A FINE WILLIAM III MARQUETRY INLAID WALNUT CUSHION FRAME MIRROR circa 1695

the arched flat crest inlaid with foliage, carnations, tulips and a bird within a conforming pierced fret-work border with foliate scrolls and birds, the cushion frame with oyster veneers and with oval line inlaid reserves inlaid with flowers and birds, the rectangular beveled mirror plate within cross cut moldings.

In restored condition, overall with old waxed surface with remnants of old dark patination on the moldings – usual small losses and scratches overall. The crest slightly bowed with old age cracks to the plain veneers overall and old cracks with small losses to the tips to the pierced decoration. The joints of the cross-cut moldings with overall age shrinkage as usual, the four corners each with some infilling to the shrinkage with some over-painting. The mirror plate not original, but with mellow silvering. A good mirror with less restoration than is usually found on similar mirrors of this period.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The form of this mirror, with its broad cushion frame richly embellished with foliate and flower marquetry, is a form which seems only to appear in the last two decades of the 17th century; this was almost certainly governed by the small size of mirror plates which were available at this period. The trade card of Phillip Hunt 'at ye Looking Glass and Cabinet Bell' illustrates a very similar example inlaid with marquetry and with a crest pierced with the cipher of William Mary, indicating a date of the mid 1690s. A similar mirror from the Collection of Percival Griffiths is inlaid overall with marquetry (See: Macqoid and Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, vol. III, 1953, pl. XL), and others are also recorded veneered in plain walnut, oyster-cut olivewood, and also with oriental lacquer, (See. Op. cit., p. 318, fig. 21).

See:
Adam Bowett, English Furniture 1660-1714, Woodbridge, 2002, pp. 294 - 295