LASCIVIOUS LOOKER! I will let you all admire the foreground theme, a finely engraved reproduction that had been copied onto a restored sixth plate daguerreotype before pointing out the fellow partially hidden in the drapes and drooling over the shoulder of the statuesque woman being tempted by her lover to join him on that Roman or Grecian couch. There is lovely patina inside the oval brass mat. The day the plate was made a divot in the surface and a few silver bubbles all were visible in the lower left corner of the piece. The likeness is kept in a repaired leather case that was popular in 1845-1846, probably just before this example was placed on the bright mirror. I had written the caption without being able to identify the origins of the artwork. My good friend and client, Robert Johnson, Curator Emeritus Fine Arts Museum San Francisco, visited recently and after studying the image he found this website that most likely explains the history of the work.
http://www.livius.org/sources/content/herodotus/candaules-his-wife-and-gyges
A very strange story to say the least. Thanks Robert for the enlightenment!