“Mirror, mirror, on the wall – which is the fairest one of all?”
John Joyce has completed the restoration of both overmantel mirrors in the second-floor parlors of the Hill House, and we want our viewers to weigh-in on which one of the two “newly” restored mirrors is your favorite? Go to our Facebook page and leave us a comment.
When John started the mirror restoration, he was hopeful he would find the original gold-gilding under the gold paint. Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold to solid surfaces. After several attempts and experimenting in different places on the mirrors he was unsuccessful of uncovering traces of this decorative technique. Gilding was found in only a very few areas on both mirrors. Apparently, the gilding was stripped at some point and the frames were painted with gold paint. In-turn, John was able to put his past restoration efforts to work. As you can see from the attached pictures, he applied new gilding in many places on the mirrors and painted parts of it black highlighting the gold accents. The final products as you can see are amazing.
Which mirror is the fairest one of all? Let us know which one of the two newly restored mirrors you like the most, and please stop by the museum on Wednesdays and Saturdays and check them out in person.
