My first thought when I saw this ORIGINAL fireplace was... “GOD, THIS MANTELPIECE IS SO CUTE”... It even rhymes... we're on the right track... It has many special features, but what matters is not so much the QUANTITY of beauty and originality that IT boasts, but rather the CHARM that all of its features evoke in all of us...
I found it very, VERY charming, graceful, and original.
Let's take a look at it together, if you like...
Its architecture is clearly neoclassical, which means square lines and decorations that are not at all heavy or exaggerated, but “clean” and elegant... We see this first of all in the decorations carved on its marble, particularly in the finishes at the top of the plinths and below the two capitals... These are finely crafted sculptures with highly original and delicate designs. I think it is very important
B) Its gilded bronze decorations (in my opinion using the electrolytic system) are subtle and without excess, depicting two laurel wreaths (representing strength, power, victory, etc.), two jewels, “clasps” for women's hair and, last but not least, a lion's head which, for the French, represents the face of Vercingetorix, the most heroic soldier in their history, the man who managed to stand up to Julius Caesar himself. In many of his depictions (sculptures, paintings, etc.), his face has a mane and a clearly lion-like expression. For his people, he was (and still is) a hero, just as Garibaldi is for us, because, in order to stand up to the Roman army, our Vercingetorige managed to unite various French tribes and populations. Even today, more than TWO THOUSAND YEARS after these events, his people still love him so much that they blame his defeat on an unclear error in the coordination of his troops (an error that was obviously not his), when in fact he was defeated by the overwhelming force of the Roman army and its incredible and highly effective military organization. I BELIEVE IT IS FAIR TO POINT OUT THAT THE REMARKABLE PURE WHITENESS OF THE “PURE CARRARA WHITE” MARBLE PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT BACKDROP TO THE BRONZE FUSIONS THEMSELVES.
OUR FIREPLACE MANTEL WAS CARVED DURING THE PERIOD KNOWN AS “BELLE EPOQUE” (LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY). IT WAS CARVED IN A PROVENCAL WORKSHOP AND IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.
