I104
An Important Italian Chimneypiece, excited in Statuary Marble for the English Market
A highly important and beautifully executed white statuary Regency antique fireplace. Each jamb bears carved figures of classical Bacchic maidens, one carrying the wine cup, symbolising revelry and intoxication, the other is accompanied by a burning torch, symbolising Bacchic fertility and virility. The frieze carved with details in low relief of grape and pine branches, again symbolic of revelry and fertility. The whole on reeded fluted pedestals above footblocks. The decadent use of statuary marble would suggest that this chimneypiece is of Italian manufacture for the English market. Circa 1810.
Height 51½in (130.8cm) width 83½in (212.1cm)
Internal height 39in (99.1cm) width 43¼in (109.2cm)
Footblock to footblock 72in (182.9cm)
Shelf depth 14in (35.6cm)