Mirror with Candle Holders

Artist/Culture American

Date1810–1825

Mediumgilded and painted wood and plaster and convex circular mirror

Dimensions86.7 x 46.4 x 15.2 cm (34 1/8 x 18 1/4 x 6 in.)

ClassificationsFurniture

Credit LineGift of the Paine Charitable Trust

Terms

Object number1965.297.2

DescriptionHas two open work bobeches on candle holders.
Label TextConvex mirrors such as these enjoyed popularity in America throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. The name of this type of mirror refers to the mounted girandoles, or candle brackets. Thomas Sheraton, in his Cabinet Dictionary of 1803, describes this type of mirror as a “circular convex glass in a gilt frame, silvered on the concave side, by which the reflection of the rays of light are produced.” An entire room could be reflected in the mirror, thus producing by Sheraton’s account “an agreeable effect.” This pair or mirrors are said to have come from the house of the prominent Salem merchant, Elias Hasket Derby (1739–1799). The original glass of the mirrors has been replaced.ProvenancePaine Charitable Trust

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