About ten years ago, in the drawing room of a beautiful Parisian residence — white on the outside and equally white within, with interiors adorned in pale boiserie panelling — I came across one of the most captivating fireplace mantels I had ever seen.
The model itself was, essentially, that of a classic Louis XV “Coquille” fireplace — a design generally considered elegant, though not exceptionally rare or extraordinary in itself.
And yet…
The marble from which it had been created — a truly noble Calacatta Gold — possessed such remarkable aesthetic qualities that this particular example seemed capable of reaching the very top of an imaginary ranking.
Let us look together, if you wish, at what made this precious marble so exceptional.
First of all, its background colour: a statuary white of such purity that, when admired closely, it not only appears brilliantly white, but almost gives the impression that soft rays of light emerge from its surface — warm, reassuring, almost like a gentle caress directed towards the viewer.
Some readers may smile at such words, yet I know perfectly well that if they were to stand before this fireplace mantel in person, comparing it with the many hundreds of other white antique fireplaces in our collection, they would immediately understand just how powerful, unusual and almost miraculous its whiteness truly is.
Against this pure white background, the many veins within the marble resemble the gestures of an artist’s hand. The grey arabesques — ancient vegetal fossils — occasionally reveal bluish reflections, while delicate reddish brushstrokes owe their presence to traces of iron oxide within the stone.
The other great aesthetic treasure of this noble fireplace is its cast-iron insert in finely worked artistic iron.
This highly refined accessory is unmistakably the product of a Parisian foundry: its surface too smooth and elegant, its scrolling foliage and floral ornament too sophisticated to have originated anywhere other than beneath the Eiffel Tower itself.
The piece dates from the very beginning of the Belle Époque, towards the end of the nineteenth century. Its condition is excellent: no major restoration has ever altered its surfaces, only a careful and respectful cosmetic restoration carried out with genuine sensitivity.
