Beschreibung:

A large German 19th century 'Rococo revival' painted trumeau mirrorThe later plate below an associated 18th century oil on canvas depicting a trio of musicians together with a duo of singers and a pair of dancing children in a rural landscape garden, within asymmetrical C- and S-scroll, rocaille, floral and scrolled acanthus carved surrounds, 278cm high x 154cm wide. FootnotesProvenance By family repute the present lot was acquired during the late 19th century by the vendor's great grandfather, Ottmar von Mohl, whilst Mohl was serving as German Consul in St. Petersburg, Russia. Subsequently the mirror was brought from Germany to London by the vendor's mother (Ottmar's granddaughter) in about 1960. It was then transferred to Devon by the vendor, following the death of the latter's mother. The vendor and current owner of the offered mirror is directly descended from an historically important aristocratic Prussian family headed by Johann Jacob Moser. Johann Jacob Moser (1701-1785) As he refused to convert to Catholicism, Johann Jacob Moser was not granted employment within the Imperial service. As a result he chose instead to pursue a career as a civil servant for the Holy Roman Empire, being appointed as a 'state advisor' in circa 1725. Some years later, Moser had developed an acute awareness and detailed understanding of political and constitutional matters through gaining a long series of administrative positions. Among which roles he served as Head of the Faculty of Law at Frankfurt University between 1736 and 1739. Whilst he resided at Ebersdorf, over the period 1739-1747, Johann Jacob completed the enormous fifty-three volume work, Deutsches Stautsrecht ('German Constitutional Law'). Although staggeringly he authored approximately five hundred books throughout his life, the latter is widely considered to be his 'magnum opus'. Charged with the composition of subversive literature, Moser was arrested and then confined for five years as a prisoner inside Hohentwiel Castle, perhaps somewhat ironically following a total absence of judicial process. Moser is considered to have laid the legal foundations of the modern German state and established the idea of positive international law. He is widely credited with drafting the earliest description of the German state based upon firm judicial precedents and legal regulations, instead of abstract concepts as it had existed till that time. Among the various notable statesmen, diplomats, botanists and intellectuals who were descendants of Johann Jacob, his oldest son Friedrich Karl von Moser went on to become a significant political author, jurist and statesman in his own right. Ottmar von Mohl (1846-1922) Ottmar, who was the son of renowned jurist Robert von Mohl, served for the majority of his adult life as a German diplomat. He later acted as a foreign advisor upon behalf of the Japanese government briefly between 1887-1889, during the Meiji period. Ottmar von Mohl's diplomatic career meant that he travelled extensively, even managing in 1879 to visit Ohio, U.S.A. and Saint Petersburg in 1885. Both of these voyages were made in his capacity as a German Consul.