What is a cheval mirror?
A cheval mirror is essentially a floor mirror set on an easel, allowing it to be tilted back and forth. Deriving its name from the French word for “horse,” the cheval mirror’s base consists of two vertical bars (which the mirror sits between) held up by a pair of feet. Since the feet were often designed like sawhorses, resulting in four feet that could be likened to a horse, the mirror was christened “cheval.” When the mirror first emerged in the 1700s, it was used primarily as a dressing mirror. The tilting mechanism made it possible to view the entire body from top to bottom at close range, making it an extremely functional mirror for small spaces. Cheval mirrors are generally rectangular, but oval-shaped mirrors are also popular. Thanks to its simplistic form, these mirrors also lends itself to a multitude of styles. Traditionally, cheval mirrors were fairly elaborate pieces constructed of carved wood, but as they have matured, they’ve come to take on more simplistic, modern forms as well
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Lead photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg
