VENITIAN MIRROR FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE 18th CENTURY In carved and gilded wood, with polychrome lacquer decoration on a brown background, mother-of-pearl inlays, the back bearing an engraved plaque numbered "626"; restorations to the mother-of-pearl. Dimensions: 106 x 86 cm (41 ¾ x 34 in.) Comparative bibliography: C. Alberici, Il Mobile Veneto, Electa editrice, Milan, 1980, p. 159. G. Child, Les Miroirs, 1650-1900, Flamarrion, p. 261, fig. 546. A Venetian mother-of-pearl inlaid, parcel-gilt, brown and polychrome lacquered decorated mirror, first half of the 18th century Venice, with its close trading links with the Orient, was an early adopter of lacquer decoration. Developed from the 17th century onwards, the technique reached its apogee in the 18th century. Venetian lacquerers imagined decorations of gold-coloured chinoiserie on a black or red background, in imitation of lacquers from the East. They gradually moved away from these models and invented their own style, such as the "lacca povera", characteristic of works from the region. In the most precious examples, such as the mirror shown here, the floral scrolls are mixed with mother-of-pearl inlays, recalling the technique used in 16th-century Namban lacquers from Japan. Because of its decoration and foliage ornamentation, it belongs to a small group of known examples, including : - A mirror belonging to the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts of the city of Trieste, illustrated in C. Alberici, ibid. - A pair, sold at Artcurial Paris, 26 November 2018, lot 130. - The example with pediment illustrated in C. Santini, Mille Mobili Veneti, 2002, vol. III, p. 246, fig. 423. - A pair with pediment sold at Artcurial Paris, 15 December 2022, lot 33. *Information for buyers: For an exit from the EU, a re-export CITES may be required, this being at the expense of the future buyer. *Information to the buyers : For an exit from the EU, a CITES re-export certificate will be necessary, at the buyer's expense.