Dressing mirror; France, Napoleon III, first quarter of the nineteenth century.

Dressing mirror; France, Napoleon III, first quarter of the nineteenth century.
Gilt bronze and Champlevé enamel.
Presents losses.
Measurements: 65 x 40 x 18 cm.
This dressing table mirror, made in France during the period of Napoleon III, is a representative example of the historicist and ornamental taste that characterized the decorative arts of the first quarter of the 19th century. Conceived in gilded bronze and enriched with Champlevé enamel, the object reveals a sophisticated combination of materials and techniques that responds to the growing interest, in those years, in integrating the European craftsmanship tradition with a renewed cult of domestic luxury linked to the rise of the bourgeoisie. The oval frame, profusely ornamented with floral garlands, plant motifs and neo-Rococo inspired finials, shows the predilection for sinuous lines and decorative dynamism typical of the period, while the presence of small cherub figures, treated with remarkable attention to detail and delicate modeling, underlines the inclination towards a friendly and festive symbolic repertoire, much appreciated in the bourgeois and aristocratic interiors of the time.
The technical quality of the ensemble is particularly evident in the use of champlevé enamel whose finely traced compartments and the chromatic vividness of the enamels suggest a high degree of technical skill.