A Characterful Statuary Marble Fireplace After Sir John Soane

The shelf resting directly on the Ionic capitals of the columns make this a very architectural piece. The use of detached columns as jambs was firstly seen in the Early Renaissance, and was then popularised in England by Isaac Ware at Chesterfield House and by Lord Burlington at Burlington House. The architect Robert Adam made beautiful interpretations of the use of this architectural element, influencing those after him as it can be seen in the sketches illustrated here below. During Adam’s time the use of Greek rather than Roman ornaments was very popular, and John Soane certainly applied this to his own practice . His styles is typically linear, simplified and the chimneypieces are quite low, allowing space for large mirrors above the mantle.