A North Italian Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid, Parcel Gilt and Black Lacquered Mirror

Possibly Venice, Late 16th/ Early 17th Century

Height 25 x width 19 1/2 inches.

Provenance:

Aline Thorold (1869-1951) m. Ernest James Wythes (1868-1949) at Copped Hall, Essex, until 1917 and The Wood House, Essex, thereafter and by descent to

Barbara Dorothy Wythes (1896-1984) m. (Francis) Guy Robert Elwes (1895-1966) at The Wood House, Essex until 1961 and Ham Spray House, Marlborough, thereafter and by descent to

Aline Mary Margaret (Elwes) McDonnell (1923-2023) m. Hubert McDonnell Jr. (1919-2004), Greenwich, Connecticut, and thence by descent

Note:

This modest-scale early mirror relates to a mother-of-pearl inlaid example in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, item 07980, dated to the late 16th century. As the gateway to the East and a strong maritime power, mother-of-pearl was widely used in Venice for the adornment of furniture, mirrors and cosmetic articles which were the ultimate signifiers of wealth and power for their owners. The present example follows the pedimented form with cartouche decoration popular at the time in Northern Italy.

Pictured:

An 1807 engraving of Copped Hall, S. Rawle from a drawing by S. Shepherd.

Aline Elwes McDonnell and Family, circa 1954.