Antique fireplace mantels from Europe were highly prized and much sought after by affluent Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries -- an era whose ostentatious displays of wealth earned it the title of . . . . .
Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina
. . .
The Gilded Age.
Used to furnish the newly built mansions of the rapidly rising upper class, many of the imported chimneypieces were as extraordinary as the mansions were extravagant!
The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island Library Chimneypiece
From the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I, the U.S. experienced a spectacular period of growth, change, and opportunity. American energy, expansion, and industrial might were unparalleled in the history of the United States. The urban population grew nearly fivefold in the years 1870-1910, from nine million to fory-two million.
Cultural striving, always present, became the great passion of the period, and the rapid rise of industrial and banking fortunes enabled the newly rich to indulge in a way that had previously not been possible. Feeling that America was simply not grand enough to match their aspirations for it, many of them roamed the European continent and imported pieces of Euro- pean history, including lavish antique fireplace mantels, to create a dream- world of European culture on American soil.
Since that time, the demand for antique fire- place mantels has risen and fallen with chang- ing tastes in architectural styles. With the trend in recent years toward old world,
Euro- pean inspired fireplaces,
the demand for an- tique mantels is high once again.
Fortunately, you have a wide range of available period styles from which to choose
today.
From a finely carved English pine mantel with a broken pediment, circa 1720 . . .
to a 1750 giltwood Rococo chimneypiece with a marble surround.
From a large and elegant - albeit simple - Egyptian Revival mantel in Sienna marble,
circa 1820 . . .
to a striking 1840 carved mahogany chimney- piece with exquisitely detailed lions' heads.
From an imposing French Gothic Revival wal- nut chimneypiece with hooded overmantel, circa 1850 . . .
to a grand Venetian Baroque carved giltwood and marble surround from the same era.
From a large hooded
Arts and Crafts
chim- neypiece, circa 1850, finely carved in oak . . .
to a monumental carved oak surround with a
sandstone
insert, circa 1855.
From a magnificent late 19th century Palladian carved oak chimneypiece with mirrored over- mantel . . .
to a unique 1890
Art Nouveau
chimneypiece decorated with marble mosaics and burnished wrought iron work.
From a superb example of a 1920s English Art Deco fireplace made from polished stainless steel and three
different types of marble . . .
to a beautifully detailed Italian Art Deco sur- round of
travertine stone
inlaid with Sienna
marble,
circa 1930.
Whether your tastes harken back to medieval Gothic, 14th to 17th century Renaissance
era design, or roaring 20s
Art Deco,
you have an incredibly wide and varied selection of antique fireplace mantels and surrounds to pick from. In addition to
European made chimneypieces,
you will find an exciting array of American-made antique fireplace mantels dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
