Italian Giltwood Mirror Carved with Fruit on Vines, 19th Century

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This is a truly spectacular antique Italian giltwood framed mirror, circa 1860 in date. Measures: 78 x 56cm. The bevelled … Read more This is a truly spectacular antique Italian giltwood framed mirror, circa 1860 in date. Measures: 78 x 56cm. The bevelled rectangular mirror plate has a superbly carved giltwood frame decorated with splendid bold leaf scroll decoration and magnificent carved fruiting vines, which add a sense of extra opulence to this extraordinary piece. This beautiful mirror will surely make a statement in any room. Condition: In really excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 78 x width 56 x depth 8 Dimensions in inches: Height 30.7 x width 22.0 x depth 3.1 Mirrors are commonly used for personal grooming or admiring oneself (in which case the archaic term looking-glass is sometimes still used), decoration, and architecture. The earliest manufactured mirrors were pieces of polished stone such as obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass. In classical antiquity, mirrors were made of solid metal (bronze, later silver) and were too expensive for widespread use by common people; they were also prone to corrosion. Due to the low reflectivity of polished metal, these mirrors also gave a darker image than modern ones, making them unsuitable for indoor use with the artificial lighting of the time. The method of making mirrors out of plate glass was invented by 16th-century Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano, who covered the back of the glass with mercury, obtaining near-perfect and undistorted reflection. For over one hundred years, Venetian mirrors installed in richly decorated frames served as luxury decorations for palaces throughout Europe, but the secret of the mercury process eventually arrived in London and Paris during the 17th century, due to industrial espionage. French workshops succeeded in large scale industrialization of the process, eventually making mirrors affordable to the masses. See less