Looking glass, England or United States, 1830-1850, white pine, composition, mirrored glass.

The Permanent Collection at the Biggs Museum holds a diverse array of art forms, representing painting, illustration, drawing, furniture making, sculpture and more. The Biggs Museum staff chose from its galleries a looking glass mirror as the 2010 Gala Signature Object to represent the fine craftsmenship of the decorative art objects in the Museum’s collection.

An eagle, with outswept wings and with a floral swag held in its beak, perches in a commanding pose atop this grand oval looking glass. The bird’s feathers are sharply defined, and the flowers and fruit are uncommonly well modeled. The distinctive looking glass blends two precedents: neoclassical oval looking glasses with comparatively narrow gilded frames and classical revival circular looking glasses with convex mirrors. The latter, properly called “mirrors” in the 18th and early 19th centuries, distorted the reflected image, but were intended primarily to reflect light. Although the Oxford English Dictionary provides one historical definition of “mirror” that encompasses any reflective surface, more in keeping with current usage, English furniture designer Thomas Sheraton defines the term very specifically as a concave or convex surface in Cabinet Dictionary.

The Biggs Museum staff believes this selection to be reflective of the current positive and forward-thinking disposition at the organization. The Museum has recently embarked on its largest endeavor as it expands in not only physical space, but also in its offerings to the community. The 2010 Gala will be a celebration of its expansion and of what is to come in the future.

Past Signature Images