Empire Console Mirror, 1820s

North Germany
Mahogany
Biedermeier/Empire around 1820

Dimensions: H x W x D: 234 x 88 x 51 cm
single height console: 78 cm, single height mirror: 156 cm

Splendid trumeau furniture from the early 19th century.

The base consists of a wide pedestal drawer, the cabinet part above with cambered door and another wide drawer above under the top plate.
The highlight is the two massive columns that connect the above and below cabinet parts of the Demi-Lune cabinet.

Loosely attached and to be mounted on the wall in your home we see a large mirror with oval mirror surface.
To the top finishes a multiple profiled and cranked cornice.

Fine and very beautifully executed hardware in the form of swans, urn vases and Corinthian capitals, among others.

On the back there is an old owner’s label: Emmy Kayser from Hamburg.

Precious cubamahogany in combination with fire-gilded bronze enjoyed great popularity both in the French Empire and in the furniture styles of Europe that developed parallel to it.
Starting from the courts of Paris, St. Petersburg and Vienna, the fashion soon spread to the German aristocratic residences. This piece of furniture is a good example of the similar design language of Empire and Biedermeier.

Mirrors in all eras without modern forms of lighting not only had the purpose of showing people their reflection in the mirror, but above all had the task of enhancing the sparse light in the room. The production of glass in general and mirrors in particular was not only complex and expensive, it was also technically impossible for a long time to produce large glass surfaces.
Windows in the house always harbored heat loss – another reason for small windows and thus quite dark rooms.

Condition:
Restored and shellac polished condition. Wonderful preservation of the applications.

Comparable objects can be found in the literature:
Rainer Haaff – Biedermeier Worlds p.195