Mirror for Sparre af Rossvik family

Burchard Precht1690/1700

Nordiska Museet
Stockholm, Sweden

Mirror, baroque, circa 1700, made from carved and gilt lime wood, attributed to ornamental sculptor Burchard Precht.

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Details

Title: Mirror for Sparre af Rossvik family
Creator: Burchard Precht
Creator Lifespan: 1651-10-24/1738-02-26
Creator Death Place: Stockholm
Creator Birth Place: Bremen
Date Created: 1690/1700
Location Created: Stockholm, Sweden
Subject: Mirror, baroque
Physical Dimensions: w105 x h213 cm
More Information: When Burchard Precht came to Stockholm in 1674, he was 23 years old. He was born in Bremen and trained as a sculptor in Hamburg. In 1682 he was appointed royal court sculptor. Working closely with Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, the architect of Stockholm Palace, Precht received several prestigious royal and ecclesiastical orders. A substantial part of his work consisted of carved furniture, picture and mirror frames. Large panes of mirror glass were costly, difficult to manufacture and transport. Ornate mirror frames became a standard measure of the high value of mirror glass. The frame is richly carved and gilded, and the highly raised crest is made up of billowing acanthus and oak leaves, a symbol of strength. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was not unusual to adorn furniture and mirrors with the family coat of arms of the owner. The sculpted crests of baroque mirrors often feature an oval engraved glass, or, as here, a noble coat of arms. Exactly who the mirror belonged to is no longer clear, but the coat of arms – a gold chevron on a blue panel – belongs to the Sparre af Rossvik family and is topped with a baronial crown with five peacock feathers. Burchard Precht became famous as Sweden's first mirror-maker because he both carved and gilded frames and cut and foiled mirror glass. Thanks to his extensive production, he has become almost synonymous with the Swedish baroque. When he died in 1738, he had worked in Stockholm for more than 60 years. Provenance: Sparre af Rossvik family
Materials and Techniques: Carved and gilded wood, glass covered with mercury foil
Type: Furniture
Rights: Photo: Sören Hallgren, © Nordiska museet
External Link: http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/spegel-barock-sannolikt-1690-tal-av/S-NM/NMA.0060636

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