A swing mirror is a mirror mounted between two upright supports on pivots or screws, so that the glass can be tilted backwards and forwards to the angle the user needs. The term is most often used for the small toilet or dressing mirror designed to stand on a dressing table or chest of drawers, although larger floor-standing versions are usually called cheval mirrors.
Swing mirrors became popular in England in the early eighteenth century. Queen Anne and early Georgian examples were often of walnut or japanned wood, with an arched or shaped plate standing on a box base fitted with small drawers for cosmetics and jewellery. Later Georgian mirrors were made in mahogany, frequently with shield-shaped or oval plates and serpentine or bow-fronted bases, and Regency and Victorian makers produced many plainer rectangular designs on turned or reeded supports. Collectors look for original mercury or early silvered plates, which may show attractive foxing, original finials and screws, and good colour. Replaced glass, missing drawers and repaired uprights reduce value. A good swing mirror remains a practical as well as decorative piece on a dressing table or chest of drawers today.
