An Italian carved giltwood mirror, probably Rome, late 17th/early 18th century

This mirror echoes the influence of the baroque style spread in Rome by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Filippo Passarini and Johann Paul Schor, and displays key decorative characteristics of the time, such as the long, feathery acanthus foliage, the scrolling curves, blossoms and sunflowers. It represents a very good example of the exquisite level of skill attained by the often unknown intagliatori and doratori in the production of carved and gilded artefacts.

The design of this mirror with its exuberant vegetal-floral ornamentation is similar to that of a mirror at the Palazzo Rondinini in Rome (illustrated F. Hammond, S. Walker ed, Life and the Arts in the Baroque Palaces of Rome, 1999, p.186, cat.54). Such elaborate mirrors often complemented similarly carved console tables as illustrated in the designs by Filippo Passarini (see op.cit., p.184) and together they formed one of the most prevalent units of interior furnishings in state rooms.