AN UNUSUAL EARLY 18TH CENTURY GERMAN PIER MIRROR 

A very fine early 18th century German pier glass, retaining its original Vauxhall beveled glass plates, the slender frame with panels of strapwork on a punched ground alternating with burnished sections, repeated under the shaped cresting with central crisply carved plumed feathers and elaborate Regence deeply carved scrolls.

This magnificent mirror is a remarkable example of the high standards of carving and design that were produced in Germany during the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The culmination of the Thirty Years War (1618 - 48) had brought about a new social order that strengthened the wealth and fortunes of the German aristocracy, encouraging a more sophisticated approach to the planning of their homes. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, highly skilled Huguenot Parisian designers and craftsmen were forced into exile, an act that led to the immediate dissemination of French taste and style throughout Northern Europe.

In the decorative arts, there has always been a strong national diversity and within each European State existed a wealth of regional variety. In Southern Germany, there is an undeniable link with Italy. Designers in Northern Germany were influenced by those of neighbouring countries, France and Holland. Northern designers took a particular interest in the application of textile designs in their carving, looking to the work of exiled Parisian designers such as Daniel Marot (1663-1752) for inspiration. The combination of plumes with detailed architectural scrollwork in the canopy of this mirror closely resembles the decorative forms which can be seen in Marot's designs for chairs, stools and pelmetsduring the reign of Louis XIV.

CONDITION REPORT ON REQUEST.