Mirror

Looking Glass
Europe, ca. 1720-60
Limewood, oak, glass, silver
Gift of Rita Teele 

Massachusetts passed laws after 1776 to seize goods and properties from exiled Loyalists who fled to England or Canada. The Boston Gazette advertised an auction held on June 17, 1777, of “All the furniture and other movable effects, left in the Town of Boston, by those Persons who fled from thence with the Enemies of this state.” The auction was held on Cornhill Street, now City Hall Plaza.  

A notarized statement from 1948 by the donor’s relation attests to the object’s provenance: “At the time the British evacuated Boston in 1776, all their possessions left behind were confiscated and sold at auction on Boston Common. At that sale the mirror came into the family.” However, it is unlikely the lookin glass belonged to a British officer.