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Napoleon III Style Tall Austrian Wooden Frame Mercury Mirror and Gold Decoration

About the Item

We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. Sumptuous and imposing frame in Second Empire style with ground mirror executed with mercury original of the time, the frame was made with precious craftsmanship between 1865 and 1870 in Austria in precious African mahogany feather with processing "lastronatura" and enriched by elegant and refined giltwood decorations at the corners and a finish of golden acanthus leaves along the edge of the mirror. The ground mirror was made with the ancient technique of mercury, which consisted of placing the metal above a series of layers of tin flattened on the glass, the mercury was then smoothed and polished with a special stone and buffered, the mixture thus obtained was called "quicksilver". This technique was developed by the Venetian Master Glassmakers (Master Dal Gallo 1507); the Serenissima placed the process under secret, but over time it leaked out of the city and spread to European countries, first of all, Austria and France. The Napoleon III style (Second Empire) together with the Neo-Renaissance style, belongs to that particular Eclectic period that distinguished European countries in the second half of the 19th century; in short, the Napoleon III style took up the more serious and austere forms of the First Empire, but with the eclecticism that distinguished the period, it made it more graceful, refined and elegant, reflecting and well representing the social, cultural and economic period that Europe was living at the time. The "lastronatura" is a craft technique that was already widespread during the sixteenth century and remained unchanged until the mid-nineteenth century before the Industrial Revolution; the exact term is the Italian "lastronatura" untranslatable into English (possibly slab?), in fact, the "lastronatura" is very different and older than wood-veneer. The technique consisted in cutting by hand with saws the trunks of trees of noble wood (walnut, mahogany, briar, feather, etc..) in many layers with a thickness ranging from 4 to 6 millimeters, which were then applied to the furniture for decorative purposes; the finishing of this process was very complex: the layer of wood was treated with natural earth dissolved in water for the desired tonality, it was antiqued with stone, it was fixed with shellac applied with a brush and finally the polishing was carried out in 12 passages with a cotton pad soaked in shellac, straw-colored oil with powder of pumice stone. The "lastronatura" is not to be confused with the veneer that is modern processing, in fact, the layer of wood is cut by machine and the thickness is below 1 mm., while that of the"lastronatura", as already mentioned, is from 4 to 6 mm. This ancient technique, applied to our frame, has allowed us to enhance the colors, the flaming, and the grain of the precious African feather mahogany. The frame is in good overall condition, but has small imperfections that we point out in the photos; The imperfections of the mirror, the small stains, and its surface veiled patina, attest to the antiquity and authenticity. making it a unique piece of furniture, useful and beautiful. Measures width cm.114, depth cm.10, height cm.175. For all our shipments we use special packaging materials (wooden crates, styrofoam, etc.) for maximum protection and safety of the objects.

Dimensions:

Height: 68.9 in (175 cm)Width: 44.89 in (114 cm)Depth: 3.94 in (10 cm)

Style:

Napoleon III (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood,Polished

Place of Origin:

Austria

Period:

Late 19th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1865-1870

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. The frame is in good overall condition, but has small imperfections that we point out in the photos; The imperfections of the mirror, the small stains, and its surface veiled patina, attest to the antiquity and authenticity.

Seller Location:

Prato, IT

Reference Number:

Seller: FR-2631stDibs: LU4632227813622

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