9 Trivial and True Facts About Trumeau Mirrors

 Following  yesterday’s create post where we mentioned that we’re making Trumeau kits,  I thought it would be fun to highlight some facts about what makes a Trumeau a Trumeau. A little history showing  9 elements of a Trumeau Mirror.

01

  A trumeau mirror or pier glass is a wall mirror originally from 18th century France. Like the Hall of Mirrors at Versaille.

 

02

It’s pronounced trumeau – [troo-moh) from the french word which means space between windows.

03

It is a mirror having a painted or carved panel above or below the glass in the same frame.

04

In England, it’s known as a ‘pier glass’. A mirror which is placed on a pier, i.e. a wall between two windows supporting an upper structure.

05

Because Trumeaux hung on a wall between windows, they were originally designed to bringing more light to the room, especially at night where mirrors could reflect the candle light.

06

The mirror is almost always a long and tall. Remember it was intended to fit the space between the walls and includes a decorative portion at the top, with the mirror below it.

07

Most Trumeaux have carving or plaster in the upper center piece. See how the bow is raised. Stay tuned to find out how to do that with Efex.

08

Paintings or later decoupage is also common in the upper center piece. Easy to replicate today.

09

Those designed to be placed above a mantelpiece rather than between windows could have candles placed in front of the mirror to increase ambient light.

All photos are from our go-to source for Trumeau inspirations 1st dibs or the internet.  Tomorrow we’re going to look closely at what  historic trumeau have for decoration.

xoxox Lydia