Federal Bullseye Mirrors

Federal Bulls Eye mirrors, or sometimes called Girandole mirrors if candleholders are attached have an eagle at the top which is cohesive with the Federal period. These mirrors have an interesting "wide-angle fish-eye camera lens" concave glass effect which actually served a purpose. 


Historically, these mirrors were displayed in dining rooms where entertaining would occur and with the outward bending glass, this allowed the butler to see the entire room (ie. when glasses needed refilling or prevent guests from trying to steal the silver) while staying discreetly out of sight. It was the ultimate domestic surveillance system. I always see a few of these at Scott's Antiques and they are awesome. Now they can be found in living areas above a mantel, in the bedroom, or in the hallway.

Trad Home

S.R. Gambrel

Lynn Morgan at House Beautiful

Douglas Friedman

Markham Roberts

Phoebe Howard

Cafeiro Select

Lauren Liess 

Country Living

Phoebe Howard

Cottage Living

Houzz

Enchanted Home 

Green Street 

Notice the 13 balls around the mirror. This was to represent the 13 original colonies. Bullseye Convex Mirror from Richard Rothstein

 Nick Brock Antiques at 1st Dibs

Melissa Levinson Antiques at 1st Dibs

Here is a smaller version painted white from Lonny

Lonny

The company, Syroco founded in 1890 used resins to replicate the original wooden adornments and carvings on the mirrors to make replicas. These more affordable versions can be found on Ebay and Etsy.

Federal Style Mirror by Syroco found on Etsy from Affordable Adornment 

Another Etsy find from Green Zebre

Syroco Federal Bullseye mirror from Belated Designs on Etsy

Convex mirror from Cafiero Select