Oval table frame possibly for vanity mirror or painting. This ornate design features ribbon, floral, and vegetal swags along with pierced lattice designs and foliate motifs. On either side winged putti draped with swirling fabric hold on to pierced branch protrusions. The top of the frame features two kissing putti busts surrounded by wings. The frame is elevated by two lion mask feet and has a scrolled stand to support the frame in a tilted position. This frame is an exuberant expression of the Rococo Revival style. Rococo Revival style was the most popular style of the Victorian era in the United States. It emerged as early as the 1830s and continued to be seen into the 1900s. This style was modeled after eighteenth-century French designs, yet the revival of the style pushed elements further. Rococo Revival objects tended to be highly ornamental, with more substantial, less delicate forms, and visually dense decoration. This style is defined by its sense of movement and its delicacy, as well as curvaceousness, asymmetry, and curvilinear forms. Rococo Revival motifs included floral imagery, abundant swags of fruit and foliage, shell-like waves, ‘S’ & ‘C’ scrolls, rocaille decoration, serpentine curves, frozen water forms, volutes, acanthus leaves, and cabriole legs.
Label Text:
The purpose of a frame is to protect the object within, as well as enhancing is aesthetic appeal. Frames have been made in a variety of shapes from a range of materials, including wood, metals, and plaster. They may be simple or ornate and often employ popular motifs from the styles of their day. Beautiful, carefully-crafted frames could be considered a work of art in themselves; however, they are often over looked because the focus is on what is inside its walls.
Mark(s):
NB & IW (National Brass & Iron Works, Reading, PA)
