Large Rounded Top Wrought Iron Mirror, French Work, circa 1940

This large wrought iron mirror, characterised by its rounded top and the exceptional quality of its ironwork, is a centrepiece of French artisanal craft from the 1940s. The wrought iron frame, shaped hot using ancestral forge techniques, reveals a remarkable technical and artistic mastery inherited from the great French decorative ironwork tradition that reached its zenith in the early twentieth century with masters such as Edgar Brandt and Raymond Subes.

The rounded form of the mirror's top draws from the classical architectural repertoire — lunettes, oculi, semicircular arches — adapted here to the furniture object with particular elegance. The scrolls and rinceaux that compose the frame's decoration are forged, repoussé-worked and assembled with an attention to detail that testifies to the talent of the blacksmith who created it. The natural patina of the iron, acquired over the decades, lends this piece a unique authenticity and presence.

Wrought iron mirrors constitute a rare and highly sought-after category in French decorative furniture. This example, of generous size and fine quality, will naturally assert itself in an entrance hall, salon or character dining room, bringing an added measure of soul and artisanal authenticity to whatever interior receives it.