Venetian French-Style Mirror — Colbert

Colbert — Venetian French-Style Mirror

In 1665 Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister to Louis XIV, decided that France would no longer pay Venice for its mirrors. He had Murano mirror-makers brought to Paris, in secret and at great expense, and from their craft grew a French school of mirror-making with a character all its own: fewer flowers, more architecture, and above all the bevel, that wide polished edge that breaks the light into a line of silver. Colbert is a mirror that closes the circle — the French manner, made again in Murano.

Where the Venetian mirror is exuberant, the French mirror is composed. Its beauty lies in proportion and in the cut of the glass: broad bevelled panels, a clean rectangular field, ornament kept to the engraving and to a single crest. It is the mirror of nineteenth-century salons, of chimney breasts and panelled walls, and it sits as easily in a modern room as in a classical one.

Colbert stands 136 cm tall. The frame is made of bevelled crystal panels engraved by hand with slender sprays of flowers and leaves, separated from the central plate by rows of beaded glass rods that catch the light like pearls. Above rises a carved crest of scrolls around an engraved oval, and glass rosettes mark the corners. Everything is colourless: the piece works entirely through cut, engraving and reflection.

Hang it over a fireplace, a console or a sideboard, or lean it in a dressing room. Its height makes a low room feel taller, and its restraint lets it live with almost any style of furniture.

Colbert is handmade in Murano by Fratelli Tosi, a family glassworks founded in the early 1900s by Romano Tosi and known worldwide for its Venetian mirrors and Murano glass furniture. It is made to order and can be produced in custom sizes: ask us for a bespoke quote. Explore our French-style mirrors, the Venetian mirrors collection and all our Murano glass mirrors. Every piece arrives with a certificate of authenticity and fully insured shipping. Questions? Get in touch.

Dimensions

• H 136 × W 92 cm

Shop with Confidence

Every piece is guaranteed 100% authentic and handmade on the island of Murano. Your mirror is made to order, then packed in a protective wooden crate and shipped fully insured and tracked, and you can return eligible items within 14 days. Your satisfaction is our promise.

• Bevelled crystal panels engraved by hand, with beaded glass rods
• Carved crest with an engraved oval medallion
• Made to order by Fratelli Tosi in about 6–9 weeks
• Custom sizes on request
• Certificate of Authenticity included
• Wooden crate, insured and tracked shipping, free across the EU
• 14-day returns