Pair of Regency Carved Giltwood Convex Mirrors

Object Details

Object Essay

The exact source of the first convex mirrors imported to the United States is in question. Some historians have stated that convex mirrors were introduced from France in the late 18th century and others have emphasized the English influence in the transmission of this form.^{1_{Comstock 1968, 24; Rodriguez Roque, 262.}} Many have quoted Thomas Sheraton, who praised the virtues of convex mirrors in his 1803 Cabinet Dictionary.^{2_{Sheraton 1803, 271.}} In his important article on 19th-century mirrors, Robert C. Smith proposed still another source, Robert Adam’s inventions of the 1760s, as leading to the development of this form. By channeling the “many curves of the typical rococo mirror frame into one continuous oval outline and by popularizing the use of circular medallions surrounded by classical ornament, Robert Adam prepared the way for the convex glass mirror set in a frame of gilded wood, which became one of the symbols of affluence in British and American parlors of the early nineteenth century.”^{3_{Smith 1976, 351.}} Whatever the source, such mirrors were not original to the late 18th or early 19th centuries. Perhaps the most famous image of all convex mirrors is the one pictured in Jan van Eyck’s Wedding Portrait of 1434. This painting captures both the reflectivity and the distortion of mirrored light, attributes of convex mirrors that have made them popular throughout the years.

American-made mirrors closely followed English models. In fact, by 1800, convex mirrors were “being imported in quantity and sold by the New York carvers and gilders along with their own products.”^{4_{Tracy, 74.}} The presence of an American label does not guarantee an American provenance, however, since such labels may have been those of local retailers rather than the makers. Modern wood analysis does not clarify the issue either. Eastern white pine, the sole wood used in the making of the Collection’s mirror, is usually thought to have been a hallmark of American manufacture, but Charles F. Montgomery wrote, “. . . the presence of white pine cannot be regarded as positive proof of American manufacture when found in looking glasses made about 1800 or later.”^{5_{Montgomery 1966, 275. Related mirrors are illustrated in Flanigan, no. 97; and one labeled by Jeremiah and William Freeman, Norwich, England, is illustrated in Smith 1976, fig. 4.}}

Page Talbott

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.