Parclose mirrors enjoyed renewed popularity in France during the Napoleon III period (1852–1870), an era characterised by a taste for rich decoration and the revival of earlier historical styles. Their distinctive construction features a central mirror surrounded by smaller mirrored panels, or parcloses, often set within an elaborately carved and gilded wooden frame. Inspired by the grandeur of 17th- and 18th-century interiors, Napoleon III examples tend to be particularly decorative, incorporating scrolls, foliage, flowers and architectural motifs. Designed to catch and multiply the light, these mirrors brought both brilliance and a sense of opulence to the sophisticated interiors of Second Empire France.