Antique Mirrors: Antique Wall & Overmantel Mirrors
A wide and varied selection of Antique Wall Mirrors, Fireplace Overmantel Mirrors and Period Giltwood and carved Mirrors.
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Stock: 10138
TO BE STRIPPED An early Victorian painted and gilded pine and gesso overmantle mirror. The carved eagle perches between thistles above the decorative foliate detailed frame.
English, mid 19th century.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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53 1⁄2"
135.8 cms |
65 3⁄16"
165.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £2,400 (+VAT where applicable)
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Stock: 13805
A sumptuous antique Giltwood and gesso Louis XV style Girandole mirror.
The generous pediment is in the form a single putti holding aloft garlands of summer flowers among scrolling foliage,it is set above the arched topped mirror with its original mercury glass plate. The finely detailed and moulded frame has further flamboyant foliate decoration to the bottom with two elegant scrolling single branch candle sconces.
English, mid 19th century.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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23 5⁄8"
60 cms |
63 13⁄16"
162 cms |
8 11⁄16"
22 cms |
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Stock: 14697
A highly ornate Rococo style giltwood antique oval wall mirror with a high stele crest above a luxuriously scrolled acanthus carved frame meeting a reversed stele crest below.
French, late 19th century.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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37"
94 cms |
61 13⁄16"
157 cms |
3 1⁄2"
9 cms |
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Stock: 14596
A tall carved and gilded antique overmantle mirror in the classical style, surmounted by a wreath, quiver and torch and floral sprig crest, the mirror plate with fine bead edging the frame with an egg and dart border.
French, late 19th century.
Photo before restoration.
View our collection of: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| Maximum |
45 1⁄4"
115 cms |
67 1⁄8"
170.5 cms |
5 11⁄16"
14.5 cms |
| Base |
43 1⁄2"
110.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,200 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 14190
A simple tall giltwood overmantel antique mirror with bead edging and with it's original plate.
English,late 19th century.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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56 11⁄16"
144 cms |
89"
226 cms |
2 5⁄8"
6.5 cms |
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Listed Price: £5,400 (+VAT where applicable)
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Stock: 4774
An Irish Rococo Revival carved giltwood overmantel mirror in the mid 18th Century Georgian manner, with its original Mercury backed Vauxhall glass sections all separately fitted. The high central cartouche and ‘C’ scroll decoration over the triple mirror are supported either side by grand floral scrolls. The original Dublin cabinet maker's label is attached to the bottom.
Irish, circa 1881.
R. Boyle & Sons.
Artistic Cabinet Makers & Upholsterers
Carvers Guilders & Manufacturers of Church Furniture
20 Upper Gloucester Street
Dublin, July 1st 1881 - image below.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
| Max |
72"
183 cms |
54 1⁄4"
138 cms |
3 1⁄2"
9 cms |
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Stock: 13500
A tall antique giltwood mirror, impressive in the French Louis XVI manner. This giltwood and composition mirror has an arched rectangular frame with ornately decorated columns and a leaf carved pediment which is centred by a large oval paterae. Photos before restoration.
French late 19th century
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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Width |
Height |
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55 1⁄8"
140 cms |
79 1⁄8"
201 cms |
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Listed Price: £4,600 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 8497
A late 19th century oval gilt wood wall mirror in rectangular pine and gesso frame, scale border, decorative corner panels, ribbons, bows & floral swags.
Link to: Antique mirrors, matching console tables
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width |
height |
depth |
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44 7⁄8"
114 cms |
66 7⁄8"
170 cms |
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Listed Price: £3,500 (+VAT where applicable)
More info?
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Stock: 8189
A large breakfront carved oak Victorian Palladian style overmantel mirror with swan neck scrolled broken pediment, carved acanthus leaf overmantel over egg and dart and fluted lintel interpositioned with circular carved paterae over fluted Corinthian pilasters. ( photo before restoration - item now fully restored )
English, 1850.
Link to: Antique mirrors and console tables
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width |
height |
depth |
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57"
144.8 cms |
53 1⁄2"
135.9 cms |
4 1⁄2"
11.4 cms |
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Antique mirrors
There is something alluring about an antique mirror - perhaps the combination of a finely carved frame and the shimmering surface of original glass - that has led to their enduring appeal amongst antique furniture collectors.
A short history of antique mirrors
The earliest mirrored glass was made in Murano in the 16th century, where glass was coated in mercury and tin to create a silver reflective layer on its reverse. This process was a closely guarded secret, and spies were sent from the French court of Louis XIV to Venice to discover the process. Their efforts paid off, and the French became renowned producers in their own right. Antique mirrors were made using mercury glass until other safer methods of manufacture became more widely available in the 19th century.
Earlier antique mirrors also tend to be slightly smaller, or made with separate panels of mirrored glass, as there was not the technology to produce single sheets of large glass until the late 18th century. Only the very wealthy could afford very large panes of glass, so mirrors were objects of prestige and magnificence.
Varieties of antique mirror
Whether an antique wall mirror, an overmantel mirror or a pier mirror, it is often the frame that catches the eye. Particularly fine mirrors are carved from mahogany or rosewood, or gilded using gold leaf, rather than paint. Mirror frames tend to be made of carved wood or carved wood and gesso. They are called giltwood mirrors if a thin layer of gold leaf has been applied over the carved and primed surface. Such mirrors exude quality and vary from bright gold through to a more worn, soft patina. An antique gilded mirror is often deemed more valuable than its wooden counterpart and is seen as a timeless addition to interiors of all styles.
Eras of antique mirror
Antique overmantle mirrors embody the elegance of a period home, and can inject both sophistication and character into an interior. Victorian mirrors often come in overmantel form, as in 19th century England, the mantelpiece was the heart of the home, a space to display precious objects and convey taste. The earlier Regency overmantel mirrors were often horizontal in form and more modest in design. Victorian mirrors were not only gilt, but often carved from wood such as oak, mahogany and rosewood.
In France the overmantel mirror was similarly significant, and in many cases, much taller, utilising the space above the fireplace enabled by higher ceilings and grand rooms. These Antique French mirrors are usually gilded, and wood was not widely used without a gilded adornment.
Often smaller, antique wall mirrors are an excellent thing to hang above a piece of furniture or in a hallway, where they can create the illusion of a larger, lighter space. They are less dominant than an overmantel, and serve a function in rooms such as bedrooms or hallways.
If you are looking for an overmantel or any Antique mirrors London is the place to look. Our showroom has numerous options all on display for you to browse, from early Georgian wall mirrors through to large Aesthetic movement overmantels.