Marble Fireplaces and Mantels

This magnificent antique 19th Century marble mantel with decorative gilt bronze mounts is after the fireplace in Marie Antionette"s Silver Boudoir at Fontainbleau. The Silver Boudoir...

A very important 19th century (circa 1820) French Empire Sienna marble fireplace with elaborate ormolu enrichments to frieze and jambs. The flu...

This is a fine original antique fireplace surround from the first half of the 18th century. Louis XIV period. The Saracolin marble and the fine carved center is of exceptional qualit...

A large and impressive Louis XVI style fireplace mantel in Italian Carrara marble. The scrolled console legs, with decorative carved ribbon twist, carved acanthus to top, carved scro...

Antique French statuary Carrara marble mantelpiece of large scale and great quality. This magnificent Napoleon III style mantelpiece is beautifully carved in the purest of white stat...

Happy to offer this impressive 18th Century Rococo style fireplace in Belgian Blue stone. This tall mantel has a very nice and strong shaped topshelf with ditto profiling, it rest on...

This antique fireplace mantel (fireplace) is one of a kind. It has been executed in Brocatelle d'Espagne marble with Black Belgian Mazy marble details. The angel head and the caprico...

This classically-designed carved stone fireplace looks beautiful in either limestone or marble. It is part of our Elizabeth Scott Fireplace Collection, designed by Elizabeth Scott D...

This original Art Deco period fireplace surround from the Burgundy region is built in the exquisite rose liseron marble from the French Burgundy region. Many historic landmarks carry...

Crafted in France during the 1890s, this French African Breccia Marble Mantel boasts intricate carvings throughout the piece. Made from stunning African Breccia stone, this mantel is...

Located in the hall of a ballroom, this exceptional fireplace welcomed the 80 guests of Edward Julius Berwind's luxurious New York home in the Louis XV style. It attests to the true ...

A original fine French Carrara marble vintage fireplace mantle which has no restoration. The Pompadour style was the perfect bedroom style in ...

Extraordinary Dutch Louis XIV Smuiger, executed in Gris d'Ardenne marble. This chimneypiece was made circa 1700 for a small farmers residence in Haarlem. Simple but beautiful cur...

A French Louis XVI style fireplace in Carrara marble. The moulded jambs with acanthus leaves and scrolled returns, the frieze with carved oval paterae, moulded panels and square pate...

An attractive and richly coloured antique Victorian period fireplace made from very desirable Portoro Nero marble The arched panels with raised and fielded panels are centred by a ke...

A period George III late 18th century fireplace in Kilkenny marble. Architectural in design with simple jambs stood on square foot blocks, supporting a long frieze with plain centre ...

Antique marble stone fireplace, 19th century. To place in front of the chimney.

Very nice antique fireplace of carrara marble from Italy! This mantle surround is in style of Louis XV and has very elegant ornaments and decoration in the front part and on the legs...

A Highly Important Empire Period Rosso Antico Chimneypiece Inset with Specimen Marble Portrait Reliefs of Roman Emperors The carved and veneered surround comprising a moulded shelf supported by a bold dentil cornice, above an inverted breakfront frieze carved with a central triglyph panel, flanked by a pair of rosettes carved in shallow relief, the frieze mounted with six carved hardstone profile portrait medallions of Roman Emperors, the stop-fluted jambs raised on moulded footblocks; in excellent condition with small restorations commensurate with age and use; the pale inclusions in the stone naturally formed. This spectacular neoclassical marble chimneypiece is carved from Rosso antico, the frieze inset with six portrait reliefs of Roman Emperors, each carved in marmo giallo on a bardiglio background, five variously incised: VESPASIANUS, TIBERIVS, OTHO, JULIUS CAESAR, TITUS. Rosso antico (marmor taenarium) is first recorded as being quarried in 1700 BC at Akra Tainaron (Cape Matapan), Greece.¹ The majority of this stone, however, was extracted throughout the Roman period, when it was one of the most coveted materials for carving due to its rich red colouring and association with highly prized Egyptian ‘Imperial’ Porphyry.² Rosso antico was chosen in antiquity for portrait busts, notably depicting Bacchic subjects such as Dionysus and satyrs due to its rich red wine colour which symbolised conviviality whilst conveying the education and cultivated taste of the owner.³ In the Renaissance, Rosso antico was also used for architectural detail on important buildings, such as the steps leading up to the choir in the medieval church of S. Prassede, and the large columns at the entrance to the Camera dell'Aurora.⁴ In 121 AD, G. Suetonius Tranquillus, secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote a biographical history of the first twelve emperors of Rome entitled De vita Caesarum (The Twelve Caesars). A Renaissance edition of Tranquillus’ work was published in 1470, followed by further reprints and translations into all the main European languages. Many of these were illustrated with prints of emperors taken from coins and statues, or imagined by the artist based on Tranquillus’ accounts. These interpretations were copied, in turn, by Renaissance designers for medals, Limoges enamels, and busts, as well as paintings such as the Eleven Caesars, a series of eleven half-length portraits of Roman emperors made by Titian in 1536–40 for Federico II, Duke of Mantua.⁵ These paintings were later given to King Charles I, before being passed in the Commonwealth to the Kings of Spain. Unfortunately, the series was destroyed in the catastrophic fire of 1734 at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, and is now only known through copies and engravings.⁶ From the middle of the 17th century until the end of the 18th century, there was an insatiable demand for marble carvings, often sold as Roman or assembled from ancient fragments, thus perpetuating the reverence for antiquity that was the quintessence of the Grand Tour. Rosso antico was in extremely short supply, even after the ancient quarries at Skutari were rediscovered in 1830, and remained one of the most highly valued of all stones. Described in 1776 as ‘dark red; scarce and dear’, it was mostly used for small objects such as Grand Tour desk ornaments, inevitably using material re-cut from classical fragments, due to its rarity, as was the case with porphyry.⁷ The portrait roundels on this chimneypiece are typical of those produced in Rome and Florence in hardstones, semi-precious stones, gold, silver, bronze, and mother-of-pearl, which, being easily transportable, would be taken home from the Grand Tour to be mounted within wooden, gilded or brass frames, as fashion dictated.⁸ A group of gold portraits of Caesars, dating from around 1660, are in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. Images of Roman emperors were not limited to Italy, England and France, however, as examples executed in Deshima for the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) show. Medallions depicting Roman emperors, invariably made of black and gold Japanese hiramakie or takamakie lacquer on copper, were produced for the Dutch market at the end of the 18th century. Examples can be found in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.⁹ There are two possible sources for the Imperial profiles on the chimneypiece: the engravings of The Twelve Caesars by Marcantonio Raimondi, or the Imperatorum Imagines by Hubert Golz.¹⁰ The portrait medallions also bear remarkable resemblance to a set of eighteen carved portrait reliefs of Roman Emperors, also of marmo giallo, almost certainly bought by David Ker (1742–1811) of Portavo, Co. Down, on his Grand Tour between 1792–4 in either Florence or Rome. Ker’s diary entry for 17th October 1793 is interesting as it reveals that he was offering his brother a choice of chimneypiece designs, which further supports a Roman origin for the offered example.¹¹ Indeed, fire surrounds incorporating antique fragments had been promoted from the late 1760s by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–78), encouraged by Rome-trained architects including Robert Adam (d.1792). One such example, inset with mythological tablets carved from Rosso antico, was acquired by the 9th Earl of Exeter from Piranesi himself for Burghley House.¹² Another can be found at Islington House, Dorset.¹³ A third, inset with giallo antico and Rosso antico, follows Piranesi’s engraved design dated 1769 for a fire surround mounted with three marble portrait reliefs.¹⁴ It should be re-emphasised that Rosso antico was so precious that it was only ever used for small tablets or details rather than an entire chimneypiece, as with the offered example; likewise, while portrait reliefs are occasionally seen on the jambs of Italian surrounds, it is exceptionally rare to see the frieze mounted with a group, especially of this scale: the combination indicates an architectural commission by an extremely wealthy patron. The sophisticated lines of this chimneypiece epitomise the French Empire influence on the Italian states at the turn of the 18th century. This idiosyncratic ‘Roman’ taste is encapsulated by that of Napoleon, who identified with Rome’s Imperial past. Napoleon’s desire to establish a visual link between himself and Roman emperors is demonstrated by the portraits of his court painter, Jacques-Louis David, inspired by portraits of Emperor Augustus. This Imperial taste extended to architecture, furniture and porcelain, the latter two of which are combined in a group of magnificent ormolu-mounted guéridons commissioned in Sèvres between 1803–11, made to immortalise Napoleon’s reign.¹⁵ The second guéridon in the series, the Table des Grands Capitaines (Table of the Great Commanders of Antiquity), commissioned in 1806, is made almost entirely of hard-paste Sèvres porcelain. The top, painted in imitation of sardonyx, is centred by a portrait cameo of Alexander the Great, surrounded by twelve smaller heads of commanders and philosophers from antiquity: Pericles, Scipio Africanus, Pompey, Augustus, Septimus Severus, Constantine, Trajan, Caesar, Mithridates, Hannibal, Themistocles and Miltiades.¹⁶ Louis XVIII presented the table to the Prince Regent (later King George IV) in 1817 as a token of appreciation for Napoleon’s defeat two years earlier, and George IV treasured it so highly that it became part of the ceremonial backdrop for all his state portraits. The table remains in the Royal Collection.¹⁷ This chimneypiece remained, until recently, in the possession of a noble Dutch family, who acquired it from the owners of a bombed Knightsbridge house in the 1940s; unfortunately, its provenance prior to this has been lost. The use of Rosso antico on this scale, inset with these splendid Imperial profile medallions, appears unparalleled. 1. J. B. Grossman, 'Looking at Greek and Roman Sculpture in Stone' (Los Angeles, 2003). Grossman states that this material was ‘...quarried in three places during antiquity: on Cape Tainaron present day Matapan on the Peloponnese of Greece; on Crete; and at the site of Iasos in Asia Minor. 2. L. Lazzarini, ‘Rosso antico and other red marbles used in antiquity: a characterization study’, Marble, Art Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Ancient Sculpture’ (1990), 237–252. C. Gorgoni, L. Lazzarini, P. Pallante, ‘New archaeometric data on Rosso antico and other red marbles used in antiquity, ASMOSIA VI, Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone’ (2002), pp. 199–206. J. Deér, trans. G.A. Gilhoff, The Dynastic Porphyry Tombs of the Norman Period in Sicily (Cambridge, 1959), p. 144. R. Gnoli, Marmora Romana (Rome, 1988), pp. 187–191. 3. A notable example is a satyr from the Emperor Hadrian's villa at Tivoli, now in the Capitoline Museum, Rome. Another is the head of a satyr in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, accession no. 2006.110. See T. Opper, Hadrian. Empire and Conflict (London, 2008), p. 165, fig. 149. 4. De Luca, Marmi antichi (Rome, 1998), p. 126. Faustino Corsi, Catalogo ragionato d’una collezione di pietre di decorazione (Rome, 1833), p. 93. 5. For related Limoges medallions, see set of ten circular Limoges enamel medallions depicting Roman emperors, en grisaille with gilding, from the workshop of Jacques I Laudin, sold Christie’s London, Fine Renaissance Bronzes and Works of Art, 19 December, 1977, lot 95. 6. See set of drawings sold Sotheby’s London, Of Royal and Noble Descent, 24 February, 2015, lot 184. 7. J. J. Ferber, Raspe’s Travels through Italy in the Years 1771–1772 (London, 1776), p. 218. 8. See Sotheby’s London, Pelham, the Public and the Private, 8 March 2016, lot 75: ‘A set of twelve mother-of-pearl cameos of Roman Emperors, Southern Italian, early 19th century’ 9. Oliver Impey, Christiaan J.A. Jörg, Cynthia Viallé, Japanese Export Lacquer 1580–1850 (Amsterdam, 2005) pp. 48–57, no. 56 & 57. 10. For a further reference, see the candlesticks by Jacques I Laudin in the Waters Art Gallery, illustrated in P. Verdier, Catalogue of the Painted Enamels of the Renaissance (Baltimore, 1967), p. 389, nos. 207 & 208. 11. John Ingamells, A Dictionary of British and Irish travellers in Italy 1701–1800 (London, 1997), pp. 572–3. 12. Oliver Impey, Four Centuries of Decorative Arts from Burghley House (Virginia, 1998), p. 53, fig. 23. 13. Country Life, 12 June, 1997, p. 162, figs. 9–11. 14. A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Roma e il Regno delle due Sicilie, Vol. II (Milan, 1984), pp. 592–93, p. 260. 15. S. Grandjean, 'Napoleonic Tables...

Impressive Carved Wood Mantel And Trumeau With Yellow Sienna Marble Accents

France / 1950 / fire place / Carrara marble / Baroque / Rococo / Mid-century / Vintage Fireplace in very good condition, made in France in the 20th century, in Carrara marble. A tru...

Special three-color marble Art Deco fireplace. From the transistion period, in the early 20th century, with influence of both Art Nouveau and Art Deco, with A-symmetrical floral deco...

Nice fireplace mantel from marble to place in front of the chimney.

A 19th century neoclassical Regency Statuary and Imperial Egyptian Porphyry antique marble fireplace surround, in the Egyptian Revival style. The neoclassical forms of this fireplace are the epitome of fashionable Regency taste. It features a simply moulded shelf resting above a panelled Egyptian Porphyry frieze centred by a crisply carved and bold statuary marble mask depicting Aurora, the Roman Goddess of dawn. Flanked by circular Imperial Egyptian Porphyry capitols to the end blocks, thus supporting Imperial Egyptian Porphyry tapered panelled jambs raised on plain foot blocks. The external return sections have a recessed panel with cock-beading. Shown with its original statuary marble kerb fender...

A Breccia Viola marble fireplace of stylish architectural design. The aperture surrounded by a wide frame stepped moulding. The plain and squat ...

A large and impressive 19th century style Statuary marble corbel fireplace surround. A deep shelf with ovolo edge moulding rests above a recessed cushion panelled frieze, flanked by ...

An attractive 19th century Edwardian hand carved Mantle Place. Carved from statutory marble with rouge marble detailing across the jambs and lintel. The lintel features charming figurative porcelain...

A state of the art antique mantle in Gris St-Anne marble from the Louis XVI period transition, 18th century. The fronton and jambs are decorated with its original bijouterie in bras...

A beautiful antique fireplace in Carrara marble from the 19th century including a plateau of the same marble. This beautifully decorated chimney is in Louis XV style and features 'tr...

An attractive Louis XIV style Carrara marble fireplace. The panelled frieze with good carving of flowers and foliage, with ribbons and quiver below initialed centre circular plaque. ...

This white Carrara marble mantel, from 1890's France, boasts elegant bolection-style carvings. Crafted with the finest Carrara marble, this mantel adds a touch of sophistication and ...

This is a Georgian revival marble fireplace. An English, fire surround with mantelpiece in the classical taste by Dominic Hurley, dat...

Ancient Italian fireplace in white Carrara marble but veined gray, with carved mask and friezes on the uprights, very rich and with many moves, from movement to the room and heat, be...

Royal Breccia Vimines marble from the High-Alpes, France, is rare to find in a fine chimney piece of the Regency period, 1st half of the 18th century. It is reclaimed from a grand ci...

This fireplace mantle is a Classic small French Parisian apartment piece. It had some restoration work. Measures: 111 cm Exterior Width 43.70 Inch 103 cm Exterior Height 40.55 Inch 7...

Very important late 19th century gilt bronze mounted palatial fireplace surround. This fireplace is an exact copy of the original 18th century model that was made for The Salon de Hercules in The Palace of Versailles...

Truly unique Petite Portoro Fireplace, delicious bottle of Cremant is sadly not included... This lovely petite mantel came from a countertop in the ...

This original vintage marble fireplace surround is one of a collection of 4 that was reclaimed out of a Brussels great Maison de Mait...

Antique French fireplace in deep black Belgian marble Lovely petite Louis XV style fireplace great deep black coloring and friendly decorations. Nice sculpted shelf...

Fine LXVI period French fireplace mantle in bicolor hard stone. Authentic fireplace surround for bespoke interior design. Perfect imperfection...

18th Century White Italian Statuary Marble Bossi Fireplace An Irish antique Georgian Statuary marble and scagliola mantlepiece in the manner of Pietro...

A late Regency style fireplace made from Italian Statuary Carrara marble. handcrafted in our Northern Irish workshop from imported Italian Statuary Carrara marble, faithfully copied ...

Handsome 19th century French Louis XVI grey marble mantel. Adds a real touch of elegance! Circa 1880 57w x 15d x 43.5h

A good quality period Victorian fireplace in Statuary white marble. The jambs with corbels featuring acanthus leaves with decorative panels below. The frieze with centre panel carved...

Crafted from luxurious Portor marble and designed in the timeless Louis XVI style, this French-made mantel exudes elegance and sophistication. Dating back to the 1880s, its low line ...

This monumental fireplace was made in Belgian Petit Granit in the second half of the 19th century inspired by the Flemish Renaissance art answering the revival vogue of this period. ...

Ancient fireplace mantle, sculpted with a geometric shape in red "breccia pernice" marble, built in Italy in the 19th century, excellent for contained size and beautiful presence, ...

Description: Carrara marble fireplace. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, INFORMATION OF THE LOT AND SHIPPING INFORMATION CAN BE REQUEST BY SENDING AN EMAIL Indicative shipping costs in Italy: 550€ ...

This is a very unique marble combination typically used in the inter war period. The shelf is made in parefeuille. Measures: 171 cm EW 67.32". 103 cm EH 40.55". 109 cm...

A classic 19th Century Victorian Scottish carrera marble fireplace surround. A generous scalloped top shelf rests above an unadorned ...

This English Regency style carrara white marble mantel is adorned with graceful gray veining that adds a touch of timeless elegance. An intricate decorative brown leaf detail graces ...

A fine French 19th-20th century Louis XVI style veined grey and white marble fireplace mantel surround, surmounted with a pair of cylindrical marble columns and an edged frieze, Pari...

This exceptionnal baroque fireplace is from Italy, dated as the end of the 18th century. It is an outstanding marble piece, and gathers two types of beautiful and distinct marbles; white statuary Carrara marble and Brocatelle marble, characterized by the rich and foliage patterns all over its swirling veining surface. The Carrara marble quarries found near the Mediterranean sea between Pisa and Parma, have been famous since roman times and add a distinct shine and refinement to objects carved out from this marble. A delicate marble bust is standing in the center of the fireplace and is balancing the richly detailed white and yellow decor...

A large and rare Venetian Renaissance antique fireplace mantel from the fifteenth century. This extremely rare chimneypiece is carved in Pietra d’...

A late 18th century George III period Irish Chimneypiece executed in Statuary white and Convent Siena marbles. The shelf with a typically Irish moulded edge. The frieze having a carv...

Fabulous 19th century French Napoleon III marble and gilt bronze fire place mantel. Beautiful grey and white marble along with lovely carvings. Extra special!

A superb quality French Louis XV style carved Sarrancolin marble fireplace, the frieze with centre shell and scrolls, foliage and grapes. ...

Grand neoclassical black and green marble antique fireplace surround. The quality of the marble on this fireplace is exceptional. The Noir de Mazy black marble has a shine that is not common. The deep shine gives this piece an exceptional appearance. This fantastic fireplace is a special piece in our collection. The Noir de Mazy black marble combined with marble Verde. The details continue from the skirting...