A classic of late 19th and early 20th century French decorative craft, this antique French faux bamboo mirror is built from turned fruitwood shaped and scored on a lathe to mimic the nodes and internodes of real bamboo cane. The taste for faux bamboo in French furnishings reached its height during the japonisme craze of the Belle Epoque, and small mirrors of this type were produced in quantity by regional woodworkers for bourgeois and provincial households alike.
The frame has four corner joints where the vertical stiles pass through and beyond the horizontal rails, each end cut to a distinctive diagonal point that gives the piece a lively, handmade graphic quality. The honey-brown wood has deepened attractively over the decades into a warm amber patina that reads beautifully against plaster walls, linen wallcoverings or painted panelling. It would sit handsomely on a dressing table, a mantel shelf or a narrow entry console, and works equally well hung flat against a wall.
Condition and patina consistent with age. The original mirror glass shows light foxing and minor surface spots visible in the close-up photos, lending it the soft, slightly smoky quality typical of period glass.
Overall size approx. 18.1 in wide x 23.4 in high (46 x 59.5 cm). Mirror glass alone approx. 10.8 in wide x 15.7 in high (27.5 x 40 cm).
