The design on which these remarkable mirrors are based was officially registered by the cabinet maker George Sims of 50-152 Aldersgate Street, London, in March 1878 and survives in the National Archives at Kew. Standing at just over 7 feet tall, the mirrors follow the design very closely, although they are given a stricter architectural quality by the decision to leave out the ornamental crest and swag on the drawing.

Although clearly closely inspired by Robert Adam’s work, Sims has lent these pieces an inventive edge by subtly departing from the conventions of Adam’s oeuvre. For instance, the hemispherical fans are curiously but successfully inverted and placed at the base of the mirror. Other motifs within the array of finely detailed neoclassical decoration are on close scrutiny more stylised and angular versions of their eighteenth-century counterparts. Furthermore Sims’ handling of the geometry and proportions of the mirror is exemplary and is redolent of the more radical designers of the early years of the nineteenth century, all the more remarkable given the date of conception of the present pieces. The exceptional quality and scale of the mirrors suggests that they were clearly a special commission of the highest order.

The diamond mark [patent registration label] on the present pair of mirrors, pictured above, gives the date 25 March, 1878 [top, bottom, and righthand corners of the diamond, respectively]. You can find a detailed explanation of these diamond marks here: The Registered Diamond Mark.

Dressing table designed by Robert Block, circa 1935. Victoria and Albert Museum.

As seen in the Carlton Hobbs Blog article: Beyond the Looking Glass: Mirrors in Furniture http://www.carltonhobbs.net/news/beyond-the-looking-glass-mirror...

Interior designer Jamie Drake has said “The first thing I’d buy for a glamorous room is a mirrored piece of furniture.” Mirrors engraved with scenes from the hunt were first known to be used within furniture in the drawer fronts of 17th century South German table cabinets. They were incorporated as part of the exploration and display of precious materials within decorative arts objects and have since been applied to many types of furniture in varying degrees throughout history, including chairs, bookcases and commodes. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 1 depicts an English bookcase, circa 1760, formerly in the Carlton Hobbs collection, whose doors are set with sixty Chinese mirror paintings, an unprecedented design element. The specifically-constructed glass sections were sent all the way to China from England to be hand painted before being inserted into their intended spaces. A pair of Italian chinoiserie armchairs circa 1810, also previously part of the Carlton Hobbs collection, have backs which enclose geometric patterns set with eight shaped panels of reverse painted glass (figure 2). Figure 3 A more unusual item to be applied with mirror glass is an Indian howdah circa 1840, currently on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum (figure 3). A howdah is a carriage-like compartment strapped to the back of an elephant and was used in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a firing platform in hunting, or as a mode of transportation to carry the wealthy during British Colonial rule. (You can read more about this in our July 23rd blog, “Howdah You Hunt a Tiger?”) One should imagine the glint of a jungle procession in a mirrored carriage such as this, with the sun reflecting a maharajah’s presence at all angles! Moving a century forward, an engraved glass mounted center table currently in the Carlton Hobbs inventory (figure 4, detail), circa 1925, anticipates the trend for glass and mirrored furniture that would develop later on in the Art Deco period. In this example the piece is entirely veneered with mirror glass, adding lightness and allowing the piece to integrate easily with its surrounding color scheme. Like other pieces of the period, by such designers as Jules Leleu, the table takes inspiration from 18th and 19th century French design, in this case the work of Joseph Canabas, and brings it up to date with alterations of form and materials used. This evolved into more streamlined mirrored pieces, like this Dressing Table in the V&A designed by Robert Block circa 1935 (figure 5). Mirrored furniture can play tricks on the eye by enhancing the sense of light and space within a room or act as a sleek and modern foil to pieces of antique furniture, adding sparkle and glamour to any interior scheme.

Figure 4 Detail of top. Figure 5

PAIR OF PIER GLASSES English. Circa 1825.

Pair of Pier Glasses

Measurements: Height: 118″ (300 cm); Width: 63″ (160 cm).

Figure 1: Jacques Linard; Still Life with Shells and Coral, and a Box; 1640. According to the Ancient Greeks, after Perseus cut off Medusa’s head, he wished to cleanse himself of the act by bathing in the sea. He placed the head on a bed of seaweed, which upon contact was petrified and turned red. Thus is the myth of the origin of coral described. Figure 2: Cutting and Polishing Mediterranian Coral. Underwood & Underwood, 1906. Coral has been widely integrated into decorative objects in Italy from the Middle Ages, with rose-colored coral being the most highly prized. The red skeletons of these marine organisms were viewed as having protective and medicinal qualities, and were incorporated into amulets, jewelry and textiles. Coral was also thought to have to ability of detecting poison in food and was therefore used in the handles of cutlery. In the Renaissance, the Italian towns of Genoa and Trapani became the largest coral production centers and helped to popularize the material through carving. In the 17th century, coral was adopted as a prized material for inlay in jewelry and ecclesiastical and household objects. A Jacques Linard still life circa 1640, he places a vibrant red coral specimen in the center of the canvas (figure 1).

Figure 3: One of a pair of grisaille paintings by Fabrizio Clerici, 1960s. Coral continued to be used into the early 20th century as seen in figure 2, which shows the cutting and polishing of coral in a Trapani workshop in a photograph of 1906. It also figured predominantly as a gemstone in jewelry and other objet d’art, particularly during the Art Deco period. Figure 4: Cabinet painted by Fabrizio Clerici, 1950s. Mid-century Milanese artist, Fabrizio Clerici painted coral amid shells and driftwood in his trompe l’oeil creations, among those a painting currently in the Hobbs collection (figure 3) and a cabinet formerly in the collection (figure 4). Figure 5: An Unusual Pair of Coral Mounted Mirrors, circa 1940s. Carlton Hobbs LLC. A pair of mirrors in the Carlton Hobbs collection, circa 1940s, features coral as their main decorative element (figure 5). Furniture designers in the 1930s and 40s were using materials that were more plain and natural than the previous Art Nouveau movement, but that were nevertheless luxurious, such as rare inlaid woods, straw marquetry, and shagreen. In the present mirrors, small fragments of coral cover the frame and surround meandering bead and glass designs. They serve as  a fine example of how a raw materials were used to create new unusual designs that still maintained an element of restraint and tradition.

English. Circa 1755. The present mirror provides a rare and exciting example of furniture which can be directly related to the renowned designer and carver Thomas Johnson (1714 - c.1778). The mirror is almost identical to a drawing by Johnson which appeared as part of plate 2 in his celebrated and highly influential Collection of Designs. Given the quality of his designs, it is somewhat surprising that, as of yet, no documented pieces firmly attributable to Johnson himself have come to light. Johnson's work represents the most adventurous expression of the Rococo taste by an English designer, conceived as the style was reaching its apogee in England. The present piece belongs to a small and elite group of English rococo mirrors which excel in their interpretation of the style.

English. Circa 1720. This magnificent mirror previously formed part of the decoration of the State Bedroom at Temple Newsam house in Yorkshire. Temple Newsam is regarded as one of the most celebrated historic houses in England due, in part, to the survival of the early seventeenth-century building, but also to the magnificent collection of furniture belonging to Leeds City Art Galleries which is now housed there. This particular mirror also demonstrates the rising influence of the Palladian style of classicism in England in the first three decades of the eighteenth century. Based on a fascination with the work of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio amongst a select group of English cognoscenti, such as Lord Burlington and the architect William Kent, Palladianism employed a range of classical forms to achieve a lavish yet restrained decorative effect.

Probably English. Second Quarter of the 19th Century. Of deal decorated with black lacquer and polychrome decoration. The elaborately fretted oval frame surrounding an original bevelled mirror plate with lacquered vignettes depicting deities and infants examining carp. The whole surmounted by a fantastical grisaille mask.

Copenhagen. Circa 1770. Of carved deal retaining their original gilding and bevelled mirror plates. Each rectangular frame with ribbon and reed carved decoration with inner twist mouldings enclosing shaped bevelled divided mirror plates. The elaborately carved crest surmounted by a stylised vase resting on a stepped podium from which issue heavy floral swags tied by a ribbon. The apron with floral festoons fixed to the sides with plain turned bosses.

English. Circa 1810. One of the earliest and best-known depictions of a convex mirror occurs in the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait by Jan Van Eyck’s 1434 (National Gallery, London). To make a convex plate at this early date probably involved use of the blown method, an extremely skilled and costly process that made such pieces the preserve of the very wealthy. It was not until the latter part of the eighteenth century that such mirror plates could be made in a mold. The present pair of mirrors epitomizes Regency decoration, particularly in the eagles that surmount each. The eagle was a symbol of might and triumph, and “is often represented on Regency convex mirror frames grasping a chain in its mouth. The eagle sits above a crossed bough of sprigs of oak leaves and acorns, which are repeated among other foliate decoration in the apron. The oak, adopted as the national tree of England, is a symbol of virtue, strength and endurance.

English. Circa 1820. Of giltwood. The whole surmounted by a carved giltwood crane surrounded by foliage and above a carved pineapple, the rectangular frame carved as faux bamboo.

Of mahogany. The bow shaped top comprising three sections, each inlaid with an oval panel against a quarter veneered ground, the central section fitted with a mirror to the reverse lifting to reveal a shallow well and forming a dressing mirror when upright, the hinged flanking sections opening outwards to reveal two deeper wells each fitted with a sliding drawer, the top above a kneehole surmounted by a single drawer and flanked to each side by two smaller drawers, the whole raised on four cabriole legs each terminating in a scrolling gilt bronze foot.

Stockholm. Circa 1725. This imposing mirror is attributed to Gustav Precht, the renowned craftsman and scion of the celebrated Precht family, which was prominent in the Swedish decorative arts during the early 18th century. The form of the present mirror is characteristic of Precht’s work, taking the shape of a rectangular mirror plate surmounted by arched cresting, supported by two opposing scrolls and flanked with a decorative element. The decoration of the present mirror is another hallmark of Precht’s work. Its delicate foliate strapwork is reminiscent of the designs of Jean Bérain (1637-1711), Dessignateur de la Chambre et du Cabinet du Roi whose scrolling ornament became one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Louis XIV style. In the present mirror and both aforementioned examples the Bérainesque patterns are engraved into mirror glass frames, which Precht favored as elegant alternatives to the carved giltwood which was prevalent in most contemporary mirror design.

Probably Milan. Circa 1770. Based on the evidence of a number of published pieces, it seems likely that this pair of blue-painted and gilt mirrors is of Milanese origin and date from the last quarter of the 18th century. The mirrors illustrate the shift toward neoclassicism in late 18th century decor in their rectilinear, almost architectural, form. Rococo frivolity is counteracted by straight lines, restrained carving, and a symmetrical scrolling acanthus motif in line with contemporary reflection on classical antiquity. The blue and gilt coloring of the mirrors can be found on Milanese examples of the period, and similar patterns are found in the interior decoration of princely residences of the Lombardy region, including a Milanese mirror, circa 1780, in the Palazzo Reale, and the wall and door paintings of the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, circa 1779-80.

Probably Milan. Circa 1770. Based on the evidence of a number of published pieces, it seems likely that this pair of blue-painted and gilt mirrors is of Milanese origin and date from the last quarter of the 18th century. The mirrors illustrate the shift toward neoclassicism in late 18th century decor in their rectilinear, almost architectural, form. Rococo frivolity is counteracted by straight lines, restrained carving, and a symmetrical scrolling acanthus motif in line with contemporary reflection on classical antiquity. The blue and gilt coloring of the mirrors can be found on Milanese examples of the period, and similar patterns are found in the interior decoration of princely residences of the Lombardy region, including a Milanese mirror, circa 1780, in the Palazzo Reale, and the wall and door paintings of the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, circa 1779-80.

The present mirrors are one of the most complex and dynamic expressions of the early rococo style in England. The mirrors employ the language of the rococo in the form of rocaille, floral and shell-like forms, and c-scrolls, yet retain a baroque sense of massivity and balance that eschews any hint of rococo frivolity. The mirrors formed, at one time, part of the iconic collection of the Duke of Northumberland. According to Graham Child, they have a history of being present in three of the Ducal residences. “They were formerly at a house called Stanwick Park... The pair is also illustrated in the Duke of Northumberland's archives as being in the collection at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, and were recently removed from Syon House, Middlesex.” Sir Hugh Smithson of Yorkshire, who adopted the name Percy upon his marriage to Elizabeth Percy in 1740, inherited the title of Earl of Northumberland from his father-in-law, Algernon Seymour, in 1750.

English. Second Quarter Of The Nineteenth Century. The existence of convex mirrors dates back to the second quarter of the 15th century.

However, the more widespread introduction of these mirrors in interior decoration did not occur until the latter part of the 18th century, when a new production method allowed convex mirror plates to be made in a mold. This more efficient, less costly approach promoted a great fashion for this type of mirror in England during the first decades of the 19th century.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries mirrors were regarded as lighting devices as well as decorative fixtures, which would reflect back the interior of the room they were situated in; convex mirrors lent themselves particularly well to both these functions.

While the present mirrors derive from this tradition, they differ substantially in that they consist of multiple concentric convex mirrors within a flat-mirrored surface.