This enchanting, handsome and large rectangular mirror has viewed the same walls as the Francis I, King of France (1494-1547), who (along with other prominent guests) visited the house where this mirror last resided. It comes from a home with great history which is now a museum in Cavaillon – The Hôtel d'Agar. The last proprietors before the home was turned into a museum furnished their walls with this artistic mirror which was made in the 1940s. The mirror features a wood frame finished with a painted gold-bronze patina. The faceted square pieces and beading around the outer and inner parts of the frame were each created separately before coming together to form the frame. The mirror glass has been more recently replaced.
More about the Hôtel d'Agar:
The Agar family lived in this home from the twelfth to seventeenth century. Jean d'Agar, an Advisor to the Parliament of Aix, was fervently dedicated to the Catholic cause and played an active role in the French Wars of Religion. In 1996, the Morand family bought the property. The Hotel D’Agar is built on Greek and Roman ruins that contain precious pieces of history for the Provencal village of Cavaillon.
Several artistic and archeological treasures have been found on the site including a gothic tower with gargoyles, a ceiling that was painted in 1537 to welcome Francis 1st, King of France and another by Nicolas Mignard (1606-1668), or Mignard d’Avignon – known for portraits, and mythological compositions, and many more.
The garden is also historically significant – most likely the only garden in France that has been continuously used as a garden for over two thousand years. Francis I, Catherine de Medici, the Marquis de Sade, Louis XVI, René Char and many other historic figures visited the home.
In 2010, a collection of 303 remarkable silver coins were found there – arguably the most important discoveries in the Vaucluse region of France.
Condition and wear consistent with age and use.
