Black Wall Mirror in Carved Teak with Gilded Scrollwork and a Shell Crest

The black on this frame is built up, not painted on.

A single opaque coat of black would give you a flat, dead surface - the look of moulded plastic, and unmistakable at close range. So our artisans seal the teak first and then lay the black in thin, translucent layers, letting each one dry before the next, until the depth is right. Even at full strength the grain of the timber is still faintly readable through it, and that is deliberate: it is what tells your eye this is wood and not a coating.

Then it is rubbed back. Where a hand would naturally fall - the outer edge of a scroll, the top of the cornice bar, the shoulder of a volute - the black is worked lightly with an abrasive until a hint of warmth comes through from the teak beneath. The frame arrives with the softening that a piece would otherwise take twenty years to acquire.

Only after all of that does the gilding go on. Gold laid over a flat black looks stuck on. Gold laid over a black with depth in it looks like it belongs there.

Material: solid teak throughout, hand-carved by master Indian artisans.

Structure: upright frame with scrolled shoulders and shaped feet; straight cornice bar across the head; shell and volute crest; carved ornament joined to the frame.

Finish: black laid in thin translucent layers over sealed teak and rubbed back at the wear points, with hand-laid gilding on the carved ornament. The gold-to-black balance is set to your preference.

Plate: shaped mirror glass, plain or bevelled, set into a rebate from the back.

Hanging: concealed fixings supplied and rated for the finished weight, with fixing centres provided ahead of delivery.

Sizes: custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

Photography: images on this page are photographs of the actual product, not renders.

A dark rubbed finish shows a scuff more readily than gold does, so the surface is faced before anything else touches it.

A soft, clean, non-transferring facing goes over the whole black surface first, and only then do the cushioning layers begin. The cornice bar, which projects at both ends and is the most likely thing to catch on a doorway, is edge-protected along its entire length and capped at the tips.

The crest and the outer scrolled shoulders are capped individually. The plate is filmed and backed with a board cut to the shaped opening so the glass carries no load.

Everything then goes into laminated foam, bubble wrap and a fitted wooden crate, carried on edge and marked for orientation. Multi-layer protective packaging is standard and dent-free arrival is guaranteed.

Free delivery anywhere in India is included in the price - no freight charge, no distance loading, no small-town surcharge.

Production begins once your size, plate specification and the balance of gold to black are confirmed in writing. We give a realistic production window then and update you as the piece moves through carving, finishing, gilding, glazing and crating.

The shipment is tracked and our team stays reachable throughout. Dent-free arrival is guaranteed and it is ours to honour.

The cornice bar makes this a wide crate for its height. Tell us your doorway and stair dimensions at the time of order and we plan the crating and route around them before the piece leaves the workshop.

Brown Rabbit warrants the solid teak frame and its joinery for 20 years - the upright frame, the scrolled shoulders, the feet, the cornice bar and every joint holding the carved ornament and crest.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs with the mirror for as long as you own it, resting on teak's natural termite resistance and confirmed in writing.

The black is a layered hand finish, rubbed back at the wear points by design, so no two frames carry identical softening. The gilding over it is hand-laid and hand-burnished, with the variation in shine that implies.

Written warranty terms are issued with your order so the cover is agreed before we start.