Article Image
Mirror, Bilbao, Spain c. 1790
Medium: Marble Mosaic Veneer, Wood, Oil Paint
Museum Purchase in 1949

This interesting looking glass is called a Bilbao mirror. Typically, these mirrors were made of pink marble adhered to wood and had slender columns with delicate gesso adornment, often with an urn or painting in the center. Because these mirrors are fragile, few survive today. A fellow survivor can be found at the Minneapolis Museum of Art. Many of these mirrors were produced from 1780-1810 for export.

The name of the mirror comes from the pink marble which has its origins in Bilbao, Spain, a seaport city in northern Spain near the Bay of Biscay, known for its seafood. Bilbao mirrors were shipped to port towns along the eastern seaboard of the United States, most notably in New England. It is not clear where this mirror was actually produced. Perhaps it was made in Germany — we know that Spanish marble was imported into Germany, and further evidence is the painting of a young girl at the top of the mirror, which shows Germanic influence. Many mirrors were made in Hamburg, Germany, in the 1790’s, so it is possible this one could have been produced there. In 1792, Baltimore merchants advertised “a large elegant assortment of looking glasses from Hamburg.”

If you are looking for a fun mystery to read during this stay-at-home time, you might want to check out Charlotte MacLeod’s The Bilbao Looking Glass. The novel features a wealthy young engaged couple in the early 20th century. They spend a summer at a family country estate in New England, only to find a rare Bilbao mirror they have never seen in the entryway upon arrival. The mirror leads them to some fascinating discoveries. At the Hammond-Harwood House we are also continuing to unravel the mysteries of the collection and explore the connections these pieces have to places around the globe.

– from the Hammond-Harwood House newsletter of June 1, 2020