Antique Louis Xv Style Water Gilded Mirror 1840 – 1860

$10,500
W1190 x H2010 mm

This antique Louis XV style Rococo French mirror c.1840 -1860 is extraordinary. I have not seen one like it. The entire frame is all water gilded which has been masterfully burnished to produce this wonderful sheen so it almost glows. Water gilding is typically much more labor intensive than oil gilding (so these pieces command a higher price) and is capable of achieving a more refined surface and sheen. Consequently it has been reserved for more expensive objects which are seen and experienced at closer range like this mirror. Water gilding is when a porous substrate (typically wood), is covered with gesso , and then covered with bole (a mixture of clay and glues). It is then covered with a layer of gold leaf held to the bole by glue. This golden surface can then be left matte or burnished to a mirror-like sheen.

Details
  • Category
    Free Standing Mirrors
Specifications

H2010mm x W1190m

SKU: 26EA140
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About the
Seller

European Antiques & Furnishings (est 2004) is a specialist dealer in 19th and 20th-century European Antiques with an accent on predominantly French, English, Belgian, Swedish and Italian furniture and decorative items.

Meredith’s four showrooms are based in her home/showroom villa at 21 Ariki Street in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Due to my business being in a residential area, viewing is by appointment only. (This is a council regulation). Please don’t let this deter your visit, you are more than welcome to come and browse at your leisure.

In addition to the Grey Lynn showrooms, retail stores have been opened with Francis Hooper and Benny Castles of WORLD. The stores offer a selection of hand-picked European mid-century and antique decorative items as well as the most exclusive beauty and skincare brands from around the world.