Details
- Object type
mirror
- Title
Honesty Mirror
- Artist/Maker
- Place Associated
Scotland (place of manufacture)
- Date
circa 1896
- Materials
beaten tin, wood, glass
- Dimensions
overall: 2060 mm x 725 mm x 350 mm
- Description
-
This mirror, known as the 'Honesty mirror', was designed by Frances Macdonald (1873-1921) around 1896. The respoussé decoration of the frame, made of beaten tin, contains the motifs of human figures and stylized plant forms that characterised Frances Macdonald's early work. The Honesty plant (Hunaria biennis) is the focal point of the frame's subject. Two androgynous human figures flank the frame, their long flowing hair and robes merging into the plant forms themselves. In the upper part of this mirror the two figures hold steady and point to one central honesty seed-pod, framed against the circle of the sun. The image this frame contains is therefore considered to be an honest representation of the person it appears to visually echo. This link to honesty is perhaps a humorous reference to the adage that the mirror never lies.
- ID Number
E.1946.5.a
- Location
Kelvingrove CRM and the Glasgow Style