18th Century George II Period Carved Gesso and Giltwood Mirror

A Rare and Unusual Pair of 18th Century Spanish Colonial 'Enconchado' Mirrors Veneered in Tortoiseshell and Inlaid With Bone and Mother of Pearl Made in Lima (Peru) or Mexico Circa 1720 Provenance One of the mirrors with a fragmentary label printed with "Bodmer", possibly relating to one of the branches of the Bodmer family in Switzerland, some of whom were renowned collectors of South American art The mirrors of rectangular form with ripple moulded outer borders framing tortoishell veneered inner borders inlaid with fine bone stringing and sinuous floral motifs inlaid in mother of pearl. The sight edges also veneered and inlaid with a repeating geometric motif. The mirrors are notable for the fine quality of the inlay, their unusually large size for this date, in particular the size of the plates themselves (possibly original) and the fact that they are a pair. The term 'Enconchado' comes from Spanish colonial art, particularly associated with Mexico, comprising of oil paintings inlaid with mother of pearl and other iridescent minerals. This form of art is discussed in great detail by Miguel Arisa in his essay Luminosity in Mexican Enconchado Paintings and Conceptions of the Sacred in Visual Culture and Indigenous Agency in the Early Americas, The Early Americas: History and Culture, Volume: 10 Chapter 4 (October 2021). He argues that the development of this style was an attempt to combine pre-Hispanic indigenous South American traditions regarding the sacred properties of "shiny objects" and "Baroque concepts of the miraculous", the sparkling inlay adding to the power of the European religious imagery. Mirrors such as the present pair are likewise cross-cultural objects, fusing European form and aesthetic concerns with indigenous craftsmanship to create objects of great prestige and decorative appeal. The ripple mouldings are clearly the result of a 17th century Dutch...

A fine late 18th Century George III Satinwood and sabicu ladies writing cabinet with important provenance. (Possibly by George Simpson) English London made - Circa 1785 Provenance Exhibited by W. R. Harvey in their Old Bond Street showrooms in 1986 and 1987, the piece being chosen to be advertised in Country Life magazine in 1986 and in the Grosvenor House...

18th Century George III Irish giltwood wall mirror. The frame consisting of elaborate s-scrolls and c-scrolls with acanthus leaves and delicately carved flowers and fruit.

19th-century moulded gilt gesso plaster and carved wood framed mirror with original glass, the crest with a bird amongst rococo scrolls - 31"w x 49"h