Gold Convex Mirrors
Convex mirrors in round gilded frames, finished by hand: the Cécile in three diameters, 45, 80 and 100 cm, and the Soleil and Flamme sunburst mirrors, both Ø 90 cm. The domed glass gathers a whole room into one reflection, while the gold frame gives a wall its focal point. The oval Fontaine, crowned with acanthus, completes the collection.
Why Kuzco Art Maison makes convex gold mirrors
At Kuzco Art Maison we believe an interior can move people as much as a good exhibition. Our round gold mirrors grow out of that conviction: objects that reflect the room and at the same time draw the eye back to themselves. The love of art and design behind them has its roots in family history, joined by a knowledge of museums and historical styles put to work in present-day design.
Period pieces are often out of reach, and cheap copies lose the sense of the original. We therefore make new mirrors that carry that historical legacy forward, with the same materials and techniques, at a level suited to interiors today.
From Van Eyck to today: a short history of the convex mirror
The convex mirror has a long history. As early as 1434 Jan van Eyck placed a round, domed mirror at the very centre of his Arnolfini portrait (National Gallery, London). Its surface shows the room, bent by the curve, with two figures standing in the doorway.
The collection brings that history into the present, with close attention to proportion, colour and the way light falls. Each mirror keeps the presence of its forerunners while settling easily into a contemporary room.
How our convex mirrors and sunburst mirrors are made
Each mirror in the collection is made individually in a workshop that continues the tradition of gilding with gold leaf. The leaf is laid by hand over the wooden frame and then burnished to a warm sheen, which leaves a slight patina on the finished mirror.
The glass is gently convex. Its curve takes in a wider field of view and softly bends the reflection, so that the mirror works as an optical object as well as a decorative one.
Compared with a mass-produced flat mirror, convex glass sets up a play of perspective: a slight distortion that lends life to every movement in the room.
Round gold mirrors with convex glass
The round gold mirror with convex glass, sometimes sold in the trade as a butler's mirror, gathers the light of a room and gives any interior a quiet depth. Kuzco Art Maison makes it with classical techniques: a handmade wooden frame finished in gold leaf, set with convex glass that returns a panoramic view.
Around 1800 convex mirrors became fashionable in England. They often hung at the far end of a room to reflect the whole interior, as the Victoria and Albert Museum records. In the entry 'mirrors' in his Cabinet Dictionary (1803), Thomas Sheraton describes only convex mirrors and praises the effect of seeing the perspective of the room on their surface. Interior designers still turn to them today when they want a balance of function and sculptural form.
Decorating with round gold mirrors
In present-day decoration the round gold mirror usually acts as a focal point: over a chimneypiece, in an entrance hall or as a point of light at the end of a dining room. Its soft curve breaks the straight lines of the architecture, and the gold leaf adds a warm accent beside marble, wood and stone.
For rooms with high ceilings the large round mirrors, 80 to 100 cm in diameter, are the natural choice; smaller sizes work well grouped in mirror arrangements or on a gallery-style wall. Advice on size, finish and pairing with other materials such as bronze or marble is available on request.
Service and quality
- Made by hand using traditional techniques
- Gilded with gold leaf over a wooden frame, with no adhesive foils or gold lacquers
- Convex glass, clear and durable
- Trade service for interior designers and decorators
- Made to order, with a choice of diameter and tone (warm gold, champagne, old gold)
- Delivery throughout Europe and personal advice from our gallery in Amsterdam, by appointment
Caring for and hanging a convex gold mirror
A gilded mirror asks for gentle handling. Clean it with a dry, lint-free cloth and keep it away from damp and chemical products. The gold leaf finish is hard-wearing, so the mirror keeps its character through changes in humidity.
Hang it at eye level and out of direct sunlight, so that the gold leaf keeps its warm glow.
Explore our convex gold mirrors
From the Cécile convex mirror, with a plain moulding edged by a beaded fillet and diameters from 45 to 100 cm, to the Fontaine, an oval with bevelled glass and an acanthus crest, each piece in the collection brings the character of historical interiors into rooms of today.
The collection can be browsed online, or seen close up at the gallery in Amsterdam by appointment.
