mirror

Object NameReverse Painted Mirror

MakerProbably Christian Precht (Swedish, 1706-1779)

MakerProbably Gustaf Precht (Swedish, 1698-1763)

Made FromGlass, Wood, Paint, Silver, Gessol, Mercury-Tin Amalgam Mirror

Dateabout 1720-1730

Place MadeSweden, Stockholm

TechniqueCarved, polished, gessoed, gilded, cast, rolled, painted, silvered

SizeOverall H: 145 cm, W: 72.2 cm; a) H: 91.0 cm, W: 72.2 cm, D: 8.1 cm; b) H: 67.0 cm, W: 70.4 cm, D: 16.2 cm

Accession Number98.3.18

Curatorial Area(s)

Early Modern

On ViewEuropean Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

This mirror shows a jester dancing under a canopy. In the early 18th century, jesters and mirrors often appeared in allegories of vanity, symbolizing human folly.

Physical DescriptionReverse Painted Mirror. Frame: carved, polished, gessoed, gilded; glass panels: cast, rolled, polished, painted, silvered. The rectangular plate glass mirror is set in an ornate, carved, gessoed and gilded wood framework. The frame surrounding the looking glass is decorated with narrow mirror panels, which are painted on the reverse with detailed, polychrome garlands. Surmounting the mirror is an elaborately carved pediment, consisting of symmetrical scrollwork embellished with acanthus leaves and a pair of flower vases. The central glass panel fitted into this pediment is decorated with a baroque cartouche of a jester dancing under a canopy. This panel is flanked by two others painted with cornucopias; the one above depicts a bird surrounded by floral sprays and holding a berry in its beak. The flanking panels below show a pair of putti holding flower baskets and floral sprays.
Provenance

Source Daxer & Marschall Kunsthandels - 1998-02-06