Black and Gold Mirror in Carved Teak with an Arched Plate

The two plain black triangles at the top corners of this mirror are doing more work than anything gilded on it.

An arch inside a square leaves those spandrels. The instinct - and it is a strong one - is to fill them: a scroll, a rosette, a spray of leaves, anything rather than empty space. Almost every maker does it.

But an arch is only read as an arch because of what sits beside it. Fill the spandrels with ornament and the curve loses its edge against them; the eye reads a busy top corner and the shape of the arch dissolves into the decoration. The one thing that makes the curve legible is a quiet area on either side of it.

So they are left plain, and finished in flat black - the darkest, least reflective surface on the piece - so that the gilded arch moulding is seen against nothing at all.

It is a decision that shows only by its absence. Nobody looks at this mirror and admires the spandrels. They see a clean arch, which is the entire point.

Material: solid teak in the frame, crest, masks, pierced base panel, feet and back structure.

Glass: arched plate set within a squared outer frame.

Spandrels: plain, finished in flat black, left uncarved so the arch reads cleanly.

Carving: shell crest above the arch, carved masks with falling foliage at both shoulders, pierced gilt panel across the base, pierced work at both lower corners, scrolled feet.

Finish: black ground with gold applied by hand to all carved and moulded work.

Back: solid structure carrying the hanging fixings.

Made to order: size, carving, spandrel treatment and finish are all customisable. Custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

A flat black surface shows every mark, and the spandrels are the largest plain areas on this mirror - so they are boarded rather than merely wrapped.

Acid-free tissue goes directly against the black and the gilding, then foam sheet, then a rigid board across each plain area.

Foam is pressed into every opening in the pierced base panel and corner work so the carving is braced from behind.

The shell crest, the two carved masks and the scrolled feet project furthest and each is given its own moulded foam block.

The plate is taped in a grid, foam-faced and covered with a rigid board cut to its arched head.

The mirror travels flat in a hardwood crate, corner-protected and marked for orientation. Multi-layer protective packaging is included on every order at no extra cost.

Delivery is free anywhere in India, with guaranteed dent-free arrival. No distance charge, no size charge and no handling fee.

Production begins once your dimensions are confirmed in writing. We photograph your actual mirror through the build: the frame, the carving, the black finish, the gilding and the finished mirror - and on a black and gold piece those photographs are worth studying, because the contrast reads differently on a screen than in a room.

On site, our team unpacks it flat, marks the fixings and hangs it level.

Send us lift dimensions, stair turns and doorway widths ahead of dispatch so the route can be planned. Every photograph on this page is of the actual product, not a render.

The solid teak frame and joinery carry a 20-year warranty - the frame members, the arched head, the crest, the masks, the pierced base panel and the back structure.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs with the mirror and never expires. Teak's natural oils are its own defence and our warranty stands behind them.

The mirror plate and hanging fixings are covered against manufacturing defect.

Black and gold is the hardest pairing to match by eye, so both are recorded against your order number - the exact black, the gilding materials and which areas are burnished. Any later retouch is worked from that record. Contact us and we will arrange it.