SILVER MIRRORS
Silver mirrors date mostly from the late seventeenth century. Originally they formed part of a toilet service, but are now usually found by themselves, as the first thing most dealers used to do when they bought a complete service was to split it up to make it more easily saleable. Antique silver mirrors are, I need hardly say, very rare. They are mostly made of wood not solid silver, the silver consisting of no more than the four strips surrounding the mirror, four leaf corner pieces which hold the sides in place, and the crest, at the top, which is often missing altogether. Each strip should be fully marked by silversmith mark, the corner pieces never are at all, and the crest should be marked if it is original. Later antique silver mirrors, George I or early George II, usually have the silver frames made in one piece, and so are only marked in one place. They have a shaped top, and no separate crest.
Silver Mirror of about 1685 with typical Chinoiserie decoration.
Mirror of about 1695 with gadrooned decoration.
Early George III silver mirror — very unusual to find one at this late date.