SMALL ORNAMENTAL MIRROR, GILT WOOD, 17TH-18TH CENTURIES.

Small cornucopia with carved and gilded wood frame, 17th-18th centuries. Rectangular mirror highlighted by a frame composed of several simple stepped moldings around which a fleshy decoration based on scrolls and plant elements has been arranged, with openwork areas, which ends at the top in a crest flanked by two curves combined with countercurve paths in a way that resembles a split curved pediment. The back, which has not been carved, has an antique metal ring at the top that allows the frame to be hung on the wall. It is necessary to highlight the volume of the carvings, their fleshiness and the not very excessive movement presented by both the plant elements and the volutes, as well as the rectangular crest of the crown, which stands out from the rest of the frame without any transition element. All of this places the work within the Baroque, but both the harmony and the symmetry and the fact that the decoration does not barely protrude from the rectangular frame (except for the top) show a tempering that may be due to the influence of Neoclassicism. What is striking is the absence of rockeries and lines that we could attribute to Rococo, a decorative style that was very popular in the decorative arts of the 18th century in the main creative centers, which is explained by the mirror belonging to a workshop located in a remote area. thereof. This type of work used to be hung on the walls of important homes (or prominent religious institutions) with the aim that the mirrors would return the light they received to the interior of the room, multiplying the lighting and giving the impression of greater spatial amplitude. . The present example, although it is not one of the largest or most prominent cornucopias of the time, was made for a wealthy family with the intention of staying in a small private room, hence the concentration of the size in a small space and the cornucopia measurements.

· Size: 56x41 LUZ 25x20,2 cms.