A Rococo Revival Sculptural Carrara Marble Fireplace

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A Rococo Revival Sculptural Carrara Marble Fireplace

Carved from fine Carrara marble with serpentine shaped mantelshelf above a central frieze carved with rocaille scrolls and flowers. The jambs headed by beautifully sculpted female busts above scrolled supports.

Italy, Circa 1890.

This fireplace is a magnificent work of sculpture. The remarkable finesse with which the fine Carrara marble is carved indicates the hand of a masterful sculptor. The sinuous curves and sensuous portrait busts capture the frivolity and beauty of the French Rococo style.

The especially sensuous treatment dates this fireplace to the Rococo Revival of Belle Epoque France. At this time, interior decorators commissioned art manufacturers who in turn employed designers and artists to create interior fittings and furniture. Jules Allard and Maison Beurdeley fulfilled commissions for fireplaces for the Newport mansions and New York townhouses of the Gilded Age. Although the stylistic vocabulary of this fireplace is French, it is probable that it was sculpted in Italy, most likely in Florence where galleries such as those established by the gifted sculptors Cesare Lapini, Antonio Frilli and Pasquale Romanelli specialised in carving Carrara marble for statuary and interior ornament.