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1 of 253523 objects
Mirror c.1670
Embossed silver, bevelled glass | 121.0 x 101.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 35292
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A rectangular silver mirror with embossed decoration, the inner part of the frame chased with leaf husks, the outer rounded area with foliate arabesques overlaid at the centre on either side with a bearded male mask.
Provenance
Although it is not known who commissioned the mirror, it almost certainly was made during the reign of Charles II, and was most likely part of the court furnishings at Whitehall Palace, perhaps for the Queen or the King's French mistress, Louise de Keroualle, created Duchess of Portsmouth in 1673, whose apartments were, according to John Evelyn 'luxuriously furnished with ten times the richness & glory beyond the Queenes'. Indeed her apartments there were famed throughout Europe: G. Leti in 'Il teatro brittanico', published in 1684 in Amsterdam considered that the Duchess's silver plate was 'more ornate and nobly worked than that of any other princess in Europe' (I, p. 132). For further reading see 'M. Winterbottom, 'Such massy pieces of plate', Apollo, August 2002, pp. 19-26.
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Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Embossed silver, bevelled glass
Measurements
121.0 x 101.0 cm (whole object)
91000 g (Weight) (whole object)
Other number(s)