Looking Glass
Unknown Artist
1795–1810
Medium
Gilded gesso, verre eglomise with pine, wire
Dimensions
50 3/4 x 30 1/2 in. (128.9 x 77.5 cm)
Classification
Looking glass
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Sansbury-Mills Fund, 1956
Accession Number
56.46.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegance of early American homes with *Looking Glass*, a stunning mirror crafted between 1795 and 1810. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this piece from the Federal period reflects the young nation's embrace of neoclassical grandeur and patriotic pride. At over four feet tall (50 3/4 x 30 1/2 in.), it would have adorned prosperous parlors, serving as both a functional looking glass and a statement of refined taste amid the post-Revolutionary optimism. The artwork's medium showcases virtuoso techniques: a pine frame enriched with gilded gesso—a molded pla...