19th Century Giltwood Overmantel Mirror

A large carved giltwood overmantel mirror, 19th century, the…
click the photo to enlarge
A large carved giltwood overmantel mirror, 19th century, the oval plate surmounted by a pierced and carved foliate cresting flanked by conforming supports, 192 cm high

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Pierced Decoration - Ornamental woodwork with part of the background cut through and removed to produce an open-work pattern.
  • Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
  • Cresting - The decorative carving at the top of a piece of furniture, such as a sideboard back, a mirror, or a chair back.
  • Giltwood - Giltwood is used to describe a gold finish on furniture and other decorative wooden items, whereby a thin sheet of gold metal, called gold leaf, is applied to the surface for decorative purposes.

    Unlike gilding, where the gold leaf is applied over a coating of gesso, with giltwood the gold leaf is applied direct to the surface, or over a coat of linseed oil gold leaf adhesive.

    Most gold-finished mirrors will be gilded, whereas furniture with gold highlights will have the gold applied through the giltwood method.

This item has been included into following indexes: