Doe and Hope

Description

The high Victorian gilt gesso girandole mirror of serpentine outline with scroll decorated crest set with metal sconces and a very well established patination and texture, surviving from the third quarter of nineteenth century England.

The girandole has just about as much character and patination as you could hope for without being too far gone. There is some retouching of the gilding in places, some restorations to the gilt frame, small cracks to the gilding around the frame and some loss to the candle sconce arms gesso wise, though it remains in moderate condition overall considering age and use. The mirror plate appears to be original with the backboards in place and a hanging hook integral to it.

A girandole is an elaborate wall bracket incorporating one or more candleholders and frequently a mirror to reflect the light. An object of luxury, it was usually embellished with carving and gilding. Although the name is Italian in origin, girandoles reached the greatest heights of fashion (in the second half of the 18th century) in France and England. At the beginning of this period they represented the most exuberant expression of the Rococo.

A very pretty and romantically charged wall incumbent.