Federal Mirror - Age? Insurance Value?

[talesofthesevenseas]

This old gilt federal mirror was passed to me through the my Adams and Tisdale ancestors of Medford MA. This mirror was on loan and on display for many years at Royall House in Medford MA in the Sarah Bradlee Fulton Room. http://www.royallhouse.org/
(Sarah was one of the few women patriots recognized for her service in the Revolutionary War and I'm her gr-gr-gr-gr-great-granddaughter). Written in pencil on the back are "Miss Adams" and "Miss Tisdale" the two generations who loaned it to Royall House. Apparently this was so that they knew whose mirror it was.

This mirror is no longer 100% original. It has had the glass replaced and the back has a mix of old hand-forged iron hardware and new hardware.

The mirror frame is gilt-covered wood and has 15 spheres along the top. The family story is that 15 spheres represented the 15 states at the time it was purchased, but that may not be correct. If it is, the mirror would date between 1792 (date Kentucky became the 15th state) and 1796 (date Tennessee became the 16th state) I would REALLY like to hear your opinions on if that is correct!

Front view of the mirror:


Up-close on the cornucopia in the center:


Up-close on the corners, spheres and pillars:


Back side, clearly a mix of old and new hardware:


Old hand-forged iron hangers, some hand-made screws, some manufactured screws:


Old hand-forged iron clip at the top:


Top of a pillar, showing construction and gilt on the top. I suspect that the gilt on the top is the original and that the front of the mirror was either re-gilded, or it did not have the same exposure to dust, being cleaned etc. I am really not sure about that. The gilt here is a slightly different color. Also note there is some gilding on the iron hardware posted above, another thing that makes me suspect it might have been re-gilded:


That's what I know about it, I would love to learn more!

[D&b antiques]

OOp'S I did'nt see your post. your mirror design is in the circa 1810 time frame. there's no support to the little ball's representing the states.

there are china cabinet's around. with 13 pane's of glass of which were stated to represent the 13 state's. no prove exist.Back to your mirror. $ 2,500 to $ 3,000.00 Dollars.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Wonderful!  Thanks D&BAntiques! I did have my doubts about that story, since I could find no info on federal mirrors having been made with the spheres or acorns to represent the number of states. Sounds like they were a bit off on the date, but not by too much!

[luxetveritas]

Beautiful mirror! I was going to go a bit higher with the price from what I've seen at auctions, but D&b has much more experience than me so I'd go with his estimate.

[regularjoe2]

Nice mirror , talesof .

Prices on these can get way up there ... saw a fancy one @ rubylane.com/shops/bluedolphin/item/rl2962  going for $10.5k .

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thanks guys! I do appreciate all the help on this one! I just sent an inquiry to Royall House to see if they have any old info in their records about it. I was intrigued to learn that it dates to about 1810. That would put it within the lifetime of Sarah Bradlee Fulton, who died in 1835. I don't think it was owned by her, but the fact that it was on loan to Royall House makes me wonder if it is possible. As far as the family knows, it was simply an heirloom Adams family item.

It sure would be a nice surprise if it did turn out to be Sarahs. I made the extremely difficult decision last year to donate the one item of hers that I inhierited to the DAR Museum in Washington DC. They have her wedding dress, and the item I had, a silk shawl dating to the 1770's, was becoming fragile and I wante to make sure that it would get the absolute best care possible and would be there for future generations to see and appreciate. It was horribly hard to give it up, but I felt that the importance of its preservation, and the museum's ability to share it with others, out-weighed my personal desires to keep it. So I'm sure this hope that Royall House would have some record that the mirror was Sarah's is nothing more than wishful thinking on my part. But I can dream, eh?!

Did anyone else here ever make the decision to donate?

[D&b antiques]

I have'nt yet. the Quaker Museam's in pennsyvania are begging me to turn the letters I found over to them. for proper care &  safe Keeping.

It's the right, thing to do.there pulp paper and what look's like walnut juice for ink.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Walnut juice, how cool! I'd love to see some photos sometime.

On donating, I have to say it was hard. It was really, really hard. But I felt like it was the best thing to do and that it was a situation where my own wants didn't matter as much as getting the best care for the shawl and being able to share it with the kids in the family who live on the opposite coastline. I knew that if I kept it locked away in my house, those kids were never going to experience it, and that was what finally made me decide to do it. Making the donation was a really positive experience. I flew out to DC, my relatives in the area all came with me and the textile curator spent a lot of time with us, not only examining and telling us about the shawl, but showing my family all the things she had shown me before about Sarah's wedding dress and what it said about Sarah and the times she lived in. ...And somehow I got through it all without crying. It really was that hard for me to do it.
Another option to donating now, is to leave it to the museum in your will. Since wonderful things out live us all! 

[Oceans64]

I know this is an old post but I can't keep my fingers quiet...  STUNNING!!!! Wow - what a treasure Tales!

Am looking for info on mirrors this AM and am wondering if there is a way to tell the difference between old and new paint - How did they get the gold so nice? 

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thank-you!  The gold is actually gilt, which is gold leaf, rather than paint. I'm not sure what the technique would have been in 1810, which is the date that D & B gave me for the mirror. That would be interesting to look up!

[Oceans64]

Ahhh  OK, I see where you said it was gilt in your first post - LOL

So if I am looking at a mirror and only see wood where there is no gold vrs the white "primer" stuff for gold leaf, I should assume it was painted.  Sound about right? 

BTW: I am saving your pic. I might have to try to make one of these if I get the antique house I want

[mariok54]

Hi Tales,
Having missed this thread first time around I hadn't realised that you had such illustrious ancestry ... I read about SBF when I was a schoolboy, probably 10 - 11 years old .. I was even into books then, and also into everything American for a few years ... I used to know so much about the Rev and Civil wars, back then.... Where has it all gone?

[talesofthesevenseas]

@Oceans64: I am afraid I don't know anything about gilt application, but will look for some info.

@Mariok54: That is cool that you knew about Sarah! Most often only people from Medford MA or those very into researching womens roles in history know about her! The shawl that I've mentioned a few times on the boards that I donated to the DAR Museum in Washington DC was Sarah's shawl. It was a light-weight block-print shawl dating to the 1770's. Sarah's wedding dress from her marriage to John Fulton is also at the DAR Museum. They have a fabulous conservator in charge of their textiles who is very good about meeting with our family so that we can make arrangements anytime our family or other people want to see them and learn about her through them.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Here is a little info on guilding. It looks to be something that really has to be learned from a craftsman to do it right:

http://www.societyofgilders.org/?action=page&area=1