Hippocampus Mirror
Antique 1820s English Regency Convex Mirrors
Brass
Antique 18th Century and Earlier Italian Wall Mirrors
Wood
Antique 1820s Austrian Empire Sterling Silver
Brass
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Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Architectural Elements
Bronze
Antique 1890s German Dinner Plates
Porcelain
Antique Early 18th Century French Baroque Western European Rugs
Silk, Wool
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XV Musical Instruments
Wood, Giltwood
Antique Late 19th Century French Floor Lamps
Bronze
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Ormolu
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary English Chinoiserie Pier Mirrors and Conso...
Paint, Wood, Gesso
20th Century French Floor Lamps
Crystal
Vintage 1940s American Hollywood Regency Wall Brackets
Plaster
Early 20th Century Italian Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Marble, Bronze
2010s British Louis XVI Beds and Bed Frames
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Art Deco Convex Mirrors
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century European Convex Mirrors
Mirror, Giltwood
Vintage 1950s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Sunburst Mirrors
Mirror, Giltwood
Vintage 1950s British Musical Instruments
Brass
Recent Sales
Antique Early 19th Century French Neoclassical Revival Trumeau Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Antique 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Mirror, Giltwood
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Metal
Antique 1810s English Regency Convex Mirrors
Giltwood
Antique Mid-19th Century English More Mirrors
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Giltwood
Antique Early 19th Century English More Mirrors
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Brass
Antique Early 19th Century British Convex Mirrors
Antique Early 19th Century American Federal Convex Mirrors
Gold Leaf
Antique 19th Century English Regency Girandoles
Gold Leaf
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Wall Mirrors
Gold Leaf
Antique 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Giltwood, Mirror
Antique Early 19th Century English More Mirrors
Mid-20th Century Italian Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Giltwood
Antique 19th Century English Convex Mirrors
Crystal
Antique Early 19th Century English Convex Mirrors
Antique 19th Century British Regency Convex Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Trumeau Mirrors
Mirror, Paint, Wood
Finding the Right mirrors for You
The road from early innovations in reflective glass to the alluring antique and vintage mirrors in trendy modern interiors has been a long one but we’re reminded of the journey everywhere we look.
In many respects, wall mirrors, floor mirrors and full-length mirrors are to interior design what jeans are to dressing. Exceedingly versatile. Universally flattering. Unobtrusively elegant. And while all mirrors are not created equal, even in their most elaborate incarnation, they're still the heavy lifters of interior design, visually enlarging and illuminating any space.
We’ve come a great distance from the polished stone that served as mirrors in Central America thousands of years ago or the copper mirrors of Mesopotamia before that. Today’s coveted glass Venetian mirrors, which should be cleaned with a solution of white vinegar and water, were likely produced in Italy beginning in the 1500s, while antique mirrors originating during the 19th century can add the rustic farmhouse feel to your mudroom that you didn’t know you needed.
By the early 20th century, experiments with various alloys allowed for mirrors to be made inexpensively. The geometric shapes and beveled edges that characterize mirrors crafted in the Art Deco style of the 1920s can bring pizzazz to your entryway, while an ornate LaBarge mirror made in the Hollywood Regency style makes a statement in any bedroom. Friedman Brothers is a particularly popular manufacturer known for decorative round and rectangular framed mirrors designed in the Rococo, Louis XVI and other styles, including dramatic wall mirrors framed in gold faux bamboo that bear the hallmarks of Asian design.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, mid-century modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary mirrors. Today’s simple yet chic mantel mirror frames, for example, often neutral in color, owe to the understated mirror designs introduced in the postwar era.
Sculptor and furniture maker Paul Evans had been making collage-style cabinets since at least the late 1950s when he designed his Patchwork mirror — part of a series that yielded expressive works of combined brass, copper and pewter — for Directional Furniture during the mid-1960s. Several books celebrating Evans’s work were published beginning in the early 2000s, as his unconventional furniture has been enjoying a moment not unlike the resurgence that the Ultrafragola mirror is seeing. Designed by the Memphis Group’s Ettore Sottsass in 1970, the Ultrafragola mirror, in all its sensuous acrylic splendor, has become somewhat of a star thanks to much-lauded appearances in shelter magazines and on social media.
On 1stDibs, we have a broad selection of vintage and antique mirrors and tips on how to style your contemporary mirror too.
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