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Buried in a backyard barn of a $100 million Southampton estate, sat a towering and forlorn mirror - the Vagabond Mirror. (Il Specchio Vagabondo Chef Michael named it). The 10-foot-long mirror, encrusted with appliques, was leaning on its side with only the edge of the beveled glass and hand carved gold painted giltwood showing. After moving aside boxes, hay, and garbage, the grand proportions and intricate carvings came to light. Like everything else on the estate, it was for sale, for the German industrialist owner had passed.
On a whim and with no place in mind, it was impulse purchased by Bruce Bronster who promptly moved it to his basement. Subsequently, the mirror was shipped to NYC for a potential design project, but it would not fit in the elevator – so it took the long ride back on the Long Island Expressway and was placed back into storage where it sat for over a decade, awaiting a home.
Santi’s Galleria di Ritratti (Portrait Gallery) with its double height curved staircase, and 18-foot floor to ceiling expanse – called out for the Vagabond Mirror’s majesty and grace to fill the wall. However, time and travel had taken its toll on the piece of antiquity, the carvings damaged and the paint faded and chipped.
The mirror was packed up and sent back again to New York City to fix the time induced nicks, chips, and missing pieces of carving. The acclaimed Tishman framer/restorer, Ziello, located in Brooklyn had the mirror on its back for over a year. With an incredible attention to detail, the mirror’s intricate carved features, acanthus leaves, fruits, and adornments were recreated where missing. Ziello’s team of restorers, (including the famed ‘Night Carver’ who has no cell phone, and only works alone at night) created rubber molds of the existing features and recast or hand carved the missing cherries, grapes, and sunbursts; medallions and arrows, and sanded and cleaned the curlicues, crests, and crevices.
To their shock, in the process of recreating the workmanship, they discerned that the various pieces and appliques were added over decades, (since the early 1800’s when it was originally handcrafted), and in in the mirror’s travels from the US, to France, to Italy, and back home. From the Federal details of its original manufacture here in the States, to the Baroque flowers and fruits added in France, Rococo leaves, Greek key pattern, and Neoclassic details added in Italy, the Vagabond Mirror tells the story of its travels like stickers on ocean liner steamship luggage.
To their further astonishment, on stripping the more than 30 layers of paint, when reaching ground zero, they saw that the mirror was originally covered in gleaming 22 carat gold leaf over red clay! A masterpiece valued at more than $100K today.
While we may never know who originally commissioned the mirror or where it first resided, the Vagabond Mirror has found its rightful place at Santi where it shall remain as a symbol, much like Chef White’s cuisine, of invention and tradition at the same time.
