Tall Neoclassical Style Mirror - AS IS. Straight classic lines frame the piece, with ornamentation carved on the top incorporating vase and urn shapes as well as floral and leaf motifs. 

Condition: Paint loss throughout. Cracking to some of the wood ornamentation. Mirror is in good shape. 

Size: 41 x 22 x 1 1/4 in. 

The Neoclassical style, based on straight lines and rectilinear forms and using a selection of Classical ornaments, began in the 1750s. Tiring of Rococo, craftsmen of the 18th Century turned for inspiration to Classical art. The movement was stimulated by archaeological discoveries in Italy, Greece, and the Middle East, and by the publication all over Europe of works on the Classical monuments. A greater number of pieces were signed during this period (signing had been made compulsory in Paris), and Jean-Henri Riesener, Martin Carlin, and Jean Saunier were a few of the leading cabinetmakers. Several German craftsmen migrated to France because of the royal patronage, among them Abraham and David Roentgen, Adam Weisweiler, and Guillaume Beneman. The Neoclassical reaction in England was of a lighter and more delicate touch than that of the previous Classicists, the Palladians. Robert Adam, whose name is inseparably associated with this movement, had, like earlier architects, studied in Italy, finding inspiration in the monuments of both Classical times and the Renaissance. His furniture incorporated paterae (disks with a design in relief or intaglio), husks (a drop ornament made of whorls of conventionalized foliage usually in a diminishing series), rams’ heads, and urns coupled with  symmetrical structural lines. Adam’s furniture was copied and modified by contemporary cabinetmakers such as George Hepplewhite. A uniquely American variant of Neoclassical style developed as well in the midst of the Revolution, as the new nation sought to validate its heritage but establish an identity of its own in every possible aspect of art, culture, and fashion.

Paint loss throughout. Cracking to some of the wood ornamentation. Mirror is in good shape.