Antique Rococo Revival Gilt Cast Iron Diamond-Form Beveled Easel Mirror

A theatrical dressing-table mirror cast in iron and finished in warm matte gold, with a diamond-oriented beveled plate set into a deeply pierced frame of Rococo Revival scrollwork. A central shell cartouche crowns the apex, matched by a corresponding scrolled easel foot below — a symmetry that lets the piece stand free on a vanity surface or mount flat to a wall. The inner border is dressed with a continuous bead-and-reel molding, and the intermediate channel carries a gadrooned ribbon profile. The openwork surround is populated with acanthus scrolls, C-scrolls, and foliate reserves, all cast with a crispness that reads as carved giltwood at a glance.

Cast iron mirrors in this Rococo Revival idiom were a signature product of American ornamental foundries in the 1880s–1910s — firms that had mastered the art of producing elaborate decorative castings for a middle-class market hungry for the vocabulary of French Second Empire furnishings. The diamond or lozenge orientation of the mirror plate is a less common format within the genre; most surviving examples orient the plate square. The easel foot here — a fully developed pierced scroll base rather than a simple hinged strut — indicates a higher-production casting rather than the economy end of the market.

CONDITION

Good overall. The gilt finish presents evenly with light wear and minor rubs at the high points of the casting; small spots of verdigris are present at the crest and at scattered points on the verso, consistent with the underlying iron substrate. The beveled plate shows scattered scratches and light scuffing across the face, with some reflective loss and minor foxing along the edges. Backing paper is absent; the silvered backing on the verso shows oxidation, scratching, and handling marks.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 17" H × 15" W
• Construction: Cast iron with gilt finish
• Mirror: Beveled plate, diamond orientation
• Format: Freestanding easel or wall-mount