Lady in the Mirror

This beautiful Art Nouveau mirror was a lucky find at a local car boot sale. It was in a pretty scruffy state and was being used as a prop for a lady's unwanted jewellery. She seemed surprised that I was only interested in the mirror! I don't think she had even thought of selling it.

Anyway, it was love at first sight, and I have to say, I haven't been able to part with her since I found her. I can't bring myself to sell her in the shop. I now put my face on every day in this mirror, and she's peeking round in competition with me (she wins - hands down!).

Now some may say it's sacrilege to take an antique, and apply paint. Some like the aged patina of old bronze. But you couldn't see all those little bluebells around the frame or the beautiful daisies on the sides, so I went ahead and applied a coat of Annie Sloane's Original chalk paint. And I think it works.

Here is a photo of the original mirror:

See? Nowhere near as pretty!

I'm pretty sure this is a valuable piece of brass. It has a maker's mark on the base which I haven't been able to identify as yet. If you recognise it please get in touch!

That's the joy of car boot sales, you never know what treasures you are going to find!

This lady isn't for sale but I have lots of other lovely things in my shop that have been reworked and brought up to date. Please come and visit http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PaintMeNewShop