A William & Mary Marquetry and Olivewood cushion mirror
Height 34" 86 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, West Sussex
A fine quality William & Mary olivewood oyster veneered marquetry cushion mirror.
The floral marquetry panels on a oyster veneered ground, inset by bevelled mirrored plate surrounded by a olivewood moulding, and gilded slip.
Towards the end of the reign of Charles II, mirrors of this type occupied a conspicuous position in luxuriously appointed rooms. Frames were made from a variety of materials, ranging from veneers of walnut, olive, laburnum, and other fruitwoods to ebony, tortoise-shell, and silver.This mirror's scrolling foliate cushion frame is closely related to a mirror belonging to Percy Macquoid, illustrated in P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture: The Age of Walnut, London, 1905, p. 157, pl. XId.