Girandoles

This high-style mirror, typical of the opulent furnishings favored by the merchant class of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the years following the American Revolution, was purchased as part of the original furnishings of the house by James Rundlet. Today, convex looking glasses like this are known as girandoles. Their convex glass was designed to magnify the light from candles held in the attached brackets. Ornamented with carved acanthus leaves and brass chains, this one is crowned by a hippocampus, a mythological creature that is half horse, half dolphin.