Napier (Meriden, Connecticut, United States, 1922–present). Mirror, ca. 1928. Silver, mirrored glass, 35.9 x 15.9 x 1.3 cm. Brooklyn Museum, H. Randolph Lever Fund, 2000.45. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

This object was probably part of elaborate dressing table sets that included a handheld brush, mirror, combs, small boxes, and other accessories. When the hairbrush was made, the French Art Nouveau style was new and considered avant-garde. The dense, curvilinear floral design and the female head with long, curling tresses are characteristic of that style. A generation later, this taste for curvilinear naturalism was supplanted by the French Art Moderne (or Art Deco) style of the hand mirror. Here, nature is still invoked in the decoration, but it is rendered in a more schematic, hard-edged manner that appears more modern today.