BAROQUE MIRROR

This very popular mirror design dates to about 1640. In a manner typical of the Baroque Period, this looking glass has a very elaborate frame and a small mirror. The mercury mirrored glass was very costly, rare and made only in small plates exclusively in Venice. In 1640 the mirror plate would have been considerably more expensive than the luxuriant frame. In this Italian piece sprays of fully sculpted acanthus leaves surround an inner border of laurel leaves and berries. The finish of hand laid gold leaf is burnished to reveal the bole red undercoats through an antique patina. The mirror has a beveled edge.