Marble Fireplaces and Mantels

An architectural style Statuary white and Siena marble fireplace in the Queen Anne manner. The simple yet appealing contrast between the two marbles making a very smart fireplace. St...

A Stylish & Elegant English Queen Anne Style Bolection Fireplace Surround in Nicely Veined Italian Arabescato Marble, with a Deep Shelf. External Width: 57 3/4″ – 147 cm Depth: 7″ –...

Antique Italian Carrara marble mantel in the Venetian Renaissance style. The jambs with rope twist Corinthian columns supporting large acanthus br...

A fine Bleu Turquin marble antique fireplace mantel in perfect condition. The carving is very raffinated. It is a Louis XV style from the early 19th Century. Perfect to create a fine...

Charles X fireplace in Carrara marble, 19th century Dimensions of the fireplace: 75,5 x 91,5cm

A William IV period Irish carved corbel fireplace in highly fossilised Kilkenny marble. The pilaster jambs with elegant carved corbel brackets supporting wide and generous mantle wit...

An Irish antique fireplace from the Regency period in Italian Carrara and Siena marbles. The jambs with demi lune reeded panels on book matched...

Antique fireplace mantle, carved with a smooth and clean geometric shape in white veined "rosso francia" marble, complete with brass side vents and wavy legs, from a villa in France ...

Louis XV style Carrara marble mantel, circa 1980 Fireplace dimensions: 87 x 89 cm

Elegant French fireplace crafted from white Carrara marble, dating back to approximately 1860. This exquisite piece showcases the timeless beauty and sophistication characteristic of...

Antique French Louis XVI Mottled Rouge Marble Mantel, Circa 1880.

This Museum quality original antique fireplace mantle in Rouge Griotte marble was installed in Grand interior in Paris. It is a Regency Rococo style from the 19th century. The front ...

20th Century, Hand Carved Statuary Marble English Fireplace. Hand carved statuary white marble fireplace surround. (Two available) Have you ever dreamt of owning a sculptural masterpiece as magnificent as this fireplace believed to be a replica of The Original Fireplace...

This mantel was carved in the Louis XV style. Often characterized by sculpted curves in floral patterns, this piece has a unique, deeply carved, scrolled relief at the center of the ...

This small vintage fireplace surround in white statuary marble is a very unique piece. This mantel would perfectly fit in American colonial sty...

A large, rare and imposing late George II English Rococo chimneypiece with strong Palladian influences carved in white statuary marble and inlaid with panels of Verde Antico marble. ...

A stylish and fashionable fireplace design produced in white statuary marble. The fireplace has a moulded bolection frame on plain plinths, with a stepped cornice shelf...

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

A nice tall and Large French Louis XV Fireplace Mantel. The shaped topshelf has a lovely elegant designed profiled edge the frieze it ...

Expertly crafted from luxurious French White Veined Carrara Marble, this mantel exudes elegance and sophistication. With intricate carved floral motifs and bolection style carvings, ...

An impressive antique fireplace. Rouge marble is contrasted against black accents in this original period chimneypiece. Carved thumbnail details surmount each jamb. A substantial be...

A 19th century Regency style fireplace in veined White marble and Belgian black fossil marble. Architectural in design, with Belgian place panels within white marble mouldings...

This rare 19th century period, antique, French fireplace surround is masterfully carved from Portor marble, one of the world’s most exclusive and dramatic stones, celebrated for its ...

This fine Pompadour style vintage fireplace mantle has been made out of brown Belgian marble. It is from the 19th century and was installed in...

An exquisite example of early 19th-century English craftsmanship, this Neoclassical marble Fireplace mantel combines stately proportions with refined decorative details. Crafted from...

Nicke black marble fireplace mantel from the 19th Century. Type Modion to place in front of the chimney.

An elegant and most handsome Continental mid 19th century Directoire st. white Carrara and black Belgian marble mantel. This beautiful mantel is elevated by stepped Black Belgian mar...

This is a quite unique original antique fireplace surround in the famous Bleu Turquin marble. The columns are giving that extra debt to this mantle...

A Large Italian 19th century neoclassical Revival style carved Carrara marble figural wall console table. The rectangular marble top supported by twin Roman carved marble monopodiums...

Original antique fireplace mantle in a Belgian brown color marble with brass bijouterie. A little jewel of its time period. The fronton is coming into the room. Perfect for a small F...

This authentic 18th-century French Regency Rococo fireplace surround is a splendid example of Palladian-influenced craftsmanship, sculpted from rare Royal marble, richly colored with...

Louis XVI-style fireplace in Carrara marble, circa 1880 Interior lintel broken into three pieces and restored. Dimensions of the fireplace: 83.5 x 111.5 cm

A Statuary white and Portoro marble fireplace from the early 19th century English Regency period. The jambs with inlaid panels of Italian black and gold Portoro marble, stood on sepa...

Neoclassical Statuary Marble Mantelpiece A beautiful, detailed and finely carved statuary white marble fireplace mantel in Neoclassical style. The superb molded shelf with perfect egg and dart edge decor sits over a finely carved frieze which is delicately carved with a stylized hanging foliate design. This is centered by a tablet depicting a trio of scenes with putto in various roles; affection, peace and jealousness. The endblocks show a sprawling bloom above a tapered block decorated with the feathered ends of arrow. The jambs echo the finely detailed frieze with floral motifs and wrapping leaves at the bottom. The inner moulded opening is superbly carved lambs...

Beautiful, authentic Louis XIII style mantelpiece, made from the rare Fleur de Pêche marble. This elegant mantelpiece dates back to the early 19th century and has been carefully pres...

Monumental and exceptional original antique Belgian fireplace surround from Luik made out of the Belgian Gris d'ardenne marble. A very nice...

A large bolection fireplace produced in three solid blocks of Emperador marble by Ryan and Smith. The Roma Bolection is a stylishly simple and robust e...

The proportions of this antique fireplace surround in French marble stone are very small and perfect for a smaller room or firebox. The depth of the carving is quite unique. Measu...

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...

This phenomenal original and a very rare antique fireplace mantle is one of a kind. Solid blocks of marble. A clean shelf. The side panels are carved in the block. See the proportion...

A stately English Regency period fireplace mantel crafted from lustrous black Belgian marble, adorned with classical gilded bronze fluted columns and Ionic capitals. Dating to circa ...

Nice sized and decorative Dutch mantel. The deep polished black "Noir de Mazy" marble combined with striking red "Griotte" marble makes this stylish mantel really stand out. This could work really well in a modern, contemporary and a Classic interior. Prefect usable dimensions. Great original condition, can be sold with black marble flooring...

A mid-nineteenth century Louis XVI style Statuary marble and ormolu mounted fireplace, the frieze with guilloche banding inset with flowerhead bosses, each volute jambs mounted by a ...

This antique Louis XVI style marble fireplace mantle is carved from burgundy marble with striking gray and white veining and imbued with symbolism. In the center of the apron, two la...

Lovely elegant 18th century fireplace mantel in Carrara white marble. This Italian beauty with its beautifully shaped jambs with scroll to top was originally build into the wall. ...

A rare and colourful mid-Victorian Arch spandrel carved in elegant Crema Valencia marble, fully cleaned and restored-and ready to install. English, circ...

An exquisite example of French Rococo artistry, this antique fireplace mantel dates to the mid-18th century, circa 1740–1760, during the reign of Louis XV. Crafted from rare Rouge Ro...

The Chelsea is a tall and elegant neoclassical style fire surround in Italian Carrara marble made by Ryan and Smith. Modelled straight off an 18th centu...

Neoclassical White Carrara Marble Mantel Circa 1930 Fireplace dimensions: 89 x 81cm

Fabulous 18th century French Louis XV style Carrara marble and gilt bronze mantel. Beautiful marble and nice decorative designs on the...

Late 19th century Dutch Louis XV fireplace executed in superb Belgian black marble. The opulence and size of this monumental mantel are as impressive...

Antique fireplace mantle, richly carved in precious white marble with central leaf and wavy legs, from France, 19th century, very elegant and refined, to give a touch of classic eleg...

Antique fireplace in black Portoro marble (La Spezia), sculpted with lion's paw legs, hand-built in the 19th century, for an important Ligurian palace (Italy). Beautiful and of grea...

Absolute exquisite fireplace mantel in marble. It's a one-of-a-kind piece made from a stunning combination of Bleu Turquin marble and Blanc de Carrara marble. The craftsmanship is tr...

Napoleon III mantel in Paonazzo marble, Cartouche in Statuary White Marble circa 1880 Napoleon III mantel in Paonazzo marble, statuary white marble cartouche, putty playing with a do...

Double-slip Georgian Bullseye in Italian White Statuary Marble Large Double-Slip Georgian Style Fireplace Surround in finest quality Italian White Statuary Marble. Depth: 8” – ...

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...

This small scale English Regency style mantel is carved from warm white marble, inlaid with a mixed, unique brown colored marble. This unique brown marble inlay runs the length of th...

An elegant French Louis XVI style Saint Anne des Pyrenees marble fireplace, with carved capitals in Statuary marble. The jambs with half round columns surmounted by carved acanthus l...

Impressive Louis XV style mantel in finely carved Carrara marble,circa 1880 Fireplace dimensions: 82x122cm