Description
There is nothing new about recycling. This early 19th century English neoclassical giltwood and églomisé mirror is a little gem, made all the more interesting because it was fashioned around an arched beveled mercury glass plate that already 100 years old when the rest of it was made. Because the glass was the most important and most costly part of a mirror, it is not uncommon to find recycled glass (often broken sections from larger plates) “upcycled” into later frames. This example is exceptional for incorporating not only the glass but the distinctive “tombstone” shape so typical of the Queen Anne period and so out of keeping with English Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton design.
