Mirror History
SEE OUR ANTIQUE MIRRORS ON MIRROR GALLERY PAGES
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Mirror History SEE OUR ANTIQUE MIRRORS ON MIRROR GALLERY PAGES
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Our mirrors are from 19th century France (1800-1900)
Okay, here's the history lesson; it's truly wonderful stuff! The Old French Mirror Company - About Mirrors I need to start with just a bit of the last few years of the 18th century, these years have a direct bearing on what subsequently happened after the 'Great' French Revolution, that began in 1789.
1792 First Republic, the overthrow of the Bourbon Monarch (Louis XVI) Louis XVI went to the guillotine on January 21st 1793. However, a National Convention had already been established to take governmental control while Louis and his family were awaiting trial, it continued until 1795. This then overlapped into what is known as the 'Directoire' period, which came to an end in 1799 with a coup d'état by Napoléon Bonaparte.
The period between 1799 and 1804 was known as The Consulate. Are you with me so far?
1804 - 1814 First Empire, Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. He is forced to abdicate in May 1814.
1814 Restauration Period. The Allies hoped to restore the Bourbon dynasty starting with Louis XVIII ( Louis XVII, Marie Antoinette's remaining son, died of TB in 1795) who reigned until 1824, then Charles X succeeds Louis and continued until 1830. Not much more, please stay with me and read on.
1830 - 1848 Louis Philippe 'Les trois glorieuses' The Bourbon Monarchy was overthrown in favour of the Orléans family: King Louis Philippe takes the throne.
1848 - 1851 Second Republic, Orléans monarchy overthrown in the 'February Revolution'.
1851 - 1870 Second Empire, Louis Bonaparte proclaims himself Emperor Napoléon III. (Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the son of Hortense de Beauharnais, who was the daughter of Napoléon's wife Josephine de Beauharnais by her first marriage. The identity of his biological father remains a subject of speculation, given his unhappily married mother's extramarital liaisons. His assumed father, however, was Hortense's husband Louis Bonaparte, a younger brother of Napoléon I. Louis-Napoléon’s whole career was built on the (supposed) fact that he was the nephew of Napoléon I.) In 1870 Napoléon III and the Empress Eugénie sought refuge in England after their exile from France. Both their remains lie in a crypt in St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire. The Empress Eugénie founded the abbey in about 1888. 1870 - 1940 Third Republic. Napoléon III abdicates and the French republicans proclaim the 'Third Republic'. All About French Mirrors The type of mirrors in our collection are: Wall Mirrors These are mirrors where the frame continues in the same style. Overmantels These mirrors have small blocks or pillars at the bottom corners. Trumeau Mirrors These mirrors have a tabernacle or decorative panel, often partially gilded (parcel-gilt), in the top third of the frame. Pier-glass These mirrors are generally very decorative with crests and side decoration, they would have been placed on the 'pier' wall between two long windows, often with a similarly decorated 'pier' table beneath the mirror. Girandoles These are mostly oval mirrors with branched candlestick's coming from the base of the mirror frame. Cushion or Border Glass Mirrors These mirrors have four strips of glass framing the central mirror plate. The cushion glass mirror has the large central piece of glass raised rather like a cushion and the border glass is flat. The decoration used in the making of mirror frames. Here is a brief description of the wonderful forms used in making French mirrors; they were mostly put together to form the crest or fronton (fronton means pediment in French) but were also part of the frame and other decorative detail. Large pattern books were available for the client to choose from; the artisan would then combine the decoration and make the mirror to the required size.
The most used SYMBOLS AND EMBLEMS ACANTHUS LEAF is used extensively as a connecting form and it means strength.WEDDING SYMBOLS: MARRIAGE a pair of cooing doves, a torch or flambeau and arrows. These are often combined with interlaced hearts, cherubs, drapery, bows, knotted ribbons, leaves and garlands of flowers. The torch signifies the fire of love; the arrow, often accompanied by a bow or assembled in a quiver, is the symbol for Cupid, the god of love. TWO DOVES shows faithfulness. The sacred symbol of the Holy Ghost for peace.THE SCALLOP SHELL a motif used in both Roman and Greek mythology. From the 9th century the shell was used as a symbol of peace and displayed by pilgrims travelling to religious sites; notably the tomb of St. James at Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain. BASKET is a symbol of hope and prosperity. POMEGRANATE is a symbol of fertility. CORNUCOPIA is a symbol of opulence and riches. GRIFFINS are usually depicted with the head, wings and claws of an eagle, and the body of a lion; it symbolizes the combined qualities of both beasts which is watchfulness and courage. The griffin is also represented as a guardian of gold and an emblem of immortality. FLEUR-DE-LYS is a stylized lily used in heraldry. It was the emblem of the French kings and also of the city of Florence; a fleur-de-lys also represents a direct line of succession. LION shows strength, majesty, courage and fortitude. It was a medieval belief that the lion slept with its eye’s open so it also became a symbol of watchfulness. CARTOUCHE is usually designed to take an inscription or as part of a coat of arms. It's an oval central panel in the shape of an egg, sometimes taking the form of a scroll and set within other decoration. It can also take its shape from a cartridge with an elongated centre.
Carved and Composition decorative frames. Wood was used to make the basic structure of all mirror frames and pre 1800 all the decoration to the front of these frames was carved, this was known as 'gilt wood'. The decoration was then coated in gesso and bole (a fine plaster solution and coloured clay mixture) then gilded. This was a highly skilled and costly process. As the 19th century dawned and the nation became wealthier the demand for mirrors made it necessary to find a quicker and more cost-effective method of decorating these items. Composition or ‘compo’ was an innovative and exciting discovery that took some years to perfect; a mixture of whiting, linseed oil, gum rosin, glycerin, pearl glue, Venice turps and water were mixed and heated in a bainmarie. The ‘pastry’ was then kneaded by hand and finally, while still warm, pressed into wooden carved moulds. The decoration could then be offered-up to the frame and additional detail added where necessary. The whole frame was then finished in the traditional manner. This method of making composition is still used today. About gilding. Most mirror frames have a combination of oil gilding, on deeply moulded sections and water gilding, on smooth surfaces. This simply means the method by which the gold or silver leaf has been applied to the decoration. The gilder uses both methods on one frame in order to create contrast in the brilliance of the finished piece. The mirror plate or looking glass. This piece was written by M. Blancourt in the latter part of the 17th century and translated into English in 1699: ' The Glass is not perfect, till it be silvered, for without that it is impossible it should distinctly show the opposite objects...For this you must have a firm smooth Table, much greater than the glass, whereon spread one or more Sheets of very fine Tin, let them be as thin as Paper and so prepared, as not to have any Rumple or Furrow, or Spot, or else the Glass will be spoil'd. Over these sheets spread good Mercury, quite covering them with it, when the Mercury has soaked in well, place the Glass thereon, and it will stick to them; then turn it, and spread sheets of paper on the filling; press it gently, smoothing and stroking it with your Hands to take off the surplus Mercury; then dry it in the sun or by a soft Fire, and it will become perfect.' Between 1500 and 1700 Murano glassmakers refined glass mirror production, exporting plates all over the world in beds of straw and seaweed. They developed the Flemish art of coating flat glass with tin foil and mercury. This knowledge was passed to England towards the latter part of the 17th century but large-scale production only began here in The Casting Hall at Ravenshead in 1776. The 'silvered' back to glass came from 'quick silver' i.e. mercury. Throughout Europe the mirror makers were constantly trying to make the perfect reflection, but the process was dangerous and the risk to the health of the workers was high, many died from mercury poisoning or were sent mad. The term 'mad as a hatter' is an apt one as mercury was also used in the hatting industry. In 1835 a German chemist, Professor Von Liebig, found that glass could be coated with a solution of silver salts. This was a wonderful discovery, because it allowed The French Government, in 1850, to bring in legislation to stop the use of mercury in the mirror making workshops. This new method of making glass into mirror was known as the ‘Liebig’ method. In the 1920's the method of making glass into mirror changed again, glass was coated with aluminium, a technique that remains today. |
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Send mail to info@oldfrenchmirrors.com with questions or comments about this website. If you wish, you can buy directly off this web site, or make a selection and we will bring it to you (within 70 miles of Henley-on-Thames), or you may come to Henley-on-Thames and view our entire collection. Please ring first as we are not there all the time. Ring 01189 48 24 44
(from outside the UK ring 44 1189 48) |