MIROIR D'ÉPOQUE ROCOCO VERS 1740 - 1750, PROBABLEMENT AUTRICHE
MIROIR D'ÉPOQUE ROCOCO
VERS 1740 - 1750, PROBABLEMENT AUTRICHE
En tilleul mouluré, sculpté et doré, miroir peint et verre églomisé probablement chinois réalisé pour l'exportation, le fronton à décor d'un dais à passementeries découvrant un bouquet de roses et de feuillages ajourés, les côtés et le bord inférieur ornés de treillages et feuillages enrubannés, le miroir figurant une femme pensive dans un décor luxuriant de soieries et paysages fleuris, rêvant une scène de combats traditionnels figurée dans un léger nuage au-dessus d'elle
H. 185 cm. (72 ¾ in.) ; L. 110 cm. (43 ¼ in.)
Provenance
Collection privée, Milan
Literature
A ROCOCO GILT WOOD AND EGLOMISED GLASS MIRROR, CIRCA 1740 - 1750, PROBABLY AUSTRIAN
The refinement of its reverse-glass painting and its majestic frame make this mirror a particularly intriguing example of the art of chinoiserie in Central Europe.
Its moulded frame, carved with sumptuous, fanciful ornament enriched with trelliswork, ribbons, foliage and flowers, provides the first clue to its place of creation. Although the motif of a canopy or baldachin adorned with passementerie above the mirror is also found on Dutch and German examples (G. Child, Les miroirs 1650–1900, Paris, 1991, pp. 224, 228 and 234; S. Roche, Miroirs, Passau, 1986, p. 92), this type of carving is characteristic of Austrian furniture of the first half of the eighteenth century. Such ornament was not confined to mirror frames, but was also applied to veneered furniture, including cabinets and bureaux. The remarkable quality of the carving suggests a Viennese origin, although sumptuous furniture was also produced at this time by local craftsmen elsewhere in Austria, particularly for major abbeys. Among these, the monastery of St Florian still preserves a remarkable ensemble of early eighteenth-century furniture created for its state apartments (see Otto Wurzel, Das Augustiner-Chorherrenstift St. Florian, Linz, 1996).
At the centre of the mirror is a Chinese woman, or meiren (beauty), reading a scroll. The painted panel was almost certainly produced in Europe, probably Austria, as suggested by the style of the faces and the form of the clouds enveloping the floating cartouche. Mirrors painted on glass of such quality appear to be exceedingly rare. Vienna was undoubtedly a major centre for European chinoiserie, as strikingly demonstrated by the porcelain produced by the Du Paquier manufactory, founded in 1718. Supported by Emperor Charles VI and subsequently acquired by his daughter, Empress Maria Theresa, the manufactory rapidly developed a highly distinctive interpretation of Chinese models and motifs.
As early as 1725, an extraordinary room entirely decorated with Du Paquier porcelain was created for Dubsky Palace. More remarkable still, around 1730, Prince Eugene of Savoy, a great connoisseur of exotic works of art, had his bedroom at Hof Palace adorned with embroidered textiles depicting Oriental figures. These may have been commissioned in India or produced in Vienna itself (see exhibition catalogue, Barocker Luxus Porzellan, Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, 2005).
MIROIR D'ÉPOQUE ROCOCO
VERS 1740 - 1750, PROBABLEMENT AUTRICHE
En tilleul mouluré, sculpté et doré, miroir peint et verre églomisé probablement chinois réalisé pour l'exportation, le fronton à décor d'un dais à passementeries découvrant un bouquet de roses et de feuillages ajourés, les côtés et le bord inférieur ornés de treillages et feuillages enrubannés, le miroir figurant une femme pensive dans un décor luxuriant de soieries et paysages fleuris, rêvant une scène de combats traditionnels figurée dans un léger nuage au-dessus d'elle
H. 185 cm. (72 ¾ in.) ; L. 110 cm. (43 ¼ in.)
Provenance
Collection privée, Milan
Literature
A ROCOCO GILT WOOD AND EGLOMISED GLASS MIRROR, CIRCA 1740 - 1750, PROBABLY AUSTRIAN
The refinement of its reverse-glass painting and its majestic frame make this mirror a particularly intriguing example of the art of chinoiserie in Central Europe.
Its moulded frame, carved with sumptuous, fanciful ornament enriched with trelliswork, ribbons, foliage and flowers, provides the first clue to its place of creation. Although the motif of a canopy or baldachin adorned with passementerie above the mirror is also found on Dutch and German examples (G. Child, Les miroirs 1650–1900, Paris, 1991, pp. 224, 228 and 234; S. Roche, Miroirs, Passau, 1986, p. 92), this type of carving is characteristic of Austrian furniture of the first half of the eighteenth century. Such ornament was not confined to mirror frames, but was also applied to veneered furniture, including cabinets and bureaux. The remarkable quality of the carving suggests a Viennese origin, although sumptuous furniture was also produced at this time by local craftsmen elsewhere in Austria, particularly for major abbeys. Among these, the monastery of St Florian still preserves a remarkable ensemble of early eighteenth-century furniture created for its state apartments (see Otto Wurzel, Das Augustiner-Chorherrenstift St. Florian, Linz, 1996).
At the centre of the mirror is a Chinese woman, or meiren (beauty), reading a scroll. The painted panel was almost certainly produced in Europe, probably Austria, as suggested by the style of the faces and the form of the clouds enveloping the floating cartouche. Mirrors painted on glass of such quality appear to be exceedingly rare. Vienna was undoubtedly a major centre for European chinoiserie, as strikingly demonstrated by the porcelain produced by the Du Paquier manufactory, founded in 1718. Supported by Emperor Charles VI and subsequently acquired by his daughter, Empress Maria Theresa, the manufactory rapidly developed a highly distinctive interpretation of Chinese models and motifs.
As early as 1725, an extraordinary room entirely decorated with Du Paquier porcelain was created for Dubsky Palace. More remarkable still, around 1730, Prince Eugene of Savoy, a great connoisseur of exotic works of art, had his bedroom at Hof Palace adorned with embroidered textiles depicting Oriental figures. These may have been commissioned in India or produced in Vienna itself (see exhibition catalogue, Barocker Luxus Porzellan, Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, 2005).
