M.S. Rau Mirrors

The exquisite details of this hand-carved Italian giltwood mirror are matched in grandeur by its notable size. Nearly 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide, this mirror is an extraordinary feas...

This exquisite Chinese export silver mirror is a work of exotic beauty. Elegantly shaped and monumental in size, this looking glass is held within ...

This monumental 17th-century Flemish mirror is crafted in the grand Baroque style. The magnificent frame is veneered in exquisite tortoiseshell with wave-moulded bands of ebony providing a flawless accent. Tortoiseshell and ebony were both among the most precious and coveted materials of the 17th century, and are used to their utmost effect in this exceptionally rare looking glass. Flemish glassworkers enjoyed a reputation of excellence beginning in the 16th century. These skillful craftsmen are credited with the invention of the tin-mercury method of mirror-making, a process that made polished metal mirrors obsolete. They employed and excelled in a number of decorative techniques in creating the frames, including marquetry, japanning (Dutch and Flemish japanning was of the highest quality, surpassing even the English), and the use of tortoiseshell veneering...

Lavish Meissen porcelain serves as the extraordinary frame for this mirror. Exquisitely hand-painted in polychrome with gilt accents, the bountiful fr...

Mirror glass was a particular luxury during the latter 17th century, for it was in short supply and, at the time, only produced and exported from Italy. A large example such as this ...

This incredibly rare pair of Louis XV-period giltwood mirrored girandoles capture the grandeur, grace and opulence of the Rococo movement in the decorative arts. Each opulent mirror is exquisitely framed with voluminous flourishes of naturalistic motifs exemplary of the Louis XV era’s organic, deliberately asymmetrical stylings. Holding four candles each, these outstanding mirrored girandoles would have decoratively flanked a room of the period elegantly, illuminating the giltwood lustrously and providing ambient light reflected in the mirrored glass. Mirrors have long played an integral role in decorative design, often serving as focal points of a room. Dating back to the 13th century, the first French looking glasses were very small, yet enormously precious. Because these early mirrors...

Grand in size and decoration, this exceptional Napoleon III-period mirror is further set apart by an elaborate giltwood frame that features decorative elements such as garlands, dove...