I don’t run across many Cheval mirrors that I would like to own save for a few nice Renaissance Revival and Merklen-style spiral-carved varieties, but this one with Gothic details caught my eye. This one is large - 7′ x 4′ and 2′ deep. The seller is characterizing it as Aesthetic Movement with Gothic carved crest, but in my mind there is more Gothic than just the crest and I’m not sure what is Aesthetic about it (gilt incising?). There are trefoils and crockets in the feet, incised Gothic arches in the stand arms. The feet themselves are arched in a flying buttress form and there are pointed arch finials at the bottom trim area.

The support stand incorporates Elizabethan style hollow and solid spiral-carvings that would rival any Merklen Brothers work, though is dissimilar to their style.

Elizabethan and Gothic resurged in Europe in the 1890s, so it is possible that this explains this combined design and suggests a timeframe and place for it’s manufacture.

More at the listing.

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Tom Webster is a wood turner from Indianapolis, Indiana and he sent me these photos of a Merklen-inspired table that he created from Curly Oak. I’m very impressed by the reproduction of the triple-spiral legs that Merklen used to produce and you can see an image below of an authentic Merklen table with that feature. Tom has been reproducing these tables for years and keeps going back to the Merklen designs due to their heavy use of rope and barley twists. Although he didn’t use it on this table, he has some original Merklen hardware which he will be using on the next table. Generally, Merklen Bros. used wood ball and claw feet on their designs.

Tom is a full-time professional wood turner and can reproduce missing furniture parts if you have a need. I have an original Merklen that needs a stretcher finial, so Tom, I may be contacting you about that. He can be reached at this email address.

More pictures of Tom’s table:

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Just a quick note to point out that a Hunzinger rocker with the duplex spring popped up for sale in the San Francisco area (they’re saying no shipping). It appears to be in good condition and has nice spiral turned frame elements. Bidding starts at $425 and ends on the 9th.

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