It is difficult, very difficult, to come across an antique Mustaches fireplace with all the features I will list below:
A) Let us start with its small size (135 cm in width), which is definitely limited for a fireplace of this sculptural importance. This kind of fireplace, in fact, was the preserve of a wealthy social class, which in turn owned homes with large living rooms, which in turn demanded (as a matter of respect for proportions) fireplaces equally generous in size.. So how is it then, you may ask, that this rich fireplace has in such a small size, within the reach of even modern (and certainly not very large) parlors! Well, I am of an advanced age, all right, but I swear I was not present on the rue De Versigny (a stone's throw from Montmartre) when, between 1860 and 1880, this graceful fireplace was mounted there. So I can only imagine, assume, in a word make some conjecture to explain the arcane.... And I believe there is only one answer to this question: The mantel in question was mounted in a bedroom, a room where fireplaces of less decorative load and lower cost were generally placed. But, you want that the hypothetical Mrs. Antoniette (wife of the equally hypothetical Mr. Stephane, owner of that apartment) for her bridal chamber demanded such important furnishings, as regal as her ostentatious Beauty, and maybe you want that poor Stephane would have done anything for his beloved Antoniette, here is our new husband getting his hands on his purse before discovering how, despite his sacrifices to please the much-desired Antoniette, he would soon be hit with nightly strikes and daily continuous complaints from the mule side.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO JUSTIFY SO MUCH DECORATIVE BEAUTY IN SUCH LIMITED MEASURE.
B) Its most important decorations: This Louis XV “Amélioré” belongs to the “Moustache” family (Mustaches are those leafy “whiskers” placed at the top of the central cartouche. Immediately below the mustaches we have a beautiful oval with a domed surface that in the lower part seems to take the shape of a heart. Generally in that sort of convex oval blazon were carved the owners' initials, side by side or superimposed. This time, Mr. Stephane's modesty meant that the field was left clear.... An opportunity, for the buyer of this fireplace, to make himself look noble to the point of owning a blazon with his own initials.
Know that on the surface of that heart you can have your initials engraved, perhaps intertwined if love seems so strong.. But ... beware, do so only if you are certain of the Eternity of your sentiment, otherwise this fire surround, which has come to us in superb condition, is in danger of being demolished with a hammer by the most indignant spouse in the event of a (in today's times, very likely ..) separation. And he, our fireplace, what fault would he have!
But an equally important thing as far as the sculptural load is concerned lies in the so-called “jellyfish veil” that contours the whole oval. Slender and elegant, too, are the “small shells” placed at the tops of the legs, made even more graceful by a pair of large, graceful campanulas hanging from them.
C) Its marble, a White Carrara “P” (letter for “Pure”) whose background (because it is the background of White Carrara and not its veining or gray clouds that determines the quality of the marble itself) is candid. There has been so much demand over the centuries for this specific marble that its quarrying is ending. As of today there is only one quarry left in operation, a quarry called “Cave Gioia,” and many insiders call this marble no longer “White P” but “White Gioia.” What I want to convey to you with this information is, in essence, this: THIS MARBLE IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE…PRICELESS!
D) Its excellent preservation. This specific mantel seems to have been made tonight while its times are Garibaldi's, a sign that the families who have succeeded each other in owning and maintaining this fireplace have, all of them, behaved well with Him, caressed it and dusted it often with clean, soft cloths, each lustre they have given its surfaces the luster and protection of a very thin (and very effective over time) layer of natural beeswax TO ME, THIS FEATURE SO RARE TO FIND BROUGHT TO MIND A CAROUSEL (“GLI INCONTENTABILI”) WITH THE MYTHICAL ADOLFO CELI, WHO, WHEN FACED WITH THIS FIREPLACE AND HAVING SEEN AND REJECTED A MULTITUDE OF THEM, WOULD EXCLAIM... “I'LL BUY THIS ONE!!!”
E) The fact that it is enriched with its own original cast iron insert. If at one time coming across a fireplace with this accessory equipment would have meant only paying a little more (in much the same way as when you buy an extra accessory for your car), nowadays, due to the rarefaction of such opportunities and the parallel search for them by architects and interior designers, the prices of such a sought-after combination are, literally, skyrocketing. This paragraph I have written just to try to justify the price you read above, so, I hope, you will not cover us with improprieties and insults….
PARISIAN FIND, NAPOLEON III PERIOD, ITALIAN SCULPTURE, THE QUALITY OF WHICH CAN BE TRACED TO A MASTER SCULPTOR FROM LUNIGIANA (TUSCANY).
