Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Is there a functional purpose to this mirror that inverts and distorts the image?

Indeed there was, the mirror would help illuminate the room by reflecting all of the candles in the space. It would also help show off the fancy furnishings of the elite who would own these Federal-era mirrors, since it gives a wide-angle view of the room.

How would someone make something like this in 1825?

That particular mirror is made of gilt wood meaning that someone would have carved that elaborate frame in which the mirror would be placed. The technique was likely similar to that used to carve actual frames for works of art. The mirror itself is made of curved, silvered glass, giving the convex shape. This came in handy in homes before electricity because a convex mirror would reflect candle light well throughout a room.

Oh wow, that's so interesting! Thanks!

You're very welcome! Feel free to send along more questions as you continue to explore the Museum today.

I'm curious about the concave mirror in the Colonial gallery.

That particular mirror is made of gilt wood meaning that someone would have carved that elaborate frame in which the mirror would be placed and then applied very thin pieces of gold leaf to it. The technique was likely similar to that used to carve frames for works of art. The mirror itself is made of curved, silvered glass, giving the convex shape. This came in handy in homes before electricity because a convex mirror would reflect candlelight well throughout a room.

One of the most interesting things about Decorative Arts is how they can inform us about the lives and values that people in the past held. As you move through our American wing, you'll notice styles change on a surface level, but these changes often reflect (no pun intended) the changing technology and values in everyday life.

Was this ever actually used a real mirror?

This mirror was used but, rather than reflecting an image of the person standing before it, it was intended to reflect and increase the light in a room. By catching and reflecting rays of light, it could help brighten a room in the days before electric lighting.

I am interested in the mirror, and would like to know why it's convex.

My pleasure! I love design from the first decades of the 19th century. This furniture group is in the late neoclassical style, sometimes referred to as the "Empire Style" because the fashion was being set by designers working in France during the Napoleonic Empire. The mirror is convex because it's function was to reflect light rather than to show one's appearance. It was common to place candles near mirrors, to double the light in a room.

Wow! It's sounds like 19th century homes were pretty beautiful.

Yes! They really loved gold in this period- you will notice that everything is gilded. The gilding would have caught the light and shone in dark rooms.

What do we know about the manufacturing process for concave mirrors like this one? Does Anish Kapoor use the same process in his mirrors?

Anish Kapoor does not use the same process. This mirror is made of curved, silvered glass while Kapoor's work is made of highly polished stainless steel, meant to be so polished that it lacks imperfections. Both have been covered with shiny substances to enhance the mirror-like quality, but again, the silvering of this mirror's surface is not the same as the carefully applied lacquer paint that Kapoor uses. In the early 19th century, these mirrors would have been strategically placed to increase the light in a room.

Tell me more.

The mirror, from 1830, might appear unusual to you. The curved surface would better reflect candlelight in early 19th century homes. This additional light would, in turn, help the owner show off the kind of fashionable Neoclassical style furnishings that you see below the mirror.

Mirror

Decorative Arts and Design

Mirrors such as this one were manufactured to enhance the limited light provided by candles in British colonial interiors. This example’s unusual curved surface creates a distorted reflection.

MAKER Unknown

MEDIUM Wood, gesso, gilt, and silvered glass

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Place made: England
Possible place made: United States

DATES ca. 1830

DIMENSIONS 46 x 25 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. (116.8 x 64.2 x 14 cm)

COLLECTIONS Decorative Arts and Design

ACCESSION NUMBER 41.1187

CREDIT LINE Dick S. Ramsay Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Concave mirror set within carved and gilded Empire style circular frame bordered with spherules surmounted by a large leaf-scrolled cornucopia of fruit and with foliage pendant on base. Condition: Good, gold leaf missing in places.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.