Antique French Mirror Gilded with Gold Leaf | Luis Felipe, 160 cm

• Structurally inspected
• Furniture ready for use

Above a fireplace, a small mirror gets lost. This one was made for that spot.

This Louis-Philippe French mirror was made in the first half of the 19th century, when the overmantel mirror presided over the living room in bourgeois homes: rounded upper corners, a gilded frame, and ornamentation arranged in bands. It is antique, covered in gold leaf, and came from an antiques dealer.

The frame features three orders of decoration. On the outside, a frieze of raised ovals alternating with leaves. In the middle, a smooth half-round molding. Next to the glass, a row of pearls.

Where handling has worn away the gold, the red bole underneath shows through, especially on the ovals of the lower crossbar and on the pearls. It is the base upon which the gold leaf was applied, and here it is clearly visible.

The glass shows signs of silvering deterioration due to its age: darker spots and veils, especially near the edges, and the grey tone of antique mirrors. It reflects clearly in the center.

The back is made of boards with saw marks, nailed crossbars, old slotted screws, and carpenter’s red pencil marks.

It measures 121 cm wide, 9 cm deep, and 160 cm high, and weighs 70 kg.

Above the fireplace in a living room, where it belongs. In an entrance hall or bedroom, resting on the floor against the wall.

At 70 kg, hanging it requires anchoring to a solid wall. It is not safe on a plasterboard partition.

WHAT IS NOT MADE TODAY

→ The red bole. It shows through where the gold has worn away, on the raised areas that have been handled the most. It only appears with age.

→ The signs of silvering deterioration. The veil on the glass is what almost two centuries leave behind. No new mirror has it.

→ The back. Boards, crossbars, and red pencil marks on display. It speaks to the mirror’s age better than any paper.

RESTORATION IN OUR NAVALCARNERO WORKSHOP, MADRID

In the workshop, the frame’s structure was inspected, and the gold leaf was secured where necessary, without regilding.

The signs of use and the silvering deterioration on the glass were not touched. It arrives ready to take its place.

Style: Louis Philippe
Material: Gold leaf wood; mirrored crescent
Technique: Gold leaf over red bole; frieze of oval and leaf reliefs and row of pearls
Finish: Original gold leaf, with the red bole visible on the worn reliefs; no color intervention in the workshop
Layout: One crescent; frame with rounded upper corners
Dimensions: 121 cm (Width) × 9 cm (Depth) × 160 cm (Height)
Condition: Restored; gold leaf secured; the crescent shows mercury silvering marks due to its age
Period: First half of the 19th century, France

121 cm (Width) × 9 cm (Depth) × 160 cm (Height)

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