Not every striking piece in an antiques collection needs to be centuries old to carry weight — sometimes what matters is how faithfully a design tradition has been carried forward. Two pieces in our collection show that from opposite directions.
Our Howard Elliott ornate gilded wall mirror draws directly on Rococo and Louis XV design language — flowing acanthus scrolls, floral detailing, and a crowned crest across an oval, gilded frame measuring 120cm high. It’s a reminder that Rococo’s visual vocabulary — movement, asymmetry, ornament — has never really gone out of circulation; it’s simply been reinterpreted by each generation of makers, this one working out of Germany.
At the other end of the design timeline sits our Topázio Portugal Art Nouveau glass vase, a tall cylindrical glass body elevated by an elaborate silver overlay — a central medallion of a dancing maiden surrounded by flowing motifs and crowned by an open-winged eagle. Standing 39.5cm tall, it captures the organic, fluid lines that defined Art Nouveau at the turn of the 20th century, where even a functional vessel was expected to feel alive.
Seen side by side, the mirror and the vase trace two of European design’s most influential movements — one built on ornament and symmetry, the other on movement and nature.
Explore both in our Mirrors, Glass & Porcelain category.
