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| This was in a consignment furniture charity shop. I got it for $54! It had been marked down from $75. This is taking the place of a gold framed rococo mirror that I had taken down, planning to paint it in darker colors to go with my new ORB chandelier. Taking a closer look once home, I saw that it is ¼” thick veneered plywood, not solid wood. Only the frame immediately around the mirror itself is solid wood.
In my mind, I was thinking it was walnut. But I believe now that that was just wishful thinking, as my Jacobean Revival dining room set is walnut. Seeing them side by side, I think the mirror is mahogany. At least the color is reddish. It may not be the exact same style as my dining room set, but what would be the odds of that? Any idea how old this might be? It is in perfect condition, other than some cracks in the inlaid oval at the top. I can't believe any of those little projecting bits never got knocked off! The mirror is beveled, with only one small chip/spot in the silvering.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| 1930's...probably was part of a bedroom set....might even be newer than that...perhaps 40's. Nice mirror. |
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| I like that a lot! Except for dusting it. :P Now let's see the dining set it complements! |
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| 1930s would be a comparable age to the dining room set (which you helped me ID when I got it, Linda). But I could see how it could be 1940's... Aunts and uncles had furniture of that era. I was thinking of the possibility of a bedroom set, except for the fact that most of those mirrors are attached to the dressers, aren't they? The shop where I found it had everything very clean. When I got it home, I saw that the only dust was between those curves. I brushed it out, the plywood edges looked a little dry, so I took a thin cloth dampened with Scratch Coat and rubbed it in between. Then put on a new hanging wire, and hung it on the existing nail. Fastest thing I've ever installed. Here's the walnut dining room set, found on Craig's list about 3 years ago. The gold mirror you see above the short buffet in the first shot(taken right after I got the set), which I've had for maybe 20 years, is the one I'm replacing. That's just a fake resin material. If I can't find a place for it in the house (I have so many mirrors), I'll maybe take it to that same resale shop. Glad I hadn't gotten around to painting it before I found this one. I've been redecorating this room off and on since I got the set. Next will be to paint the buffet lamps to match the new chandelier, adding dark gold and dark bronze.
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| " I was thinking of the possibility of a bedroom set, except for the fact that most of those mirrors are attached to the dressers, aren't they?" No, in the timeframe Linda mentioned (30s), one starts to see ads for sets with mirrors separate. |
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- Posted by palimpsest (My Page) on Tue, Mar 6, 12 at 18:34
| I agree about the time frame. The inlay is Prince of Wales motif. |
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| The proportion of the mirror is tall and rather thin; maybe there were originally a pair? One would look very narrow over a dresser of usual width. I've seen wider 1950's dressers with "his and her" paired mirrors. But it is perfect for this spot in between the two windows. I didn't know the inlay design had a name! How interesting! |
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| I'm sure it looks good in there. You have excellent taste! :) |
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| Not one of a pair.....that was a single mirror over a dresser. In that time period they didn't do those oversized "double dressers". The dresser would have been about 45 inches wide, inlaid drawer fronts and on legs about 8 to 10 inches tall. |
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| This is interesting! What a wealth of information is available here. I Google searched "Prince of Wales" inlay, and found this:
Offered by an inlay and veneer woodworking store. This is IDENTICAL to the inlay on my mirror! This is making me wonder if it isn't actually old, but someone made this as a hobby woodworking project? That could explain why there is no damage. Except that the inlay panel does have some cracks. (If so, they were really good. It is very well made. There are supports on the back for the quarter inch thick plywood, mirror itself is braced and backed with more plywood. This latter looks newer, which makes me think that the mirror was replaced, or protected later.) It's still a nice mirror, regardless, and well worth the small price, antique or not. But it's got me curious.... Fori, I was very lucky! In the whole shop this just jumped out at me. I liked it immediately, and told the friend I was with that I was considering getting it, but couldn't decide where I'd put it. Before leaving, I went back to take a picture of it, saying maybe I would be back. By my friend said, "There's no point, because it will be gone. I'm buying it." I said, "No, no, I want it!" My friend did this, obviously, to push me off the fence, but I'm glad now. |
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| With friends like that, who needs salespeople! :P But really, a mirror that hangs shouldn't have any damage unless someone takes it down and sticks it in the garage (seems to happen often, unfortunately). The wall should be a safe spot for something to get old. Gotta find me my own piece of wall to sit on. |
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| Your mirror dates to about 1935....perhaps 1940.... Really!! Certain motifs were often repeated....but that one almost shouts 1935! No, it's not some hobby wood working project.....it's a good 80 year old mirror. |
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| Thanks, you reassure me. Maybe because it was inexpensive, and perfect, I'm not giving it enough credit for being authentic? Some pieces I got from my parents were perfect, too: some people just do take care of their furniture. |
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