G508

A Fleur de Peche Marble and Giltwood Chimneypiece.

A carved giltwood and marble chimneypiece in the style of Thomas Johnson (1714- 1778), an English designer and master carver in whose singularly romantic ornamental vision the French and Chinese taste were combined. With foliate c-scrolls, lozenges and a scored ground, the original gilt surface of the carved frame is invested with an exotic and intensely romantic vision of the rococo, the carving enhanced by the Fleur de Peche marble interior.

The chimneypiece originally resided at Bourne Park near Canterbury. The attached Crowther advert from Country Life, 23rd of September 1976 gives the provenance and the Country Life shoot shows other rococo chimneypieces in the house but not this one, suggesting it would have been for one of the rooms upstairs. The house was in danger of demolition in the 1960s and it is suspected that the chimneypiece was sold at that time.