Gilded Mirror Frames

A client requested restoration of an ornate gilded mirror frame (left, photo 1) and replacement of its broken mirror, both which had been in her family for many years. The mirror had a decorative etched glass top section and a diagonal crack ran from the bottom of the etching to the lower left corner of the mirror.

After the restoration was complete and a new mirror fitted, the customer asked that a new, additional frame be designed and custom-built to incorporate the decorative etched glass of the original mirror. To create a new mirror that could utilize the etched glass section, a clean horizontal cut was made along the bottom edge of the foliate motif on the mirror and polished. A new hand beveled mirror was manufactured to replace the broken section of the original mirror.

Before building the frame, the two mirror sections were measured as a single unit with a 1/4” airspace between them to allow insertion of a wood strip. This strip, or crosspiece, would later be used as a decorative segue (Photo 3) between the two mirror sections and to provide support of the mirrors within the frame. The new frame, (right, photo 1) was milled, splined, and re-carved by hand using the customer’s original frame for inspiration.

As this new frame was to be a gift to her daughter, the customer asked that her daughter’s birth flower Lily of the Valley be incorporated somehow as a floral motif into the frame design. We therefore commissioned Nicole Burch, a local Seattle artist to, draw the floral concept as a guide to handcarve this design element into the face of the 14” crosspiece that fits between the two mirror sections. (Photo 2, before carving and gilding; photo 3 completed gilded top section.)

The frame was gilded using the traditional water gilding method. 12kt Italian white gold leaf was laid over black and Amalfi blue bole and gently abraded to reveal the underlying color. The water gilded crosspiece was given a gentle black casein wash for contrast.

Five small brass screws were screwed-in from the back of the frame and into the bottom of the 1/4” wood crosspiece to help hold the mirrors in place. Three metal corner ornaments, oil gilded in 12kt white gold and toned, were screwed-in through three pre-drilled holes on the front of the mirror and directly into the back frame support. Doorskin paneling was attached to the back of the frame with brass screws to conceal the inner hardware.

Commissioned through Charles Douglas Gilding Studio
Gilding by Charles Douglas; Frame and Carving by Calder Danz

Frame of the Month Archives