Dressing mirror, c.1830-60 (wood, papier-maché, lacquer, paint, mother-of-pearl, gilding & brass)

The base and the mirror's crest are ornamented with westernized views of Asia. Since the initiation of regular trade with China in the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans had been fascinated with imported luxury goods like tea, porcelain, and silk. Simultaneously, Westerners also fantasized about what Asian cultures were like and developed an entire decorative style known today as chinoiserie. The pagodalike structures seen here had been used on European furniture for 200 years before they were applied to this piece. The construction of this dressing mirror is complicated. The base is made of papier-mâché from sheets of paper. By allowing the paper to dry over a mold, the maker achieved the curve of the base's skirt. Since greater strength was needed to support the heavy mirror glass, wooden uprights were used. Because all these materials expand and contract at different rates, thereby causing damage, few complex pieces such as this survive.