The French style mirror industry begins in 1665 when the French politician Jean-Baptiste Colbert persuaded some important Venetian masters to move to France. That is the story behind French Style Mirrors. This style is different from the Venetian one. It is characterized by a deep grinding and a more geometric design.
A French mirror is in fact made of lots of different bevelled pieces that are close together and create an harmonious geometrical figure. A beautiful example is , an iconic mirror by Arte Veneziana that is made of 412 hand bevelled pieces. The most visible difference between a Venetian and a French mirror is the total absence of hand-blown glass decorations on the latter.
Donato reminds the observer the signature dragon's tongues of fire. The Donato mirror from the San Donato collection is one of the main characters of Arte Veneziana. San Donato, the Murano Island patron saint, is the namesake of this opulent mirror.
The saint is famous for his fight against a huge dragon by only doing the sign of the cross. This huge masterpiece, handmade in Italy, is made of 412 hand engraved beveled mirrors that reminds us of the dragon’s fire blazes.
Fretworked and antiqued mirror in Venetian style with floral engravings made with a diamond grinding wheel. Beveled mirror fixed with antiqued screws. Structure in antiqued solid wood, finished in bitumen.
Fretwork structure made of solid wood with black antique finish.Central bevelled glass with heavy antique mirrored finish.
Frames and crest made of bevelled and engraved glass with heavy antique mirrored finish.
Floral motif engravings. Decorative twisted ropes made of crystal coloured Murano glass. Decorative fixing screws made of antique brass.
Our glass masters use different wheels to chamfer and obtain shiny glass pieces that will be used on the mirrors and furniture afterwards. This is a fundamental step in our production: no machines can replace the manual work on this extremely delicate matter. The bevelling can only be realised with a long and precise handmade procedure. An ancient engraving manufacturing process which still remains entirely handmade as per Venetian traditions.
