Looking glass

Unknown

1730–60 · White pine · The American Wing

Japanning, the use of paint and gilded gesso to imitate the glossy finish on Asian lacquerwork, was a popular method of furniture decoration in colonial Boston. This looking glass, part of a group (40.37.1, .2, .4) of japanned furniture that descended in the Pickman family of Salem, Massachusetts, is an extraordinary survival. The painted decoration on the high chest, dressing table, and looking glass is all by the same hand.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1730–60

Medium

White pine

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1940