A fine George II Irish giltwood pier mirror attributed to John Booker Senior (fl. 1712 - 1750)

The later rectangular mirror plate within a carved giltwood frame, surmounted by a scrolled and foliate broken pediment centred by an armorial cartouche. The sides hung with carved drapery terminating in tassels above an apron carved with a central scallop shell medallion flanked by acanthus scrolls and a patera to each corner. Fitted with a pair of associated scrolled brass candle arms. The shallow carving to the flat surfaces set against a pounced ground.

Ireland, circa 1745

Condition: The mirror plate replaced at some point in its life with a period mercury glass plate. Associated brass candle holders. Minor areas of missing gilding. Later backboards, possibly replacing the originals when the replacement plate was installed


John Booker Senior, the father of John and Francis Booker, who later continued his business, was based in Essex Bridge in Dublin and supplied pier mirrors to some of Ireland's finest houses in the first half of the 18th century. A mirror with a similar bold broken swan-neck pediment by John Booker's son, Francis, can be seen in the V&A, London (object number: W.47-1928). Clearly influenced by his father's Kentian proportions, the V&A's mirror adheres to the prevailing fashion of the later 18th century, displaying Palladian motifs alongside a Rococo asymmetry. Our mirror, overall a more whimsical form, predates the sons' more architectural designs, but a decade or so later than its English-made George II equivalents.

Illustrated in Graham Child World Mirrors 1650 - 1900, London/New York, 1990, p. 81, figure 63.