A Swedish Baroque Gilt Metal and Cobalt Glass Mirror

Attributed to Burchard Precht, Early 18th Century

Height 42 x width 26 inches.

This lot is located in Chicago.

Provenance:

Ariane Dandois, Paris, 18 November 1994 (with copy of invoice)

Note:

Burchard Precht was one of the most prominent sculptors in Sweden during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Born in Bremen, Germany to a lineage of artisans—Burchard's father was a sculptor and older brother a wood carver for whom Burchard was an apprentice—Precht arrived in Stockholm in 1674 to assist in the decoration of Drottningholm Palace, the private residence of the Swedish royal family; in 1681 he became a court sculptor. Precht traveled to France and Italy later in the decade, alongside Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, where the two initially encountered the Baroque style. Upon his return home, Burchard began incorporating hallmarks of this style into his work, eventually becoming a primary influence on the development and evolution of Swedish Baroque design.

Throughout much of his later career, Precht produced impressive church fittings out of his workshop for such notable churches as the Stockholm Cathedral, Gustaf Vasa Church and Uppsala Cathedral. His oeuvre included royal pews and pulpits, altarpieces, epitaphs, gilded furniture and ornate frames for mirrors and pictures, in addition to some marble sculptures produced for royal buildings. His workshop's notoriety is most attributed to its production of fine mirrors like the present lot, which were known as examples of the highest quality of Swedish design. Similar works were also built by Precht's sons Gustav and Christian, both of whom are also renowned for their individual contributions to Swedish design. See lots 178 and 214 for two other Precht mirrors, respectively attributed to Burchard and Gustav.