George III Mirror

George III Mirror In the Chippendale Style, English, c. 1770
Maker: Unknown
Medium: Mahogany with Gilt Eagle
F73 Gift of Mrs. Carroll Van Ness 1954 Location: Currently on exhibition for Decadent Decor: Global Imports in An Early American Port City

Mirrors are one of the only items in the collection that museum visitors use exactly the same way as the original owners did more than two hundred years ago.

This delicate English Chippendale style mirror once adorned the walls of Ogle Hall in Annapolis and was originally owned by Benjamin Ogle (1749-1809), the ninth Governor of Maryland, and his wife Henrietta “Henry” Margaret Hill (1751-1815). The Governor descended from a distinguished English family from Northumberland. He led an opulent life in Annapolis. Ogle developed a strong taste for English goods and habits after studying there. Upon his return to Annapolis society in 1770, he created an existence for himself similar to that of the English gentry, engaging in thoroughbred horse racing, lavish entertaining, and furnishing his country estate Belair in Bowie and Annapolis townhouse Ogle Hall, both of which are still extant. Ogle also owned land on the peninsula of Eastport where he kept his thoroughbred horses.

The object form of this mirror originated in England and became quite popular for American makers in the late 18th and early 19th century. These looking glasses provide a window into the aesthetic ideal of early Americans. Looking glasses rose steadily in popularity and were seen in the best bedrooms and parlors of 18th century America.

This mirror was likely witness to many grand occasions at Ogle Hall, including a 1773 dinner for George Washington. It no doubt saw the conflict that ensued when the couple were divided on the marriage of the youngest daughter, Mary. She had fallen in love with George Bevans, whom contemporaries called an uncouth Englishman. The mirror also saw the faces of the Ogles’ enslaved servants, of which there were at least 47. The mirror demanded great care– in cleaning and protecting it against what Ogle’s contemporary Charles Carroll of Carrollton called the “extreames of Heat & Cold.” Carroll recognized these conditions of the new world when he ordered a durable mirror from his London agent in 1774. An enslaved Ogle servant likely oversaw the mirror’s care in combating seasonal pests, hanging, and damage from parties. While the mirror has succumbed to foxing and age over the year,s it is still a beautiful object that tells an important story of the people of early Annapolis. The mirror descended through successive owners of Ogle Hall and was donated by Mrs. Caroll Van Ness in 1954.

By Rachel Lovett, Curator