A pair of mirrors in carved and gilded wood frames with two arms of light and a rich architectural décor of rocaille, branches, foliage and flowers. They are topped with female faces emerging from trellises. The glass covers show women picking up flowers against a background of foliage. English work from the 18th century. Height 94 cm - Width : 31 cm The practice of painting under glass on mirrors developed in China after 1715 and has historically been attributed to the arrival of the Jesuit missionary Father Castiglione in Peking, who was commissioned by the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors to decorate the imperial garden in Peking. He learned to paint in oil on mirror, a technique already used in Europe but unknown in China when he arrived. The great popularity of chinoiserie led Europeans to send sheets of mirror to Canton, and Chinese artists painted them almost entirely for export.