very simple. Typical colonial shapes were
plain or crossover moldings, crudely carved and nailed. Sometimes the
frames were painted with flowers or false wood graining. As the country
developed, its fashion and furniture demonstrated a simpler style, less
elaborate than European design.
The frames in the photograph illustrate a wide variety of styles and
mate rials. On the left is a German Black Forest frame, a fantasy of
twigs, vines, leaves and flowers in carved walnut. To the right is an
Anglo-Indian frame of pecanwood inlaid with ivory and ebony The two
frames in the middle are French; the small oval is made of Boulle
(marquetry in tortoiseshell and brass) and the miniature is framed in
basse taille enamel. The frames at the bottom are both English. To the
left is a very popular Victorian style, a bird's-eye maple frame with an
inner rim of gilt. To the right is a frame of wood with gesso (a chalky
substance mixed with sizing and applied in layers before gilding or
painting) inner and outer borders. This style is traditionally used for
portraits.
The two frames at the top were found at Vito Giallo on Madison Avenue,
the Boulle frame was a gift and the others were unearthed in flea markets.
H. Heydenryk, on East 76th Street, has an astonishing collection of antique
frames in an endless variety of size, period and country of origin. The APF
Gallery, a frame maker of reproduction frames, does expert work in the
restoration of antiques.
May 1989
Interior Design
Majolica is the generic term for a broad category of tinglazed
earthenware which has been produced over several centuries in many
countries under various labels. In Holland it is called delft, in France
faience and in Italy maiolica. In England it has been produced by
Whieldon, Wedgwood and Minton, among others. American factories like
Milford and Griffen, Smith and Hill continued the manufacture of this
popular ware.
Majolica was first created in Italy in the 15th century In Urbino, a
local artisan discovered a new technique for making a beautiful white
lustrous glaze for pottery It was immediately fashionable, taken up as a
specially of many royal Italian families and used by artists and
sculptors of the Renaissance for portrait busts and plaques, and even
for serving dishes. On the white opaque surface were laid the five
master colors of the Italian painters: blue, green, yellow, purple and
orange plus a brilliant ruby accent. This unusual and beautiful
earthenware was produced until the middle of the 16th century when, for
a variety of reasons, artists turned to other forms. Examples of
magnificent Renaissance majolica may still be seen in major European
museums like the Bargello in Florence.
The next chapter in the history of majolica takes place in France. Just
as the art was waning in Italy a French potter named Bernard Pallissey,
working independently, discovered the secret of the white glaze which
must cover the earthen body so that the subsequent color glazes can
attain their fullest lustre. His period of creativity in the middle of
the 16th century, set a standard that has never been surpassed,
Pallissey and his many followers in France and Germany strove for exotic
effects in the molding of shapes as well as colors that were strong and
vibrant. The influence of Pallissey on subsequent pottery design is most
pronounced in the themes he drew from nature. He portrayed fish and
snakes, shells and plants, flowers and leaves, and these motifs are
still dominant in the decoration of majolica.
By the 18th century faience was popular all over Europe. The delft of
Holland was characterized by the unusual bluish white character of the
glaze. Its decoration and coloring, however were influenced more by
Chinese motifs and by the glory of 17th century Dutch landscape painting
than by the French or Italian designs. The main contribution that delft
made to later majolica style was the more delicate texture of its pottery
In England in 1754 Thomas Whieldon, a distinguished potter who had
already developed a colored highgloss product called agate ware, top
toiseshell or simply Whieldon ware, formed a partnership with Josiah
Wedgwood that was to last for five years. During that period the firm
turned out tortoiseshell dishes, cauliflower jugs and teapots with
crab-stock handles. Wedgwood experimented with many techniques until he
was able to produce that fine green glaze that has become the
distinguishing colon almost the hallmark of old majolica.
Although majolica continued to be popular until the end of the 18th
century the Europeans turned their attention to fine porcelain, and it
was not until the middle of the 19th century and the Victorian Era that
majolica resurfaced. Herbert Minton is credited with a revival of
interest with his display of majolica at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The new version was very different from the white pottery with the
distinctive Moorish patterns of Renaissance Italian majolica. It was
strongly sculpted and boldly colored with translucent glazes to enhance
the natural forms. The compote pictured here is a perfect example of
Minton majolica-intricate in design, whimsical in subject and sparkling
in color
One of the most creative makers of majolica was George Jones, a potter
from Stoke-Upon-Trent. His pieces, signed GJ, included candelabra,
two-lidded vases and elaborate tureens, and are in great demand by
designers and collectors.
In the 1840s two brothers, Edwin and William Bennett, came to America
from the Wedgwood factory and set up a pottery in Baltimore-the first
one in this country to make majolica. It was so popular that factories
were established in the states of Ohio and New Jersey in Milford,
Connecticut, and the biggest one in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, under
the aegis of Griffen, Smith and Hill. The American factories made the
kind of majolica that was so successful in England, and it is sometimes
difficult to tell the difference between the U.S.- and British-made pottery
The vogue for the English country look has sparked a new popularity for
majolica. The distinctive green glaze with accents of turquoise, pink
and yellow complement the flowery chintzes and sunny backgrounds of the
British style. Designers are always looking for the right accessory, and
majolica often fills the bill.
The Minton serving dish in the photograph was found at KM Antiques of
London in New York's D&D building. This shop carries an assortment of
quality majolica, including rare signed works by George Jones. Another
source of fine majolica is the James II gallery on 57th Street.
July 1989
Interior Design
The history of art has always reflected the life of man in his
environment. Since man has traditionally shared his world with animals,
it is not surprising that paintings of animals, alone or with human
companions, exist. in the last two hundred years, however, this genre
has become so popular that Sotheby's and Christie's have established
separate departments for the sale of animal paintings. Called Sporting
pictures, the category includes subjects like hunting, racing, shooting,
wild and farm animals, horses and dogs.
In the 18th century in France, there were artists like Desportes and
Oudry who painted with exquisite care the privileged dogs who
accompanied the king and his court on the royal hunt. These
animals-dachshunds, spaniels, greyhounds, pointers-were important enough
to be given individual names, classical or colloquial, and to merit
portraits singly or in elegantly arranged groups. A famous painter of
exotic animals, Jean-Jacques Bachelier was best known for his depiction
of the Rococo dog, a precious poodle that looks more like a wind-up toy
than a living creature.
At the same time that Bachelier was memorializing the pets of the French
court, the century's greatest animal painter was working in England.
George Stubbs (1724-1806) wrote and illustrated papers on zoology and
comparative anatomy. He observed and painted, with scientific precision,
a wide range of animals from exotic cheetahs from India to the most
familiar of those domestic creatures the British have assimilated into
their human society, horses and dogs. Stubbs' animal portraits are
remarkable in their fusion of physical and psychological reality. His
White Poodle in a Punt presents a real rebuttal to the Rococo poodle by
emphasizing the truth, instinct and nature of the subject. His vision
encompassed the outer appearance of the dog, seen in a man-made context,
but somehow managed to intuit its inner, emotional life as well, with a
realism and clarity that has rarely been equalled.
Animal paintings by Stubbs are still highly prized by collectors, but
there were other 18th-century English artists who created memorable
portraits of horses and dogs. Thomas Gainsborough, famous for his
paintings of British aristocracy, chose as the subject of his first
signed picture a bull terrier named Bumper, painted alone and alert in
the woods. The distinguished British architect, Sir John Soane, was
inspired by a visit to some Roman ruins to create a pair of
architectural drawings for a "Canine Residence." One was restrained and
practical, and the second was a reflection of French architectural
fantasy, including a central dome, fountains, columns and a pair of
sculptured dogs guarding the entrance.
The great explosion of creativity in animal portraits took place in the
Victorian era. Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 60 years, had
tremendous influence on the arts and culture of her nation. She espoused
all the traditional values-home and hearth, children, flowers, horses
and dogs. She and her husband, Prince Albert, had a large family and
numerous pets, and she commissioned many portraits by Edwin Landseer,
whom she later knighted. He became her official court painter and one of
the most influential artists of domestic subjects in the 19th century.
Landseer painted the royal couple, their children and many of their
animals, from macaws, lovebirds and marmosets to greyhounds,
Newfoundlands, terriers and spaniels. in his later works, dogs were
delineated in various guises, reflecting the occupations and sometimes
the social status of their masters.
Landseer's name was to become synonymous with the Victorian sensibility
toward animals, but there were other artists producing work with similar
motifs. The current revival of interest in the style of English country
homes helps to explain the enormous popularity of this genre today.
interior designers like Mario Buatta, who is also an avid collector, are
combing the art and antiques market in London and New York for animal
paintings to enhance the walls of their elegant, chintz-filled drawing
rooms.
The illustrated portrait of a Jack Russell terrier by a Victorian
English artist named John Alfred Wheeler comes from a good selection of
quality period paintings by Karen Warshaw who exhibits on East 74th
Street in New York. Another source is Bellechase, a shop in the Place
Des Antiquaires on East 57th Street that deals exclusively with animal
subjects. The auction houses publish their schedule of sales that
include annual or semi-annual auctions of sporting pictures.
August 1989
Interior Design
The life of Thomas Sheraton presents us with a curious paradox. Here was
a man who earned his living as a cabinetmaker, went on to teach drawing
and architecture, and ultimately designed some of the most exquisite
furniture of the late 18th and early 19th century Yet, not one piece of
furniture which can be directly attributed to him has ever been discovered.
Biographical facts are sketchy He was born in 1751 in Stockton-onTees,
England, and he traveled from one small town to another working as a
carpenter to support himself. In 1790 he moved to London, set up shop in
Wardour Street, Soho, where he became a freelance teacher and designer.
His first style book, called The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing
Book, was published in four parts between 1791 and 1794. After several
editions, and a Cabinet Dictionary, his final book, the Cabinet Maker,
Upholsterer, and General Artist's Encyclopedia, appeared in 1805. One
year later he was dead.
Sheraton's designs found instant favor among the upper classes. His
early style was characterized by an absence of curved lines and an
emphasis on crisp and clear details. Grace and refinement were the
hallmarks of his work, and they were present in his writing tables for
ladies, his dressing tables, work tables, card tables, dining tables and
chairs, secretaries and etageres.
England had reached the zenith of national furniture style during the
last third of the 18th century with the ascendance of Robert Adam and
his brother The Adams, who replaced the rococo of Chippendale with the
austere elegance of classical lines, organized the kind of atelier that
would permit them to undertake not only the architectural design but
also the complete furnishing and decorating of houses. The two
cabinetmakble with the Adams' style were George Hepplewhite and Thomas
Sheraton.
Although there were similarities between their work, each man made
distinctive contributions to the art of furniture design. Heppiewhite,
who flourished between 1775 and 1786, followed the Chippendale aesthetic
with curved lines, intricate carving and a strong preference for
mahogany Sheraton's dominance, from 1790 to 1805, was more significant.
The essentials of his style were straight lines rather than curved ones,
a notable lightness and delicacy of form and ornament and a preference
for unusual woods, mainly satinwood.
His sketches were strongly influenced by the contemporary French
neo-classicism of the Louis XVI period. In France Sheraton furniture was
called Louis Seize a L'Anglaise. His later designs owed much to the
prevailing Empire mode in France but this phase was not as popular or
influential as his earlier work. His creativity led him to experiment
with new forms. He used exotic woods like zebra, beech and tulipwood for
inlays, banding and stringing. Some wood pieces were painted and others
were adorned with painted bouquets of flowers, acanthus leaves, urns,
feathers, ribbons or swags. These painted decorations supplemented the
delicate marquetry for which he was famous. Another innovation credited
to Sheraton was the use of porcelain inserts in his wood pieces.
Wedgwood plaques became as popular in England as Sevres medallions had
been in France. Sideboards were relatively new in Sheraton's day and he
designed many elegant versions, some with brass galleries at the back to
hold plates. His beds, in the French tradition, were elaborate and
fanciful, often with intricate canopies.
Like many of the chairs Sheraton designed, the mahogany library chair in
the photograph has straight lines and a square back. The arms are shaped
and tapered. He also sketched some upholstered easy chairs, high-backed
with wings or low-backed with rounded curves. His settees were airy and
delicate, strongly influenced by Heppiewhite styles.
Desks, which were introduced in mid-century, were conceived with drawers
or cupboards on either side of the kneehole. Sheraton drew many
variations of these and other pieces of combined furniture like bu
reau-bookcases. Bow front commodes, serpentine chests, kidney shaped,
Pembroke and other tables-Sheraton designed them all, and did it with
beauty and distinction.
Many fine examples of Sheraton furniture can be found today. Agostino on
lower Broadway in New York has the illustrated chair and a good
selection of pieces from this period. Down the block at Hyde Park are
many specimens of Sheraton's art. Around the corner on East 12th Street,
Kentshire Galleries is another establishment that continually searches
the market for authentic and useful Sheraton furniture. Happy hunting!
September 1989
Interior Design
From the tiniest jeweler's beamscale to the oversized contraption
devised to weigh farm animals, scales have been created to serve
specific purposes. The function has dictated the design, and from the
beginning scales were strictly utilitarian. And since the objects to be
measured were so diverse in size and shape, many varieties of scales
were invented.
The most common type of scale is a balance--an instrument consisting of
a centrally pivoted beam with two containers of equal weight on either
end. This kind of scale has been used since classical times, and is
traditionally made of brass with a wood base. The balancing mechanism is
held across the central post, and suspended from it, on chain or wire,
are two flat or rounded platforms. Material to be weighed is placed in
one container while the other holds graduated weights. Balance scales
have been used to weigh a wide gamut of objects from pills to powders
and gold and silver, gemstones to food. As the uses of these scales
became more widespread, their designs grew more sophisticated. New
materials were substituted for the traditional ones; copper or silver
for the central mechanism, glass, pottery or even stone for the
containers. At the same time, modifications in the structure of the
scales were created for aesthetic reasons rather than utilitarian ones.
The variety of elaborate designs and imaginative materials coupled with
a universal fascination with the concepts of movement and balance made
these scales interesting to collectors.
Another kind of scale, based on the same principle, became popular in
England after the Uniform Postal Act of 1840. These scales, which were
constructed to weigh letters and packages, combined the balancing
pendulum with split stays, called Roberval designs. The base of the
letter scale was traditionally small and rectangular, the central
mechanism wide and short, and the two weighing platforms rested on the
horizontal balancing arm. Often the weights were set into the base.
These postal scales became very popular during the Victorian era. The
bases, which were first made in a pear or box wood in simple straight
lines, became more ornate; they were fluted or scalloped in exotic
striped or burled woods. Later scales appeared in brass, silver and even
gold plate. Sometimes the base was fashioned in marble or semi-precious
stone like malachite, lapis or agate with matching platforms. Elaborate
bases in papier-mache with painted flowers and inlaid mother-of-pearl
were created; the French influence was observed in bases made of boulle
(tortoise shell and brass), shagreen (sharkskin) or fine porcelain like
Sevres or Limoges. Letter scales were included in ornate Victorian desk
sets along with inkstands, blotters, letter racks, stamp boxes and book
ends.
A fine example of a collectible English scale is one was made by Parkins
and Gotto in London in the 19th century. The mechanism is not the usual
split-stay design, but an exceptional single platform type in brass and
wood, found in a shop called Mantiques on the second level of the
Manhattan Antiques Center. Organized around the principle of gender
preference, the proprietor of this establishment has a fascinating stock of
scales and balances as well as other measuring instruments.
As a scale collector myself, I am always drawn to the possibilities of
antique scales as accessories in residential design. On a desk, in a
bookcase, on a library table or a kitchen counter, an appropriate and
beautiful scale can add the perfect touch.
Elegant old scales are not easy to find. With the exception of
Mantiques, which always has a selection, no one shop in New York
specializes. From time to time, I have found an unusual old balance
scale at Ann Morris on 60th Street. In Agostino on lower Broadway, a
client and I discovered a gold plated letter scale with a fluted base
and Florentine marble plaques set into the platforms. Kentshire around
the corner has a plethora of small antiques in its third floor
Collectors Gallery. Occasionally an elegant English postal scale turns
up. Recently I spotted a complete desk set, including a scale, in a
striated calamander wood overlaid with engraved and gilded brass mounts.
As I stopped to admire it, another designer purchased it for a lucky
client.
PHOTO : A unique single platform mid-19th century English postal scale
in polished brass with a scalloped base in burled wood.
October 1989
Interior Design
The history of mirror is rooted in myth and legend. It begins with the
story of Narcissus, a beautiful youth in Greco-Roman mythology, who sat
by the edge of a lake, saw his reflection in the still water and fell in
love with this own image.
Water was the original reflecting mirror. It was a puzzling one to the
first people who chanced upon it for several reasons. The objects that
were reproduced were reversed; also, when the surface of the water was
disturbed the picture shimmered, fractured and then disappeared. From
these early times, however, the concepts of self-discovery,
self-knowledge and self-absorption have kept artisans involved in the
creation of useful and decorative mirrors.
Ancient people experimented with the principles of reflection so that
they could see themselves in relation to the world around them. At first
they made mirrors from highly polished stones. Later, metals like gold
and silver were burnished to a shiny gloss. Hand mirrors survive from
Egyptian and Etruscan tombs. They were usually small and round and
decorated with semi-precious stones. The handles were ornate and
exquisitely carved, sometimes with figures of beautiful women.
By the middle ages, polished mirrors were in common use in Europe and
the East. In medieval England they were made with loops for hanging on
gold chains around a woman's neck or on her gown. In France, elaborately
carved ivory mirror cases were admired. In India, tiny reflecting
mirrors were sewn on clothing to ward off evil spirits.
The earliest glass mirros were made in Venice in the middle of the 16th
century. They were fashioned of the local Venetian glass backed with an
amalgam of mercury and tin. Refined and polished wall mirrors and
standing mirrors as well as portable ones became more and more popular
in Europe, England and America during the 17th century.
The framing of mirrors during the 17th and 18th centuries took many
forms and was the subject of careful study by some of the giants of
English design. Grinling Gibbons, the master wood carver, Thomas
Chippendale, whose furniture has never bee n equalled, William Kent and
Robert Adam, the distinguished architects, all turned their hand to the
design of mirrors. At the beginning of this period, looking glasses were
quite small with proportionately large frames. Elaborately carved wood,
embroidered stumpwork (needlework with sections of ornament raised over
padding), beadwork, tortoiseshell and even chased silver were used to
surround the comparatively insignificant pieces of glass. Gilding,
usually applied to carved gesso, came into vogue and was
enthusiastically employed by the most skilled craftsmen of the era.
As it became possible to manufacture glass in sheets of larger size, it
became apparent that not only the frame but also the mirror within it
had decorative possibilities. The Galerie des Glaces at Versailles,
built by Le Brun for Louis XIV in 1682, was a milestone in the history
of mirror, a glittering salon of reflecting glass and gilt. Its fame
inspired the use of ornamental mirror in the great houses of England.
These mirrors were created for the decoration of the rooms in which they
were placed, and not primarily for personal admiration as had been
commonplace.
Overmantel mirrors were the most popular variety. Sometimes an oil
painting of a landscape or flowers was incorporated into the frame--this
was called a trumeau. Pier glasses were tall mirros with ornate frames
that were set on the narrow walls between windows. Cheval mirrors were
long looking-glasses suspended between two columns resting on
trestle-like feet; the name comes from the pulley mechanism which is
used to adjust the angle of the mirror. Dressing or toilet mirrors were
smaller versions that were used on tables or chests. both cheval and
dressing mirrors traditionally were found in bedrooms or dressing areas.
Fine antique mirrors abound in New York. The one in the photograph (above) was
found in the James II Galleries on 57th Street. It is a Victorian mirror
with an elaborate wood frame; the carving is in the style of Grinling
Gibbons. Hype Park Antiques on lower Broadway deals in authentic period
mirrors with gilt and wood frames. David Allan, down the street,
specializes in mirrors in unusual sizes and shapes. He fancies large
pier glasses and mirrors with Anglo-Indian, rare wood or lacquered
frames. Kentshire Galleries on 12th Street has a good selection of
decorative mirrors in the English style. For simple French looking
glasses try Martell Antiques on 10th Street; for ornate French frames
Howard Kaplan on Broadways is the place.
