Adams
Lot 282
A FINE IRISH GEORGE III GILTWOOD PIER MIRROR, by John & Francis Booker, Essex Bridge, Dublin, the frame of typical architectural form with triangular pediment, centred by an urn with lion masks and trailing swags, the rectangular plate with applied chain link banding flanked by fluted Corinthian columns above a lower panel centred by a carved head of Venus with flanking leaf corbels, the reverse with a partial label for (John & Francis) Booker, Essex Bridge, Dublin. 197cm high, 124cm wideThe existence of a group of dignified architectural gilt-wood mirrors of the mid-18th century had been noted by furniture historians of the post-war period. However, nobody commented on the fact that they all seemed to be or had been in Irish houses. In 1971 The Knight of Glin published his seminal essay, A Family of Looking Glass Merchants and brought to light the productions of the Booker firm at Essex Bridge in Dublin. He quickly established and published a corpus of their known work but even he would have been surprised as to the extent. Through the survival of complete and partial trade labels, he unravelled the story of a merchant dynasty that created these mirrors and dealt in grinding , polishing and cutting mirror glass, the most expensive of the luxury items in an 18th century house. Whether the Bookers carved the frames themselves of contracted this work out is still a mystery. This classical design so suitable for an 18th century entrance hall or state room comes from the tombs of antiquity and was adapted in renaissance Italy especially by figures such as the architect and sculptor Giuliano da Sangallo. The Knight used the publication of William Jones, 'The Gentleman's or Builders Companion' which was for sale in Dublin in 1739, as the source of the Booker design, in which the renaissance monumental scale was tamed to suit pier glasses or tabernacle frames. Although the Bookers carried the details and indeed the later ones adopted Adam's neoclassic motifs, the general shape stayed with broken - either straight or swan neck -pediments raised on hollowed-out fluted Corinthian columns. In this example the urn that fills the pediment is carved with nemean lion masks of Hercules signifying prowess and swagged with Roman acanthus leaves denoting the order. This motif was used on the entablature of the St George -Smith mirror which also carried a Booker label. The Venus mask on the apron suggests either the presence of or desire for a female welcome to visitors. This can be compared with the Booker mirror now in the collection at Malahide Castle. Either displayed singly or in pairs, the presence of these mirrors indicated that the visitor had entered a civilised and ordered environment.
