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Looking glass

1740–60
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 748
Japanning, the use of paint and gilded gesso to imitate the glossy finish on Asian lacquerwork, was a popular method of furniture decoration in colonial Boston. This looking glass, part of a group (40.37.1, .2, .4) of japanned furniture that descended in the Pickman family of Salem, Massachusetts, is an extraordinary survival. The painted decoration on the high chest, dressing table, and looking glass is all by the same hand.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Looking glass
  • Date: 1740–60
  • Geography: Made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Japanned white pine; mirror glass
  • Dimensions: 57 1/2 x 19 1/8 x 1 1/4 in. (146.1 x 48.6 x 3.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1940
  • Object Number: 40.37.4
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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