Description

A fine and historically compelling American Chippendale wall mirror, retaining its original mirror plate, backboard, and a remarkable provenance. The boldly carved mahogany frame features an exuberant scrolled and pierced pediment with parcel gilt detail, flanked by leafy carved ears, above a gilded liner and scalloped base. Surmounting the crest is a small gilt brass cartouche suspending a period engraved elegiac sonnet on the death of George Washington — an extraordinary original detail.
The original backboard bears the inscribed name Ebenezer Rhoades, dated February 3, 1800, and the mirror was found in a house in New Ipswich, New Hampshire — lending this piece a rare and tangible connection to early American domestic life.