Regency Convex Mirrors at Timothy Langston Fine Art & Antiques

Timothy Langston introduces three Regency convex mirrors from his gallery.

Convex mirrors produce a wonderful distorted reflection and it is often said that they were designed for dining rooms so that a butler could see increased angles to observe the actions of footmen and most importantly, keep an eye on empty glasses! Today these mirrors are popular with interior decorators for their sculptural qualities and for their reflection of light.

In about 1810, classicism influenced all interior decoration and these circular mirrors find their origin in the Roman oculus - a round window or opening for light within a building. The best example of this is at the Pantheon in Rome, built in the 2nd century AD.

The first recorded example of a convex mirror in Renaissance art is the Arnolfini marriage by Jan Van Eyck in the early 15th century. At this time glass was tremendously expensive and convex glass plates a remarkable achievement of early engineering.

By the late 18th century demand for mirrors had grown and production methods meant that, for the first time, the burgeoning middle class could enjoy reflections in their homes too.

Further development in glass making meant that by the early 1800s convex mirror plates could be produced to meet commercial demand and as a consequence this form of mirror is considered a stylistic keystone in the development of English furniture.

I’m going to show you 3 examples. The first of which is a small convex dating from about 1830. This example has a rope twist frame and is surmounted with a hypocampus - a stylised sea horse. This mirror has a simplicity of form and owing to its scale would have been made for a small intimate room.

As in fashion, furniture manufacturing was derivative and simple examples took inspiration from more elaborate forms. This mirror would have been owned by an affluent family, the quality of carving is exceptional, as with the previous example it has a rope twist border except in this instance we see ebonised elements. It also enjoys fanciful foliate caving and most importantly it has two scrolling candle arms with cut class socles.

Continuing the theme of stylistic derivation, here we have the finest example of a convex mirror in this case by Fentham of London. An embonised eagle perches on the cresting and from its beak dangles chains with gilded canon balls and tassels. The frame is set with 50 gilded spheres and supports 4 scrolling candle arms, in this case inspired by the Le Goût de l'Egypte with their Pharaoh heads supporting elaborately cut glass drip pans and finely cast brass socles. This is a remarkable achievement.

I hope that these three examples of convex mirrors will help you to see the breadth of ornament used at this time. These three mirrors prove how purity of form is consistent in antique furniture: their circular back plates remain fundamental to the design and that the restraint or inclusion of ornament was very much subject to a client’s personal preference, wealth and social status. But most importantly by this time good furniture had become available to more people than ever before and the convex mirror reflects the optimism of the time.