A George III Giltwood Mirror Attributed to William and John Linnell
England, circa 1760 An exceptional George III giltwood overmantel mirror. The central rectangular plate within a Cscroll and foliate border surrounded by shaped marginal mirrors within foliate C-scroll and rocaille borders and foliage trails surmounted by a flower-filled basket and cartouche. The glass largely original. Height: 103 in (262 cm) Width: 52 in (132 cm) L06.34 William and John Linnell This ornate giltwood mirror embodies the 'Modern' or 'French' style and relates to a design by the cabinet-making father and son partnership of William and John Linnell of Berkeley Square, London. The Linnell firm was one of the most prominent firms of cabinet-makers of the second half of the 18th century, with commissions for a number of important country houses including Badminton House, Osterley Park, Syon Park, Alnwick Castle, Shardeloes, Bowood House, and Lansdowne House. The design of the present mirror with its distinctive cresting of a basket of flowers is reflected in a drawing of circa 1755-60 for a pier glass by the Linnell firm, executed as a pair of mirrors, for Sir Molyneux Cope, 7th Bt. for Bramshill, Hampshire. A related overmantel mirror was supplied in 1759 to George William Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry for 'Lady Coventry's Dressing Room,' Croome Court, Worcestershire. Maria Gunning, the 6th Earl of Coventry’s wife, was renowned for her beauty, although she ironically died as a victim of the heavy make-up she wore. The mirror’s impressive size at over seven feet tall relates to the invoice dated 18 August 1759, and was likely sold from the house in the 1948 auction of the Croome Court furniture.
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