Looking Glass

Attributed to Isaac Platt American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 738

In the design of this looking glass, sculptural fleur-de-lis corner brackets are accompanied by repeating Neoclassical bands and acanthus-like motifs to frame an impressive length of mirrored plate glass. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, large glasses aided in the amplification of sun- and lamplight within a room. They were often placed either horizontally over fireplaces or vertically between windows. This looking glass, one of a pair (see 1979.393.2), bears some stylistic and construction similarities to labeled examples from the shop of Isaac L. Platt, a looking-glass manufacturer and retailer active from 1815 to 1843 on Broadway in New York City.

Looking Glass, Attributed to Isaac Platt (1793–1875), Glass, gesso, American

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Looking Glass, Attributed to Isaac Platt (1793–1875), Glass, gesso, American
Looking Glass, Attributed to Isaac Platt (1793–1875), Glass, gesso, American
Looking Glass, Attributed to Isaac Platt (1793–1875), Glass, gesso, American

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