The practice of painting on mirrors developed in China after 1715 when the Jesuit missionary Father Giuseppe Castiglione arrived in Beijing. He found favour with the Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong and was entrusted with the decoration of the Imperial Garden in Beijing. He learned to paint in oil on glass, a technique that was already practiced in Europe but which was unknown in China in 1715. Chinese artists, already expert in painting and calligraphy, took up the practice, tracing the outlines of their designs on the back of the plate and, using a special steel implement, scraping away the mirror backing to reveal glass that could then be painted. Glass paintings were made almost entirely for export, fuelled by the mania in Europe for all things Chinese.
This c1760 mirror in a beautifully drawn giltwood frame following the designs of London’s pre-eminent cabinet-makers such as John Linnell or Thomas Chippendale represents the ingenuity and collaboration between Chinese and British artists of the mid-18th century. From the collection of Pierre Durand it comes up at Christie’s in New York on January 27 with an estimate of $100,000-$200,000. The late philanthropist and collector co-founded The Chinese Porcelain Company. The sale offers a glimpse into a life well lived with objects and art and features the contents of his New York apartment which artistically combined walls of gallery-hung Old Master Drawings with contemporary glass by Yoichi Ohira, and contrasted Chinese paintings by Liu Dan with fine French and English decorative arts.