Featured Next project - serpentine oval mirror

I got this project over the weekend and had a holiday so got the chance to fix and put it back together. Usually my projects sit around for months or years so I feel good about putting this one together so quickly. This is an English serpentine dressing or toilet mirror, late 18th early 19th century.

This one had an old finish in pretty good condition, which I always like to see, but considered a basket case because of some foot problems. One of the back feet was completely missing, and part of one of the front ones. I picked a 19th century mahogany leg from my parts bin that had enough usable wood to make the parts I needed, and tried my hand at carving mahogany for the first time. I used my band saw and several wood files to copy the feet on the other side. Mahogany is great stuff, I can see why it was so popular back before the trees had all been cut down. Gluing it together was pretty easy this time - three clamps and a rubber band.

I applied some finish to the visible parts, but left the underside unfinished since I like to leave a sign that there has been work done. The final pictures show the replacement feet with finish applied. This mirror got claimed by my wife before I had to figure out what to do with it, which is always a huge relief!

 

Great job, Jeff. I would have claimed it too, beautiful.
You have an oval ghost, by the way.

 

Jeff, that is really lovely - great job!

 

Beautiful result, Jeff!

I do have a question, though. Did you really mean to say "late 18th - early 19th century?" I would not have thought that old. Is there some construction or style detail that brought you to that conclusion?

 

Great job! I certainly understand why your wife claimed it, so beautiful!

 

NICE, NICE job, Jeff!!!!

 

Yes, that's when they were making this particular style and this one is period. They call it George III, which lasted 1760-1820 (he was the one who ruled when USA broke away). Sorry my pics are kind of lousy, but in person you can see the dark patina on the back and underneath, full dovetail construction, ivory handles and accents, unusual way mirror arms are attached to base, etc. Here is a very similar one: https://www.antiques-atlas.com/anti...3_drawer_serpentine_dressing_mirror/as483a490

 

hello jeff...every thing right for this mirror...hardware, oak lined drawers, dovetails right, mahogany with boxwood and ebony stringing....overall true to style and sheraton period circa 1790 as you stated.....regards pewter2

 

Very nicely done. I always like working with mahogany too. It is fairly easy to handle. I bought out an old woodsmiths shop and he had old mahogany pieces galore. Could probably build an entire large dresser with what I got from him. Got a fair amount of cherry and walnut too, so I am all set for some time.

 

You probably know this if you've worked with mahogany, but mahogany is a strange beast because it has come from different places, and each place has its own related, but different plant genus. I'm not good enough to identify them, but I can tell the difference when they're side by side. The stuff coming from Indonesia now is called mahogany, but it is quite different from the early stuff from Cuba, for example. I wish they had had the brains to harvest sustainably back then, because this early stuff is really nice and it is a shame that it is now virtually extinct.

Do you build new furniture or just do repairs on old stuff? I'm the latter; no time to start a piece from scratch.