Good morning to you who are reading me, I hope you are a patient person because here, with this fireplace, there will be a novelette to write (and for you to read). If, however, the pictures that you saw before you began reading the commentary were to your liking, well, then you will also enjoy knowing their history and, perhaps, even some details that the uninitiated (unless they are Pico della Mirandola's) may not know.
Let's start with the titling that my son Enrico wrote.... Defining the marble with which our fireplace was carved, he wrote "CANDID WHITE "P" CARRARA" MARBLE." the "P" stands for “PURE". It is a marble of considerable importance and is in no way outdone by the Emperor of marbles, THE CARRARA STATUARY. Giving strength to this statement of mine (which to many will appear A TRUMP EXAGERATION) IS THIS FACT: A statue carved in Statuary marble cannot be exhibited because the “grain” of STATUARY, while candid and fascinating like no other marble... WOULD NOT MATTER TO ATMOSPHERIC AGENTS, IT WOULD BE AGGRATED QUICKLY and therefore can only be placed indoors.. All this turn of phrase to tell you that all the statues you admire outdoors in our historic cities are made of Carrara White marbles such as “PURE” White. For the sake of clarity we must say that today, many insiders call this marble by the name JOY,” after the name of the last quarry of this marble quality that remained active.
Perhaps I have bored you with this marble spiel, but I believe that, at least in discussing fireplaces, the quality of their marble plays an important role.
Now let us go on to discuss its decorations, which are absolutely and only floral and leafy.... Our fireplace is called “ROSACES,” which in French has two meanings: “Rosettes” or “Rosettes” In certain mantels of this family of fireplaces the “ROSETTE” theme prevails, and in this case you will find carved on the extreme sides of the front two (sometimes four, but it is much rarer) small roses, one on each side.
Our fireplace has chosen the path of “ROSES.” The “rosette” is nothing more than a decoration that can be round or “circular” (i.e., only partly round) , decoration which, at least until the 1950s-60s of the last century was used to decorate walls or ceilings (even the grandparents' chandelier, remember-?-descended from the center of a plaster rosette applied to the ceiling). In our fireplace's, the decoration is “circular,” and it will be easy for you to verify how, on either side of the ever-present “Saint Jacques” shell, pairs of branches and leaves have been carved with “circular” as well as specular movements between them/and. Two very small “field rosettes,” on the other hand, were carved below each side shell... The “arboreal” decoration also takes the fireplace legs, on each of which is carved a hanging series of floral buds.
Of course, the cast iron insert of art, too, proclaims the same “arboreal” theme with shrubs branches, little flowers, also strictly mirrored..
Interesting to note how this mantel has (something that happens very rarely, as it is reserved exclusively for fireplaces with great decorative and sculptural load) the sides “drawn” by grooves in the marble..
LAST NOTE THEN I WON'T BORE YOU ANY MORE: In the center, at the top of the cast iron insert you will see, enclosed between branches and leaves that seem to defend it, a small area completely smooth, clean, with a shape that, intentionally, makes you think of a heart.. There, that area was designed by the artistic foundry (surely Parisian, given the quality of the casting) who produced our cast iron insert. There, in that sort of blazon the purchaser of the fireplace could have had his name engraved or his initials etc. etc.. I don't know if this is lucky or not, however it is certain that if ever the customer who buys this fireplace wishes to IMMORTalize his initials here, well, he can.
PARISIAN PROVENANCE, ITALIAN SCULPTURE, SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, EXCELLENT PRESERVATION.
