The mirror illustrated in R. W. Symonds, Masterpieces of English Furniture and Clocks, 1940, p. 69, fig. 46.
THE SIR WILLIAM HUMPHREYS MIRROR, English, 1714
Width: 29 in; 74 cm
Further images
A George I gesso border glass mirror attributed to Philip Arbuthnot.
Note: The mirror retains virtually all the original gilding and original glass, with some border glass replacements.
Sir William Humphreys was Lord Mayor of London from 1714 to 1715. He was created a baronet in November 1714, less than three months into George I’s reign. The mirror celebrates his new title and was probably ordered at that time. Some five years later he was appointed a director of the Bank of England, holding the position until 1730.
A large overmantel mirror from the same commission, and featuring an identical family crest cartouche, was offered for sale by Hyde Park Antiques in New York in 2000. The same crest can be seen in a stained glass window at Hever Castle, Kent, Sir William’s family seat. Two centuries earlier, Hever Castle had been the home of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII.
The shape of the mirror is highly unusual in English furniture, but is characteristically French; it can be seen in a late 17th century French drawing for a framed panel, with the same concave corners at the top. The French origin of the design reflects Arbuthnot’s Huguenot family background.
Provenance
Sir William Humphreys (d. 1735), Hever Castle, Kent, England;
Private collection, England;
David Pickup Antiques, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England;
H. Blairman & Sons Ltd., London, England;
Private collection, New York, USA.
Literature
Herbert F. Schiffer, The Mirror Book: English, American & European, 1983, p. 77.
Hyde Park Antiques Ltd., New York, volume VI, 2000, pp. 8-9.
Illustrated:
R. W. Symonds, Masterpieces of English Furniture and Clocks, 1940, p. 69, fig. 46.
H. Blairman & Sons Ltd., ‘Furniture and Works of Art’, catalogue, 2009, item 1.
