“An exceptionally fine and rare English Neo-Classical Giltwood Looking Glass, circa 1770-1800″

This mirror typifies the work of the leading British Neo-Classical Architect and Designer, Robert Adam (1728-1792), who was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland and later moved to Edinburgh, where he trained under his father, who was an architect there. After travelling to France and Italy for his “Grand Tour” in 1754-1758, where he met and studied the works of Charles-Louis Clerisseau and Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Robert Adam returned to Great Britain and together with his brother, James, the Adams brothers created a partnership in London that designed architecture, interiors, furniture, metalworks, carpets, chimney-pieces for the most elite households in the United Kingdom in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The style ”Adamesque” was based on Greco-Roman motifs and well-known for its light and airy restraint, which was a contradiction to earlier designs of the wildly flamboyant Baroque. The “Adams” style quickly permeated all of Europe and eventually influenced North America. This mirror is firmly grounded in what Adam’s described as the “Etruscan” Style, which he adopted, and is defined by its extreme delicacy and intricacy, facilitated by ornamental composition on wires and tracery, almost always accompanied by pendants. Adam was at his best when designing looking glasses, such as the mirror shown here, with a filligree border.

CONDITION: This mirror is in immaculate condition and retains the original “water gilded” surfaces with the beveled mirror plate being the only replacement. The circular “ghost mark” shown in the mirror plate is from flash photography and is not visible when viewed. Additional photographs of the mirrors back and other details are available upon request. Please email us at chicoraclm@msn.com

DIMENSIONS: 56″ Overall height, 42″ Overall width.

PROVENANCE: A Charlotte, North Carolina Estate of Note.