Regal Fireplace Mantel Designs - Fit For A King...OR A Queen!
The extraordinary fireplace mantel designs pictured here are -- quite lit- erally -- fit for royalty . . . . .
From a stunning antique surround once (almost) owned by Napoleon . . . . to a striking reproduction of the elegant marble surround in the Queen's Din- ing Room at Hampton Court Palace, they are now available for purchase by mere "commoners" . . . . . like you and me!
If only the fabulous 17th century an- tique mantelpiece pictured at right and below could talk . . . . . what a story it would tell! Enshrined in a palace in northern Portugal, it was seized as bounty by Napoleon's in- vading army in 1808 and destined for the Imperial House of Napoleon. How- ever, while enroute to the Portugese border, it was intercepted and sent to Lisbon. Not knowing from where it came, the King gave it to the Duke of Palmela, who installed it in his pal- ace in Calhariz, Lisbon. Around 1935, when the palace was sold, the man- telpiece was also removed and sold, and has been privately owned since that time. Currently available for sale and in remarkable condition, it is crafted from black and white Italian marble -- made all the more excep- tional by its combination of inlays and high-relief!
Pictured below is a fabulous 19th century style Louis XV fireplace in
mala- chite
veneering with very rich and fine
ormulu
and curved side panels. Sim- ilar unique fireplaces can be found in the Kremlin in Moscow, the Hermitage Palace
in St. Petersburg and the Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.
The monumental French antique fireplace mantel pictured below dates from 1850 and consists of beautifully
veined marble with bronze accents. Rest- ing on the shoulders of the massive projecting scrolls of this
impressive de- sign is a pair of finely cast bronze mounts in the form of lion masks. This form of
Rococo
inspired fireplace remained popular in France throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Lions, with their symbolic
associations in both religious and secular art, have been a constant decorative motif on chim- neypieces and fine
furniture throughout the ages. The qualities of fortitude and strength reflected in the use of the lion motif
are epitomized in the fireplace design created for the Hercules Salon at the
Palace of Versailles
in the early 1730s.
Moving from France to England, the following mantelpieces are reproduc- tions -- or originals which can be
reproduced to your custom specifications -- of striking designs currently existing in some of the royal homes
of Brit- ain. Situated in the Public Dining Room at
Hampton Court Palace,
the mag- nificent chimneypiece pictured below, left, bears the arms of George I and is one of the last pieces from
the workshop of
Grinling Gibbons.
The Dutch craftsman's work was much in demand among the aristocracy. The stun- ning marble surround pictured
below, right, is from one of the Queen's Pri- vate Chambers at Hampton Court Palace.
Below, right, is another striking marble surround from Hampton Court Pal- ace. It is located in the Queen's
Dining Room. The fireplace pictured below, left, is in the State Saloon at
Woburn Abbey.
The impressive fire surround pictured at left, below, is from a suite of rooms at Hampton Court Palace built
for the Duke of Cumberland, the sec- ond son of George II, when he was just ten years old. The surround pic- tured
below, right, is from the King's Gallery at
Kensington Palace.
Each of the monumental fireplace mantel designs that follow includes an impressive overmantel. On the left
is the Cupola Fire Surround from the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. The painting of the Cupola Room (bottom)
depicts the surround on the far wall. Pictured in the photo below, right, is the West Hall South Fireplace at
Woburn Abbey.
Each of the fireplace mantel designs pictured above can be repro- duced to your specifications. Highly
skilled French and English craftsmen painstakingly carve and finish each mantelpiece by hand. If you'd like
more information about any of the designs featured here -- or if you have a design of your own in mind and
would like to have it skillfully executed in stone -- please
contact us.
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as we continually add new images of handcrafted fireplace mantel designs to our site.
For even more in-depth coverage and outstanding
examples of stone fireplace designs, please visit our sister site,
www.Top-Stone-Fireplace-Designs.com,
which expands upon the information in the "Stone Design Guide" featured
on this website. A comprehensive
Directory
devoted exclusively to stone mantels and surrounds -- many
from top designers around the world --
Top Stone Fireplace Designs
is the largest site of its kind on the world wide web!
