Girandole Mirror

Maker American or British

Collections

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Date1810-1825

Mediumgiltwood, metal, crystal, and silvered glass

Dimensions43 x 30 x 11 in. (109.2 x 76.2 x 27.9 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gail-Oxford Collection

Status

On view

Label TextThe Cabinet Dictionary of 1803, written by the influential British designer Thomas Sheraton, defines a mirror as “a circular convex glass in a gilt frame, silvered on the concave side, by which the reflection of the rays of light are produced.” This form was popular in England and France beginning around 1800 and in America from 1805 to the 1840s. Less practical than the standard, flat “looking glass,” this type of round convex mirror reflected an entire room or vista in a visually interesting though distorted perspective. The so-called “girandole mirror” also featured sconces for candles, whose light would be reflected and amplified by the mirror’s convex surface.

Object number2016.11.15