New York royalty

Chinese reverse-painted mirror picture, c1770

The renowned philanthropist and descendent of the Astor family, Brooke Astor, lived in a Park Avenue duplex apartment filled with possessions that reflected her interests and passions. These ranged from Chinese lacquer furniture to antique clocks, via porcelain, art featuring dogs (many of which belonged to her) and Chinese export reversepainted mirror pictures. The latter were typically found in English country house collections of the 18th and 19th centuries, and were popular because they added a touch of the exotic to traditional rooms with their oriental scenes and decorative lacquer frames. Chinese artists capitalised on the fashion and created many examples to export to Europe, depicting landscapes and beautiful women. This fantastic early example, owned by Astor, sold at Sotheby’s in 2012 for £42,195 (est £12,000 to £18,000).