Antique Louis XV Style Wardrobe with Mirrored Doors, 1900s

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Two-door French mirrored wardrobe (armoire à glace) in the Louis XV style, made around 1900. The design is clearly structured: … Read more Two-door French mirrored wardrobe (armoire à glace) in the Louis XV style, made around 1900. The design is clearly structured: large, calm door panels contrast with a curved pediment, whose carved crowning ornament concentrates the decoration in a few zones and formally balances the height of 246 cm. Historical context: Before built-in wardrobes, freestanding wardrobes were the central piece of furniture for storing clothes and linens in France. During the 19th century, mirrored doors became a standard feature of middle-class bedroom furnishings because industrial glass production made large-format mirror panes widely available and affordable for the first time. The wardrobe thus assumed a dual function: storage space and a dressing mirror in a room that otherwise lacked built-in furnishings. Furniture of this type was usually purchased as part of a bedroom set, along with a bed and chest of drawers. The disassembled construction suited the transport requirements of urban apartments with narrow stairwells.

Features: - Beveled mirror panes in both door panels - Key included; Interior layout with shelf, clothes rail, and two base drawers. Design: Historicist Louis XV style of the late 19th century. Key features include the curved pediment with oval medallion, the fully carved, applied rocaille crowning, the curved base, and the volute feet. The door panels and drawer fronts are veneered in a mirror image, ensuring the grain runs symmetrically to the central axis. The fittings – elongated escutcheons and curved drawer pulls – feature the same rocaille motif in brass. The ornamentation is limited to the pediment, base, and fittings; the cabinet surfaces are left smooth, giving the design a calm and uncluttered structure.

Function: Formerly: part of a bedroom set and often the room's sole clothing storage. Today: usable as a freestanding wardrobe, a hall closet, or as storage furniture in living rooms and dressing rooms.

Dimensions: Height 246 cm × Width 146 cm × Depth 57 cm. Material and condition: Solid and veneered hardwood, presumably cherry. Beveled mirror glass, brass fittings. Solid wood back panel, frame can be disassembled. Well-preserved with age-related wear: a subtle patina, a few small scratches and dents, the mirror surfaces with age-related clouding and edge marks. The chrome-plated clothes rail is a later addition. Signs of age and use are part of its historical character. See less