The mirror illustrated in Geoffrey Wills, English Looking-glasses, 1965, p. 99, illus. 89.
A mirror design published by Thomas Johnson in A Collection of Designs, 1758
A GEORGE III GILTWOOD MIRROR , English, circa 1765
Width: 3 ft; 92 cm
Depth: 10 ½ in; 27 cm
Further images
Note: Attributed to Thomas Johnson, the frame has been re-gilded and the mirror plate is a mercury silvered replacement.
The design of the mirror is based on two drawings for mirrors published in Thomas Johnson’s A Collection of Designs in 1758. Johnson was the master of rococo in his time, and merging the two designs to create a new one is very likely to be his own work.
Provenance
Arthur Cook Ltd., London, England, until 1964.
Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Durham Cottage, London, England.
Ronald Phillips Ltd., London, England.
Private collection, England.
Literature
Thomas Johnson, A Collection of Designs, 1758, pl. 8.
Helena Hayward, Thomas Johnson and the English Rococo, 1964.
Illustrated:
Geoffrey Wills, English Looking-glasses: A Study of the Glass, Frames and Makers (1670 - 1820), 1965, p. 99, illus. 89.
