Early 19th Century Fireplaces and Mantels

18th - 19th century French neoclassical period fireback. The fireback is made of cast iron and has a natural brown patina. Upon request it can be made black / pewter at no extra cos...

Pair of American brass ball top ribbed andirons with turned bulbous faceted plinths, scalloped skirts, spurred legs, and terminating on ball feet. Boston, Circa 1800.

An early 19th/ late 18th century Dutch fireplace mantel in the Louis XVI manner. The nice mantel has great proportions and is wonderfully decorated in "V.O.C." style. It superbly c...

18th - 19th century French neoclassical fireback with two pillars of freedom. The pillars symbolize the value liberty, one of the three values of the French revolution. The firebac...

18th/19th century French Neoclassical period fireback. The fireback is made of cast iron and has a natural brown patina. Upon request it can be made black / pewter. The fireback is ...

American White Pine fire place mantel with carved molded edges, one board back, and rectangular carved vertical legs with squared plinths . Early 19th Century . Fire Box Dim. 40" Tall / 40.5" Wide...

Stunning stone fireplace surround of 19th-century French minimalistic Louis philip design. Sculpted in bicolor hard stone, it showcases natural variations in earthy tones that enhanc...

English Regency brass fire fender with hand chased floral motif, bossing, circular medallions and terminating on lions paw feet, Early 19th Century.

This mantelpiece adorned with Egyptian-inspired decorations was crafted in three types of marble around 1830. The bases and capitals of the jambs, as well as the mantel, are made of ...

True classic fireplace surround reflecting the timeless elegance of French design. Sculpted in the early minimalistic 19th-century period, it hails from the picturesque region around...

Beautiful 18th/19th century French Neoclassical fireback with flower decorations and two pillars. The pillars refer to the club of Hercules and Stand for strength and the unknown. To...

Late 18th / early 19th century French Neoclassical period fire grate. Made of beautifully forged wrought iron period andirons and a recently forged grate. The condition is good. The...

A large English Regency period fireplace surround executed in Italian Statuary white marble. An exceptional and Finely carved Greek Revival Regency fireplace, the Jambs with carved torchieres, oak leaf...

A simple and elegant Georgian farmhouse style pine fire surround circa 1800 with a stripped finish; ready for painting, staining or waxing as desired. Though over 220 years old, this...

Pair of American brass banded flanking steeple and ball finial andirons with ringed faceted plinths, curvature supporting matching steeple log stops, original wrought iron rear dog l...

Very nice and colorful fireplace mantel from the Northern part of Italy. This Italian beauty dated from the beginning of the 19th century it was reclaimed from a large estate. Its ...

A well drawn and superb quality English Regency fireplace in Italian Bardiglio marble. The paneled console jambs with anthemion carving to fr...

Late 18th or early 19th century German neoclassical period fireback. The fireback is made of cast iron and has a black / pewter patina. It is in a good condition and does not have...

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 large, rare and elegant early 19th century 1810c Scottish (Edinburgh’s New Town) Georgian Statuary marble fireplace surround. A generous square edged top shelf sits above a stepped...

Late 18th / early 19th century French Neoclassical period fire grate. Made of beautifully forged wrought iron. The condition is good. The width at the front is 66 cm (26.0 inches) ...

18th-19th century French neoclassical period fireback. The fireback is made of cast iron and has a black / pewter patina. The condition is good, no cracks.  

19th century Georgian cast iron Hob grate fireplace A Fabulous conditioned original antique Georgian half hob grate fireplace insert with cast orn...

A very fine Antique English early 19th century Geo. IV period pierced brass fireplace fender with traditional "ivy" pierced motif and a nice gadroon or rope type central bolster. Ima...

18th-19th century French neoclassical fireback with an allegory of love. The fireback is made of cast iron and has a natural brown patina. Upon request it can be made black / pewter.

19th Century Georgian Pair Of Cast Iron Fireplace Insert Panels. Splayed Slips With Recessed Panels Showing Typical Decorative Features Such As Swags, Urns With Floral Patterns Used ...

An early 19th century antique Regency style pine fire mantel with a stripped finish, ready for paint, stain or wax. Dating from circa 1820, this fireplace has stood the test of time ...

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...

Lovely soft toned yellow limestone with hints of red. This subtle French mantel dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. Some minor overall restorations and damages, le...

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...

An early 19th century Empire period Statuary white marble with ormolu mounted fireplace. Very fine quality marble and ormolu, with demi lune shaped shelf, frieze and jambs. The friez...

A Regency Portland stone chimneypiece, with single reed to the shelf, the reeded frieze flanked by roundels above unusual framed and reeded jambs. Dimensions: 115.5cm (45½") High, 1...

French brass freestanding fire place screen with a figural cornucopia scrolled handle, centered musical and ivy ribbon medallion, foliage scrolled be...

Early 19th century French Louis XIV style fireback with two pillars of Hercules and the names of a (usually just) married couple. The date (1812) which is cast is the date of product...

American brass and artistic wire work fireplace fender with flanking ribbed ball finials. Early 19th Century

A small 19th century Georgian Scottish Carron of Falkirk cast iron fireplace insert. An outer rim plate hosting arched reeded moulding with corner blocks of flowers, resting on moulded foot blocks, the tapered side panels of further reeding supporting the three polished front bars with spaced balls...

Very nice and strong French Louis XV fireplace mantel in limestone. The amazingly detailed carvings are beautifully executed, the strong lines of the mantels gives it a nice stance....

A large stylised and very well configured fireplace in Belgian black marble and Italian Verona marble. The jambs with tapering fluted panels in Verona, surmounted by corner blocks wi...

Spectacular antique chimneypiece crafted from Statuary marble and with large opulent panels of Lapis Lazuli inlay. This magnificent fireplace surround was removed from a large house...

A large antique Georgian style carved pine fire surround, circa 1820. An English original of the late Regency / Georgian period, this stunning reclaimed fireplace features a carved ...

American brass and artistic wire work fire place screen with flanking eyelet holes for originally securing to fire place surround, Early 19th century.

18th - 19th century French neoclassical fireback with two pillars of freedom. The pillars symbolize the value liberty, one of the three values of the French revolution. The firebac...

A large French fireback or backsplash, man and women around a well. This fireback has been used and this shows, parts of the base are gone. H...

Fine 19th Century Cast Iron Fireback. Of Panel form with fine detail of Venus being attended by two putti with tridents. Quite a well executed piece. Removed from a New Hampshire ...

An original and rare Scottish probably (Carron of Falkirk) Georgian Cast Iron fireplace insert of favourable proportions in the British Ro...

An antique late Georgian or Regency period painted pine and gesso/composition fire surround. Dating to circa 1820, this stunning fireplace is an original of the English Georgian and ...

French brass free standing fire place screen with fur-de-lei finials, centered handle, decorative scrolled floral work, fluted borders, and terminating on the original scrolled quad ...

Pair of American brass flanking urn faceted finial andirons with bulbous squared faceted legs, matching faceted bulbous log stops, and resting on the original wrought iron rear dog l...

This impressive antique fireplace surround has been expertly carved and crafted from statuary marble. The ornate fireplace is a true masterpiece, with its intricate carving and deli...

English Regency brass hand chased and bossed fire fender with circular medallions, floral motif, and terminating on stylized paw feet, Early 19th century.

A very large Scottish Georgian early 19th century statuary marble fireplace surround originally from Edinburgh's New Town. A generous square edged top ...

An architecturally designed Regency period fireplace in statuary white marble. The pilaster jambs with moulded and stepped capitals, supporting a stepped long frieze with plain centr...

An elegantly simple English early 19th century statuary white marble fireplace, the plain pilaster jambs adorned with finely carved tied Laurels....

This extraordinery 19th Century French marble fireplace has a molded frieze with a flower leaf center and cordons set adjacent to molded panels. The molded pillars with solid acanthu...

An antique English Georgian hand-carved pine fireplace dating from circa 1800. Having stood the test of time for more than 220 years, this antique fireplace is a highly decorative fe...

A fine Irish veined statuary marble fireplace. The richly coloured inlaid centre tablet and side blockings in the manner of Pietro Bossi, with urns, bellflowers and foliage. Fluting ...

This classical pair of early 19th century English Regency andiron firedogs feature multiple turnings and perch delicately on ball feet. Very sturdy construction.

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