Regal Fireplace Mantel Designs - Fit For A King...OR A Queen!
The extraordinary fireplace mantel designs pictured here are -- quite literally -- fit for royalty . . . . .
From a stunning antique surround once (almost) owned by Napoleon . . . . to a striking reproduction of the
elegant marble surround in the Queen's Din- ing Room at Hampton Court Palace, they are now available for purchase
by mere "commoners" . . . . . like you and me!
If only the fabulous 17th century antique mantelpiece pictured at right and below could talk . . . what a
story it would tell! Enshrined in a palace in northern Portu- gal, it was seized as bounty by Napo- leon's
invading army in 1808 and destined for the Imperial House of Napoleon. How- ever, while enroute to the Portugese
border, it was intercepted and sent to Lisbon. Not knowing from where it came, the King gave it to the Duke of
Palmela, who installed it in his palace in Calhariz, Lisbon. Around 1935, when the palace was sold, the
mantelpiece was also re- moved and sold, and has been privately owned since that time. Currently avail- able for
sale and in remarkable condition, it is crafted from black and white Italian marble -- made all the more
exceptional by its combination of inlays and high-relief!
Pictured below is a fabulous 19th century style Louis XV fireplace in
mala- chite
veneering with very rich and fine
ormulu
and curved side panels. Similar unique fireplaces can be found in the Kremlin in Moscow, the Hermitage Pal- ace
in St. Petersburg and the Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.
The monumental French antique fireplace mantel pictured below dates from 1850 and consists of beautifully
veined marble with bronze accents. Resting on the shoulders of the massive projecting scrolls of this
impressive design is a pair of finely cast bronze mounts in the form of lion masks. This form of
Rococo
inspired fireplace remained popular in France throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Lions, with their symbolic
associations in both religious and secular art, have been a constant decorative motif on chimneypieces and fine
furniture throughout the ages. The qualities of fortitude and strength reflected in the use of the lion motif
are epitomized in the fireplace design created for the Hercules Salon at the
Palace of Versailles
in the early 1730s.
Moving from France to England, the following mantelpieces are reproductions -- or originals which can be
reproduced to your custom specifications -- of striking designs currently existing in some of the royal homes
of Britain. Sit- uated in the Public Dining Room at
Hampton Court Palace,
the magnificent chimneypiece pictured below, left, bears the arms of George I and is one of the last pieces from
the workshop of
Grinling Gibbons.
The Dutch craftsman's work was much in demand among the aristocracy. The stunning marble sur- round pictured
below, right, is from one of the Queen's Private Chambers at Hampton Court Palace.
Below, right, is another striking marble surround from Hampton Court Palace. It is located in the Queen's
Dining Room. The fireplace pictured below, left, is in the State Saloon at
Woburn Abbey.
The impressive fire surround pictured at left, below, is from a suite of rooms at Hampton Court Palace built
for the Duke of Cumberland, the second son of George II, when he was just ten years old. The surround pictured
below, right, is from the King's Gallery at
Kensington Palace.
Each of the monumental fireplace mantel designs that follow includes an im- pressive overmantel. On the left
is the Cupola Fire Surround from the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. The painting of the Cupola Room (bottom)
de- picts the surround on the far wall. Pictured in the photo below, right, is the West Hall South Fireplace at
Woburn Abbey.
Each of the fireplace mantel designs pictured above can be reproduced to your specifications. Highly
skilled French and English craftsmen painstakingly carve and finish each mantelpiece by hand. If you'd like
more information about any of the designs featured here -- or if you have a design of your own in mind and
would like to have it skillfully executed in stone -- please
contact us.
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