18th Century Chippendale wood-frame wall mirror. Adorned with carved wooden eagle figure.

Condition: Silvering to mirror edges.

Size: 44 1/2 x 22 1/2 in.

Mirror Sight Size: 29 1/2 x 16 in.

#1678 . 

Thomas Chippendale was born in Yorkshire, England in 1718. The Chippendale family had long been involved with woodworking, so he probably received basic training from his father, a joiner, although it is believed that he was also trained by Richard Wood in York before he relocated to London. In 1754 Chippendale relocated to 60-62 St Martin’s Lane in London, where for the next 60 years the family business operated until 1813 when his son, Thomas Chippendale Jr, was evicted for bankruptcy. During 1754 he also began a partnership with James Rannie, a wealthy Scottish merchant who put money into the business, and published a book of his designs in a trade catalog titled “The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director,” gaining national renown. Their works involved designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum, “so influential were his designs, in Britain and throughout Europe and America, that ‘Chippendale’ became a shorthand description for any furniture similar to his Director designs.” In 1779 Chippendale relocated to Hoxton where he died of tuberculosis that same year.