Mirrors

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.