mirror with scary faces

[richardo21]

Inheritied this mirror, it is said to have come from Scotland in the mid to late 1800s with my great grand parents.  It has 4 coat hooks with lion faces made of brass and painted black,  and a carved face at the top ( as best as I can describe)of old man winter.  the mirror is beveled and the frame oak. On the back are the number 8689 which appear to be punched in. two brass looking hanging tabs at the top of the mirror.  I have checked with other dealers and none have ever seen anything like it. So hopefully someone in this forum can help.

[regularjoe2]

Nice 'hall' or 'foyer' mirror .

Appears to be made from oak (?) .

Nice 'green man' at it's top .

Welcome to the forum , richardo21 .

Betcha' other members will have input on your item too .

Often these types of framed items were suspended by rather long chains (typically brass) and hung from a coved wooden rail along tall-ceiling walls .

[Dean Perdue]

Really nice.
Tell me this wouldn't add style to any room.
How are the detailed hangers secured? Is the greenman separately applied and is there any areas on the back that didn't get stained?
Might help to have a photo of the back if possible. Who knows, might be a clue there.

[luxetveritas]

Yes, is the face applied separately? It appears to be, but perhaps not?

Furthermore, you are correct in that the faces are meant to characterize wind or winter. The tone of the mirror is wonderful, I especially love the handles. Unfortunately I have yet to see another quite like yours. 

[D&b antiques]

Factory produced mirror. German & Italian workers,working from Grand Rapids furniture co's. 1890's to 1920's. Grain is tiger oak. other possible is The Stomps- Burkhart co.

circa 1890 to 1928 Dayton Ohio. $150.00 to $ 200.00 Dollars.

[KC]

I agree....great mirror.  The faces do represent seasons...but I also like to think of Snow White's story...and these good faces help keep out the bad omens!

In my southern neck of the woods...if in pristine condition....I would bump the value from $150 to $350.

Thanks for sharing!

[talesofthesevenseas]

In the San Francisco Bay Area anything with a carved face seems to command a higher price too.

[cogar]

Refinished to Golden Oak would be my preference.

[KC]

Would anyone care to elaborate on how to tell Tiger Oak apart from other oaks?  (Learning experience)

[D&b antiques]

Cogar can give a better explanation then I can. but if you look carefully you can '' See'' the lines in the grain. if this had been refinished they would show brightly.

The tiger oak grain, is considered more desireable because it's quarter sawn. which produces the stripes.

[richardo21]

Thanks for all who have responded,  the hanger on the mirror are attached to the fram via a bolt going through and nutted on the back.  The carved face has an appearance of being carved into the wood because looking at the grain, both the face and the frame grains line up very well and looking over the edges of the carved face,  I see no gaps or irregularity that may suggest a seperate piece glued or dowled to the mirror frame.  I am eclosing a picture of the back,  I see no names or indications of manufacture except for the the numbers 8 6 8 9 on the back in the upper right of the photo.   D&B antiques,  thank you for your input,  can you tell me if you have seen a similar mirror,  I believe you must have due to your suggestion of the origin, but I have two old camel back trunks, ( Mcginney or some similar manufacture) and the accents have a resemblance to the brass hangers on this mirror.  Is there at all any chance in your opinion that is not american manufactured??  ALso to all,  after watching Antiques road show,  I have learned do not clean or alter the finish of your antiques.  If the value is only several hundred dollars, would it be a great tragedy to strip the old finish to reveal the beautiful oak that lies underneath??

[richardo21]

I did discover the face is applied seperatley, thank you luxetveritas for the call on that one, The grain lines up beautifull but I did get my nail under a portion of it.

[KC]

Richardo, rule of thumb is do not refinish if you are going to sell it. Many, even majority, can decrease in value if not restored by a professional or person in the know.  However, in many cases, clean up increases the value.  In the case of damage or years of waxy buildup restoration can increase the value.

If you are going to keep it and want to refinish it...DO IT!  It's yours and you should be happy with it!

To help D&b out with your questions, please post pics of the trunks 1) overall, 2) closeups, insides/sides/bottom. Any markings.

[hosman321]

Man, I just love everything about this mirror! I wish I could find something that cool. I big on victorian and turn of the century stuff.

[cogar]

I did discover the face is applied seperatley, thank you luxetveritas for the call on that one, The grain lines up beautifull but I did get my nail under a portion of it.

Rich, if the grain "lines up" very much at all or "beautiful like" then the face is not applied. That is unless the "carving" was made out of the "other half" of the ripped board used for the frame.

I was thinking it may have been carved in relief because I enlarged your picture and could not see any "wee widdle nails" that were normally used to affix such filagree or "embossed carvings" on cabinetry, etc.

And my opinion, I think it would add to the $ value of your mirror if it was expertly refinished to a Golden Oak.

Primitives and "named maker" items are best left "untouched" depending. Depending on several criteria respective to the item in question.