Object Description
A George III Style Carved Giltwood Mirror
After a design by Thomas Johnson
Of grandiose proportions, the central oval glass plate built up in a concentric arrangement of mercury plates surrounded by an ornately carved giltwood frame incorporating a medley of C-scrolls, flowering branchwork, stylized icicles, acanthus leaves, and distinctive architectural follies and figures; the whole crescendoing to a figure of a musician above an arrangement of musical instruments and an outer frame having carved Classical urns, and fantastical Ho-Ho birds.The present mirror closely follows the original illustration of Thomas Johnson’s design for a mirror published in his “Collection of Designs” (1758) as plate 7, and republished in his “One Hundred and Fifty New Designs” (1761) as plate 8. Typical of Johnson’s designs, this mirror includes various fauna such as dogs, wolves, and sheep, as well as branching foliage and architectural elements.
Circa 1870