Mirror | Yale University Art Gallery

1835–65

On view, 1st floor, American Decorative Arts before 1900

During the early nineteenth century, the word mirror was sometimes used to distinguish a convex or concave reflective glass from an ordinary looking glass. This example is a tour-de-force of technology and a glass decorator's control of a sheet of glass. This mirror breaks the reflection of the room view into sixty-one dancing images. The Rococo sight edge on the frame, which is otherwise in the Classical Revival style, suggests that it was made when the "modern French" style became popular during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

Medium: Eastern white pine
Dimensions: 26 3/8 in. (67 cm)
Credit Line: Bequest of Edward Porter Eggleston, B.A. 1900
Accession Number: 1966.76
Geography: Probably made in Great Britain, Possibly made in United States
Culture: Probably British, possibly American
Period: 19th century
Classification: Furniture
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Edward Porter Eggleston (1876–1956), New London and Bethlehem, Conn., before 1931 [see note 1]; bequeathed to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1966

Note 1: Eggleston may have inherited this mirror from ancestors who lived in New London.

Bibliography

Matthew Monteith, "The Explainers," in "Teaching with Art," special issue, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2013), 67

David L. Barquist, Elisabeth Donaghy Garrett, and Gerald W. R. Ward, American Tables and Looking Glasses in the Mabel Brady Garvan and Other Collections at Yale University (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), 342, no. 195, ill

Object copyright

No Copyright - United States

Additional information

Object/Work type

mirrors

Technical metadata and APIs

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