Craigdarroch Castle : Object : mirror, hand [2009.003.001.001]

Object

Accession Number

2009.003.001.001

Description

Part of an assembled 13 piece dresser set, this hand mirror is part of four matching Gorham sterling silver pieces with ornate repoussed and embossed decoration in the French taste, the cartouche in the centre back monogrammed with 'LMD' (for Laura Miller Dunsmuir), the five embossed cherubs surrounding the cartouche, the mirror glass backing exfoliating (damage), two additional embossed cherubs framing the bottom of the bevelled mirror, at the top centre is the face of another.

Narrative

This mirror is part of a fine 13-piece silver dresser set assembled and owned by Laura Miller Dunsmuir (nee Surles). The set is unusually large and of very high quality. A Canadian woman of Mrs. Dunsmuir's wealth and social status during the Victorian and Edwardian eras would typically have had a dresser set similar to this one.

History of Use

This hand mirror is part of a fine 13-piece silver dresser set assembled and owned by Laura Miller Dunsmuir (nee Surles). She used it at her house Burleith, at Government House while her husband James served as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, and at her residence Hatley Park. After her death, it was passed down through her descendants until it and the set it is part of was donated to The Castle Society.