Pier glass
John Linnell (1729 - 1796)
Category
Furniture
Date
1767
Materials
Glass, Softwood
Measurements
2110 x 915 x 100 mm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Osterley Park and House, London
NT 771807
Summary
Pier glass, a bevelled sheet of mirrored glass set into a gilded frame supplied in 1767 by John Linnell after designs by Robert Adam, consisting of an openwork scrolling acanthus border enclosed by egg-and-dart moulding, with an inverted anthemion surrounded by scrolling acanthus below and a rocaille shell with acanthus above, surmounted by a ribbon tied in a bow and garlands of husks. Its design is closely related to that of the overmantel Chinese mirror painting in the same room (NT 771801), and both are related to the frieze of the chimneypiece.
Provenance
Supplied by John Linnell after a design by Robert Adam, 1767; listed in the 1871 Osterley inventory (p.41, Taffeta Bed Chamber) as 'Pier Glass in Ornamental carved gilt frame, plate 45 x 24 frame slightly broken.'
Makers and roles
John Linnell (1729 - 1796), cabinetmaker Robert Adam (Kirkcaldy 1728 - London 1792), designer