Thomas Johnson Girandoles

An exceptional pair of grand scale girandole mirrors in the manner of Thomas Johnson. The elaborate carved decoration in the Chinoiserie taste. Thomas Johnson was a specialist carver of Flora and Fauna, the mirrors with seated Chinese fishermen to their bases with waterfall, rock cropping and rocaille tracery. Thomas Johnson was a carver and gilder who first published his designs in the publication Twelve Girandoles which appeared in 1755. Despite being a slim volume it served to introduce his work to a wider audience. This was followed by a series of 53 designs published in 1757. Johnson was an exceptional carver rather than a cabinet maker and as a result his designs have been seen as far more inventive than those of his contemporary cabinet makers such as Chippendale and Mayhew and Ince. Thomas Johnson played with forms and motifs experimenting with the designs of wall lights, girandoles, and console tables. His drawings were frequently so intricate that they were impossible to make. As a result, it is feasible that they may have been used as a tool to promote his inventiveness rather than for practical purposes. In the early 1760s Johnson was known to supply mirrors through George Cole of Soho, to Paul Methuen at Corsham Court in Wiltshire and the Duke of Atholl at Blair Castle in the Scottish Highlands.

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Height: 2070mm/81″
Width: 990mm/38″

Bespoke sizing, design adaptions and finishing available.

SKU: M431
Category: Mirrors, Pier Mirrors, Uncategorized