Vanity mirror in Martin varnish, Paris circa 1740

A dressing mirror with a removable easel stand, crafted from varnished wood and walnut.
Rectangular in shape with a curved and shaped upper rail, it features a beautiful decoration executed in gold powder with red lacquer highlights on a green ground.
The decoration is arranged in the spandrels, with ducks on a riverbank and butterflies in the lower section, and peonies on rocky mounds in the upper and upper sections.
It offers a high degree of relief and detail, thanks to particularly fine engraving.

Mercury glass.

In excellent condition.

Parisian work from the Louis XV period, circa 1740, probably by the workshop of the Martin brothers.

Dimensions:

Height: 63 cm; Width: 50.5 cm

Our easel mirror is designed to be placed on a dressing table between two matching cabinets. This type of set, sold by Parisian haberdashers, was reserved for an elite clientele.
The price varied according to the complexity of the decoration.
Our example, whose iconography imitates Japanese lacquer, is a luxury version with a highly refined technique that rivals those of the finest workshops in Japan.
The decoration is oriental, but the green background, unknown in Asia, marks the beginning of the emancipation of Martin varnish, which gradually became an exclusively French art form.
These elements point us to the best workshop in Paris, run by the brothers Guillaume and Etienne Martin.