In my opinion, in order to enjoy this particular and rare*** Pompadour Galbé mantel at its best, it will be necessary to be familiar with the fascinating Bleu Turquin marble with which it was carved.
As much as it is fair (Let's give Caesar what is Caesar's) to call this fireplace “Parisian” (because of its fascinating and very recognizable stylism, its place of discovery and, why not, also because of its fantastic name (Pompadour), evocative of royal pomp and intriguing amorous stories), this fireplace also has much Italian flair.
In fact, it was born in a workshop in the Carrarino, an area where the best sculptural quality of the globe was expressed, and was created from “blocks” of a marble that was called ( and is still called in Italy) “Bardiglio” (to be exact, “Bardiglio Turchino,” a clear selection of the family called “Bardiglio Imperiale”)..
“But how...” you may ask (ask me or I cannot continue my comment, Thank you...).
"But how, if you wrote in the title that his marble is called Bleu Turquin!!! What are you doing, getting confused!"
But no, it is okay that I am of a certain age and maybe I am starting to give numbers, however, this time I am not getting confused, just have a little patience and you will understand..
You must know that Bardiglio, marble quarried in the Apuan Alps, was considered in Italy mostly good for making floors (because of its excellent resistance to trampling, its compactness and docility towards any working, its consistency that made it unassailable to external agents etc., a VERY STRONG marble, in short), floors in which very often it was combined, with checkerboard laying placed crosswise, with the White marble of Carrara.
In many residences, even aristocratic ones, Tuscan and Ligurian especially, it will be possible to find floors of that style.
But very rarely was our Bardiglio, poor duckling, taken to the splendors of decorative sculpture.
It was the French, unbeatable in adding value to the objects of their trade (see wines, they sell them for exactly three times as much as the equivalent Italian wines, or cosmetics, here better to draw a pitiful veil, and so on..) who understood the qualities, intrinsic and evocative, of this particular marble and that it would be enough to change its name to make a lucrative trade out of it.
Thus it was that our ugly duckling Bardiglio became the beautiful swan Bleu Turquin, soon commercialized and appreciated throughout the Western world.
What I have written above has a moral: It is not that the French only “well marketed” or “cleverly marketed” this italic marble, the latter already possessed a wealth of qualitative (compactness and strength) and aesthetic (shades, precisely, turquoise, very rare to be found in other stone materials) characteristics, one only had to notice.
The fireplace I am presenting here expresses a particular quality of turquoise hues, which are very clear, like gentle spring clouds, a sign of great care on the part of the master sculptor in the selection of the slabs. Most likely the patron was a man with a bag full of money and had to be pleased.
It is also important to highlight the elegant pair of bronze mouths placed high up on either side of the fireplace, a pair in perfect condition, wanting to work, which is a little like a pair of earrings placed to enhance the beauty of the woman wearing them.
Provenance Paris, period second half of the 19th century, perfect preservation and superb patina.
*** Rare in that the vast majority of this family of fireplaces were carved in White Carrara marble. Only about 10% of examples were made in colored marble, and of this 10% only a very small fraction were “dressed” in this fascinating marble.
