Pair of Rococo Locksmith's Guild Mirrors, Danish, c.1750

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Made in 1/12th scale by Wm. Robertson, 2020

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The latest piece I have made, which has extensive carving is a pair of Danish rococo style mirrors. I saw the original years ago in Copenhagen and noticed the strange subject matter of the carving. Instead of birds or flowers as most rococo carving is intertwined around, this mirror has keys and tools used by a lock maker. There is speculation that this must have been made for a Locksmith’s Guildhall in the mid 18th Century. Mirrors were often used to help light a dark room as opposed to looking at a person's reflection. The room may have these in opposite pairs, as is typical in the period, behind wall mounted candle sconces to magnify the candle light making the room brighter. The frame molding was milled out using a router bit made just for this project. The very small carving, as is the rest of the mirror, is made from pear wood. The carving is also reversed for a "right" and "left" mirror. It is asymmetrical and is mounted at an angle just as the original. The gilding is 24k gold leaf. The thin mirror glass is about a 100 years old, it was "new old stock" found and given to me by a student in Denmark. Note, there are flaws and spots in the glass just as there would be in a lot of period mirrors. Handmade marbleized paper covers the back. The backside edges are beveled and the signed/dated brass plate holds the hanging wire.

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I only made five of these 1/12th mirrors. A pair is for a project I want to build for me. These were started in the summer of 2019 and finished in Jan. 2020. The mirrors are each  2 3/8" (6cm) tall.