United Kingdom - Fireplaces and Mantels

An unusual and charming 19th century Regency style Lumacella di San Vitale marble fireplace surround, a deep square splayed shelf sits above a frieze of carved reeding with a central...

A white marble fireplace in the late Georgian style. The frieze with carved centre blocking featuring quiver, torch and tied ribbon, with carved lyres to end blocks. Panelled frieze ...

A very rare, 19th century carved stone Renaissance fireplace. The bracketed jambs with crouching lions, ionic capitals, carved male and female masks and basket of fruit to plinths. T...

This spectacular, monumental 17th century English carved limestone fireplace, circa 1650, was reclaimed from Cobtree Manor House, England (demolished 1968). Standing at 2 m tall (6’ 5”) and over 2.7 m wide (9’), this exceptional English fire surround is a very rare find. It is not often you find a chimneypiece like this outside of a listed heritage property, making this a rare opportunity to purchase a fireplace of such size and grandeur. Highly elaborate, the surround is intricately hand-carved throughout, the frieze of which is most extravagant, carved with a mythical beast to the central tablet among birds, stylised lions holding crowns, parakeets and scrolling foliage. The jambs are carved in a column-like style with fruits and flowers below corbels to the end blocks, completed with a carved egg and dart trim beneath the shelf. This fireplace truly is a magnificent work of art, designed for an interior of prestige and fine grandeur. It is in the manner of late 16th / early 17th century English architect and designer, Inigo Jones (1573 – 1652), who was known for introducing the classical style architecture of the Italian Renaissance to Britain. His famous works include the Banqueting House at Whitehall, The Queen’s House, Greenwich and the Queen’s Chapel at St. James’ Palace. Provenance Removed from a wing of Cobtree Manor in Kent, UK. Though demolished in 1968, the house’s parklands remain to this day and were once the site of Maidstone Zoo. The occupation of the land itself dates back as far as the neolithic times (4300 BC – 2000 BC). However, the first known record can be found in the title estate deeds of English poet and politician, Sir Thomas Wyatt, in 1596. Cobtree is linked to the famous 19th century novelist, Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870). It is believed that during the 1830s, a young Dickens had fallen into a pond while out walking near Cobtree farm. He knocked on the door of the tenant farmer at the time – Mr William Spong – who took Dickens in. It is said that Dickens later took inspiration from Mr Spong in his 1837 novel ‘The Pickwick Papers’, in which he immortalised him as Mr Wardle of Manor Farm near Dingley Dell. 17th Century Heritage Having stood the test of time for more than 370 years, this antique fireplace offers a glimpse into England in the 1600s. This century saw the Stuarts rise to the English throne: first James I of England and VI of Scotland following the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, followed by Charles I in 1625. Other notable events of this century included the English Civil War (1642 – 1651) and Guy Fawkes...

Antique Georgian carved fireplace surround in pine. This wooden fireplace surround features finely carved detailing, reeded columns, a bow-fronted shelf and panelled frieze. A hand...

An antique English Jacobean revival oak mantlepiece with original dark finish. This tall and well proportioned wooden fireplace with original bevelled glass mirror is profusely carve...

An antique French pompadour fireplace surround in a lightly veined creamy brown marble.

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

A large and masculine 19th century arched fireplace surround carved in rich vareated Verde Antico marble, a generous double thick bullnose shelf rests above a stepped and moulded under cornice, supported by a raised scalloped fluted keystone, and flanked by a pair of large spandrels each carved with relief shaped fielded panels and moulding. Quarter round side returns connect to deep revels, all resting on large shaped foot blocks with Belgian Black Marble insert cappings, a splendid and exceptional example shown with its original highlighted arch cast iron insert. Scottish, circa 1895 Arch opening size: 908mm high x 1033mm wide. Overall base block width: 1828mm Marble notes: Verde Antico marble is a breccia of serpentinite, schistose calc-silicate and crystallite marble clasps in a lime-green serpentine matrix, from Larissa, Thessaly, Greece, the quarries were re-opened sometime between 1895- 1905, for the first time since the reign of the Emperor Justinian (483-565) A similar type marble has been obtained in later years from Northern Italy that was both cheaper and faster to extract. Examples of this can be found all over the world, circa 1930 Cartier...

A charming 19th Century manner cast iron fire grate basket. A high shaped back with curved sides, the four barred fire front, with shaped legs adorned with brass finials. This piece...

A large antique Victorian mahogany fireplace reclaimed from a large country house in Yorkshire. Dating to circa 1890, the substantial jamb...

A medium sized mid-19th century Victorian Scottish Carron of Falkirk Hob Grate cast iron fireplace insert. A square front plate with corner embellishments- a slow arch opening and th...

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

A large Louis XIV style antique French fireplace in a pale creamy Carrara marble. The mantel wide, deep and generous with a tiered moulding sitting above a bolection moulded frieze w...

Thomas Jeckyll for Barnard Bishop and Barnard. A rare Aesthetic Movement Walnut fire surround, the mantel with molded edges and four ebonized panels incised with butterfly and bamboo stems and leaf...

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...

An English stone fireplace in the Gothic manner. The moulded, arched frieze with carved spandrels surmounted by carved grapes, foliage and cen...

circa 1820 Large 19thC Swedish Painted Vernacular Pine Fire Surround Measures: W210 x D15 x H133 cm.

A large English Georgian fire grate. The four cluster column legs surmounted by large finials, flanking an intricately pierced brass fret work of b...

21st Century Nero Portoro Marble Fireplace . This Contemporary Fireplace Mantlepiece Design Is Actually Based On A Traditional Art Deco Desig...

A medium sized 19th century Regency style hand carved statuary marble fireplace surround, a reeded top shelf sits directly above a ste...

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...

A handsome carved antique English mahogany fire surround, dating from the late Victorian era. Constructed from mahogany with a veneered finish, this good quality fireplace features ...

An antique Georgian style carved pine and composition fire surround. Crafted from solid pine with a stripped and waxed finish this fire surround has an elegant compact and simple de...

The Nero Marble Carved Fireplace Mantel is a stunning and elegant piece, meticulously handcrafted from luxurious black Nero marble. Each mantel features in...

A handsome Regency style English brass and steel firegrate. Having moustache shaped bars which pierce the brass front supports. Torchiere finials above rams head masks with gadrooned...

A late 19th-early 20th century English carved wood fireplace. The shaped frieze with basket of fruit and foliage surmounted by laurel leaves. The...

A very rare and important English 18th century (circa 1760) statuary and sienna marble fireplace with highly detailed carved centr...

Late 19th-Century Hand-Forged Victorian Gothic Revival Fire Screen – Exquisite Craftsmanship --- Discover the exquisite craftsmanship of our late 19th-century hand-forged and fire...

A large and imposing Victorian arched fireplace carved in white statuary marble. The massive plain moulded shelf is supported on twin scroll...

A stylish architectural fireplace, a copy of an original by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The ogee and bolection detailing of the frieze and jambs respectively gives an elegant yet simple feel....

A 19th Century Georgian manner polished steel fireplace insert. A generous polished outer plate with an applied raised lambs tongue moulding, encompassing a central tablet with a pro...

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...

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...

A magnificent and rare antique Statuary and Sienna marble fireplace. The lower half with full rounded Sienna columns on Statuary pilasters and with highly carved capitals, each one d...

A reclaimed rare black Chinoiserie painted fireplace with unique style and form. A fire surround as striking as this would suit both modern an...

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

A Regency Manner Polished Brass Fireplace Frame. A versatile brass frame with bullseye capitols and reeded sections to jambs and frieze. Set within a slate frame. This would suit a f...

19th century cast iron polished fireplace mantlepiece. This English Made Art Nouveau Fireplace, dated circa 1890 - 1910 is typically characterized by its detailed long sinuous organ...

Victorian cast iron and brass fire grate, c.1870, with female mask to the back-plate, the basket framed with brass foliage and surmounted by urn finials. Restored, re-polished and r...

An original mid 19th Century Antique French stone fire surround with intricate carvings. Across the base of the frieze is a carved Latin phrase translating to "The lord will kindle ...

Unique fireplace produced under license from Kenwood House Hampstead, London. Finely detailed vines bearing clusters of ripe grapes clamber up the jambs and across the frieze of the ...

Double-slip Georgian carved fireplace in Italian grey bardiglio marble Can be made in different sizes.

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

A compact Louis XVI fireplace in richly variegated Campan Grand Melange marble, with semi detached tapering fluted columns in Bardiglio marble, on circular foot blocks with carved ac...

A large and elegant -Scottish (Edinburgh’s New Town) 19th Century Georgian carved pine and lime wood fireplace surround. A break front top shelf with a carved repeating rope cornice...

A simple and elegant antique Victorian oak fire mantel dating to around 1900. This reclaimed English oak fire surround features five carved panels of stylised flowers to the frieze a...

This very early 18th century Italian travertine marble fireplace was sourced from a property in Kensington and removed during remodelling. It features an elaborate design, the frieze...

An antique wooden fire mantel of simple architectural form, perfect for interiors traditional and modern alike. Reclaimed from a house in Reading, i...

19th Century Cast-Iron Tiled Fireplace Combination. Recently Salvaged From A London Town House. This Beautiful English Made Fireplace Dated Circa 1880 Comes With Its Original Full Se...

An enormous and grand antique walnut chimneypiece in the neoclassical style. The frieze elaborately carved with three pairs of sea serpents alternating with flambeau urns and scallop...

A classic antique 19th Century Scottish Ballachulish slate fireplace surround of elegant proportions. A moulded top shelf rests above a shaped frieze that incorporates a staff bead d...

An Edwardian brass fire place fender, English, circa 1910.

A large and ornate statuary marble fireplace, in the manor of Louis XVI, good quality carving to this piece throughout, fully cleaned and restored and ready to fit. Fire Opening Size...

This is an antique Victorian fire surround. An English, fire fender handcrafted in iron dating to the late 19th century, circa 1890. Tradit...

Large finely carved oak renaissance revival fireplace surround panel. Profusely carved with a lion mask and swags to centre beneath shell overhang. Supported by winged mythical talli...

A large 19th century British Swaledale marble fireplace surround in soft mushroom tones with many different types of fossils, a substantially deep shelf sits above an unadorned friez...

A large antique Sienna marble bolection frame style fire surround dating to the mid 19th century Made from the richest colour of Convent Sienna marble, ...