Rare Pair of George III 18th Century Rocco Giltwood Mirrors, circa 1750-1760

An Important and Rare Pair of George III Carved Giltwood Mirrors England, Circa 1760-1770 A fine and rare pair of George III period giltwood mirrors in the Chippendale style at its ...

A Large and Important George I Gilt-Gesso Pier Glass, Attributed to John Belchier, Circa 1725. England. Divided by the original arched and rectangular soft bevelled mirror plates within a gadrooned and foliate-carved border surmounted by an impressive foliate crest, flanked by profusly carved scrolling acanthus wings above a punch decorated carved frieze. Provenance Clopton Hall, Rattlesden, Suffolk John Belchier ‘The Sun’, south side of St Paul's Churchyard, London; cabinet maker (fl.1699-d. 1753). This impressive mirror can be confidently attributed to the London cabinetmaker John Belchier based on similarities with two large pier glasses he supplied in 1723 and 1726 to John Meller at Erdigg in Denbighshire, Wales (National Trust; illustrated, Early Georgian Furniture, by Adam Bowett, p.292 plates 6:50-51). Originally destined for the Second Best Bedroom and Best Bedchamber respectively, they now hang in the Saloon. The earlier mirror shares comparable strapwork cresting with double scrolls centering a mask whilst the second incorporates bold, inward-curving scrolls carved in high relief along the upper border of the frame that overlap onto the top edge of the plate. These distinctive, palm-like scrolls appear on other mirrors attributed to Belchier, among them an example in the Untermyer Collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York (46.116), and a girandole mirror also with a central winged cherub mask in the crest sold Sotheby's London, 20 November 2007, lot 13. John Belchier (d.1753), possibly of Huguenot origin, was born in Oxfordshire and served his apprenticeship with the London Joiners' Company from 1699-1707. By 1717 he was established at 'The Sun' in St Paul's Churchyard, London, where his trade bill described his activities as a supplier of 'All sorts of Cabinet Work, Chairs, Glasses, Sconces, & Coach Glasses’, and another trade bill indicated he ‘Grinds & Makes-up all sorts of fine Peer & Chimney Glasses and Glass Sconces, Likewise all Cabbinet Makers Goods’, suggesting mirrors and sconces were a particular specialty of his workshop. His most significant client was the London lawyer and Master of the High Court of Chancery John Meller (1665-1733) for his country estate at Erdigg near Wrexham, and in addition to pier glasses and sconces Belchier provided a magnificent carved and gilt wood State Bed in 1720 and is believed to have supplied two japanned bureau...

A beautiful pair all carved wood and gilded. True pair with the birds facing each other with a bird crest flanked by trailing leaves over an oval mirror plate with carved gadrooned o...

A George III Giltwood Pier Mirror In the Manner of Thomas Johnson An exceptionally detailed design; the superb carved decoration housing a shaped rectangular plate and undulating mirrored borders; the inner frame closely tied to the outer frame and leading the eye around the mirror. The grandiose masterful carving incorporating C-scrolls, flowering branchwork, stylized icicles, acanthus leaves, and distinctive architectural follies and figures which firmly place this mirror within the canon of Johnson's greatest designs. The confident execution is a great testament to the technical prowess and artistic creativity of one of the greatest carvers and designers of the eighteenth century, circa 1760. Provenance Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, Farmleigh, Co. Dublin, (1880?-1927); The Earls of Iveagh, Farmleigh, Co. Dublin & Elveden Hall, Suffolk (1927-2018). Thomas Johnson (1723-1799) Thomas Johnson was one of the most skilled carvers and furniture designers in Georgian England. Drawing inspiration from the Fables of Aesop, the rococo, China, and the idealised rustic life, his work is whimsical, exuberant and witty. Chippendale borrowed freely from his work. Johnson was a founder member of the 'Antigallican Society', a group who excoriated the French taste. In addition to its relation to Johnson's designs, this mirror also reflects the influence of Lock, the great master with whom he worked for a period. Lock published many sketches and pattern books, including A New Book of Ornaments for Looking Glasses in 1752, introducing several idiosyncratic features which Johnson would adopt such as the small decorative urns...