The highly accomplished carved giltwood frame of this important overmantel, dating from the early years of the eighteenth century, is almost certainly the work of Thomas and René Pelletier.
Thomas and René, together with their father Jean, practiced as carvers, gilders and engravers. The family came from Paris and settled in London during the 1680s after a brief period spent working in Amsterdam. Between 1699 and 1702 they received commissions to produce over six hundred pounds worth of giltwood furniture for William III’s State Apartments at Hampton Court, proof of the high regard in which the Pelletiers were held. Thomas Pelletier took over the management of the family business in 1702, and the present mirror probably dates from this period of the firm’s output. Read more... (491 words, 4 images, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)
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Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Italian fashion for Eastern decoration, manifest in the present pair of mirrors, began with the expansion of trade with China, leading to intensified taste for chinoiserie throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Designers and architects to the courts created interiors that drew heavily on exotic styles based on the ceramics, furniture, and paintings imported from the East, and by the 18th century these items were being produced in a number of European centers.
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