A Volcano Under Glass

I have often seen prints and paintings of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Most of these seem to have been "grand tour" souvenirs, and often depict the eruption at night - probably for the opportunity to have a dramatic lighting effect.

While browsing Ebay, I came across a mirror for sale that had a simple scene of an active volcano - presumably of Vesuvius, since it had an eruption in 1822, and would have been close enough in time to use as a recognizable subject.

Glass found on Ebay

 

The Ebay glass was far too primitive for what I had in mind, so I devised my own design, working in the style of the European scenes we find on these glasses.

My volcano scene

I installed the glass in the mirror frame discussed in an earlier entry. This frame did in fact, appear to be an antique, that had some restoration work done at some point, with some missing components replaced, and likely an entire re-gilding. As the work is acceptable, I will leave as is.



Installed in mirror