Pier glass
John Belchier (1699 - 1753)
Category
Mirrors
Date
1726
Materials
Silvered glass and giltwood
Measurements
2440 mm (H); 1070 mm (W)
Order this imageCollection
Erddig, Wrexham
NT 1146960
Caption
John Meller, who purchased Erddig from its original builder in 1716, appears to have been fond of his own reflection judging by the number of mirrors he bought! This pier glass which hangs in the Saloon was made for Meller in 1723 by John Belchier who worked from the churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral. Belchier was responsible for many of the fine furnishings still on display at Erddig.
Summary
Mirror; Pier glass. A tall George I carved and gilt pier glass by John Belchier, 1726, the gilt wood and gesso frame with a gadrooned border outside a hatched flat with strapwork; the upper part carved with eagle heads turned in, their beaks with sprays of acorns and flowerheads below scroll foliage; the top over- carved with gadroons below shell-shaped cresting between two smiling profile masks on scrolls; two bevelled plates, one stepped.
Provenance
Bought June 6 1726 - 'To a fine large pier (sic) glass 50-0-0'; 1726 Inv. - (Best B'chamber) 'very large Glass over the Table gold frame'
Makers and roles
John Belchier (1699 - 1753), maker