George II Carved Giltwood and Walnut Veneered Mirror

Literature: Adam Bowett explains that a frame of this shape is referred to as a ‘tabernacle’ frame. In the early eighteenth Century, the term ‘tabernacle’ referred to a niche in a wall which housed a statue or a bust. Bowett comments that, in the case of the tabernacle mirror, ‘the figure of the deity was replaced by that of the viewer’. By 1730, the ‘tabernacle’ frame had achieved popularity and became an emblem of the national or ‘British’ style (Adam Bowett, ‘Early Georgian Furniture: 1715-1740’, Antique Collectors’ Club, 2009, pp.294-299).

Bibliography: An illustration of a similar mirror to the present example can be seen in Graham Child, ‘World Mirrors 1650-1900’, London, 1990, Fig.92.

Note: Brass candle arms of later date.