Antique French Gilded Bread-and-Butter Mirror | Flower and Laurel Crown, Louis XVI

• Structurally inspected
• Furniture ready for use

The mirror above a fireplace sets the height of a room. It is seen from the door before anything else.

This antique French overmantel mirror was made in the late 19th century, with the Louis XVI vocabulary that Third Republic France revived for its salons. It is gilded with gold leaf and came from an antiques dealer.

It is topped by a crown of roses and small flowers, open in the center, above two crossed laurel branches with their berries. It protrudes from the upper transom.

The frame has four orders. On the outside, a smooth strip. Then, a continuous frieze of acanthus leaves on a stippled background. Next, a smooth band with a rosette in each upper corner. Next to the mirror, a beaded border.

In the upper corners, the beaded border breaks at a right angle and the mirror rises in two small projections. Below, the frame rests on two molded plinths.

The mirror is original: horizontal streaks and veils of mercury, denser in the upper half, and some golden spots. On the lower transom, handling has left marks in the gold.

The back retains its pine frame, with glued-in wedges in the corners, and the closing board painted red.

It measures 108 cm wide, 8 cm deep and 166 cm high, and weighs 50 kg.

Above the fireplace of a living room, which is what it was made for. In a high-ceilinged hallway, hung above a console or resting on the floor against the wall.

At 50 kg, hanging it requires anchoring to a solid wall. In a plasterboard partition, it is better supported.

THREE DETAILS THAT DEFINE IT

→ The crown. Open roses, small flowers and two laurel branches with berries. It is the motif with which the Louis XVI style finished the frames of salons.

→ The raised corners. The beaded border breaks at a right angle and the mirror rises to meet it. With the rosette on top, each upper corner is a small frame within the frame.

→ The mirror. The oxidized mercury veils the reflection in horizontal bands. It reflects the room, but in its own way.

RESTORATION IN OUR WORKSHOP IN NAVALCARNERO, MADRID

In the workshop, the structure of the frame and the gold leaf of the entire piece were inspected, without regilding.

The wear marks of the gold and the mercury of the mirror were not touched. It arrives ready to take its place.

Style: Louis XVI, late 19th-century revival
Material: Wood; pine back frame; mirrored glass
Technique: Gold leaf; raised acanthus frieze, rosettes, beading, and a crown-shaped crest of flowers and laurel
Finish: Original gold leaf, with signs of wear on the lower crossbar; no color touch-ups in the workshop
Hardware: None
Layout: Single mirrored panel with raised upper corners; two plinths at the base
Dimensions: 108 cm (Width) × 8 cm (Depth) × 166 cm (Height)
Condition: Good; structure and gilding inspected, signs of wear on the gold leaf and oxidation of the silvering on the mirror
Period: Late 19th century

108 cm (Width) × 8 cm (Depth) × 166 cm (Height)

Free shipping to mainland Spain. Includes indoor delivery with packaging removal.