Important Giltwood Girandole Mirror Surmounted with an Eagle and Anthemeon

A carved eagle with spread wings on a tapering platform above scrolled foliage and a pierced anthemion above a convex glass surrounded by an ebonized mirror slip and gilded frame decorated with gilded compo decoration and a foliate pendant, flanked by pairs of candle arms.

Woods: White pine.
H: 67” D: 31”

Thomas Sheraton describes girandole mirrors in his Cabinet Dictionary (1803), saying:

“The properties of such mirrors consist in their collecting the reflected rays into a point, by which the perspective of the room in which they are suspended, presents itself on the surface of the mirror, and produces an agreeable effect. On this account, as well as for the convenience of holding lights, they are now become universally in fashion, and are considered both as a useful and ornamental piece of furniture.”

The first, and maybe only publication of this form was in George Smith’s 1808 Designs for Household Furniture where he published two plates by J. Taylor dated 1804 (pl.135, 136); one surmounted by a bat and the other by an anthemion, but he opened the flood gates. The form remained fashionable throughout the Classical period.

The present mirror, which must have been inspired by Smith's illustration (pl. 136), boasts an extraordinary eagle on a towering platform with a pierced anthemion. A remarkable amount of original gilding survives.