FAIR WARNING:
THE MARBLE BASE YOU SEE ON THE GROUND IN FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE I AM PRESENTING TO YOU HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FIREPLACE ITSELF. IT WAS THE FORMER TOP OF A CONSOLE TABLE USED BY THE FIREPLACE'S FORMER OWNER AS A MARBLE FLOOR. ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS REMOVE IT BEFORE TAKING THIS PHOTOGRAPH AND NO MISUNDERSTANDING WOULD HAVE ARISEN, BUT MY CO-WORKER (A.K.A. “THE MAD DISASSEMBLER”) DIDN'T GET IT, COULDN'T GET IT, ESPECIALLY ON DAYS WHEN HIS FAVORITE TEAM IS MAKING NO END OF EMBARRASSMENTS AND HE IS DOWN, SO MUCH, IN THE DUMPS AND CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE
THIS IS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, MOST PEOPLE ONLY THINK ABOUT FOOTBALL AND THEIR CELL PHONES, THEY ALL SEEM DECEREBRATE.... HAD I KNOWN BEFORE, I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD CHILDREN.
GOOD THING I HAVE MY FIREPLACES, AWAY, LET'S BANISH MELANCHOLY AND THINK ABOUT THEM.
AMAZING ANTIQUE FIREPLACE LAST QUARTER OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, FROM LOMBARDY, MASTERFULLY CARVED IN WHITE CARRARA MARBLE.
“LOMBARDY,” THAT'S HOW MANTELS LIKE THIS-OBVIOUSLY FROM LOMBARDY SOIL-APPEAR TO HAVE NEOCLASSICAL STYLISTIC AMBITIONS, A STYLISM THAT SEEMS INNATE TO ANCIENT AND MODERN ”MILANESS.”
AFTER ALL, IF IT'S TRUE THAT “GOD MAKES THEM THEN ACCOMPANIES THEM,” TO THE VERY HARD-WORKING TIRELESSLY PROACTIVE MILANESE ENTREPRENEUR, “HE,” MICA COULD PAIR A PEACEFUL NARCISSISTIC SLACKER LIKE THE BAROQUE STYLE, NO?!
HAVING SAID THESE STUPIDITIES, LET US COME TO US....
Stylistically, as is always the case with “Italian-Italian” fireplaces (WHO DESIRES THE DEFINITION OF THIS APPEAL, DOES NOT HAVE TO CALL ME, MAURIZIO, 0522-65 38 35), in this fireplace we have a happy mix:
If the architectural basis is that of a “Renaissance” capital fireplace, some architectural refinements (the rounding on the upper sides of the inner cornice and especially the remarkable, “seagull-wing” projection of the shelf) take us beyond the Alps, toward the Regency style. Bringing it all together in a most refined melange is the Ornate (the capital lettering is not accidentally affixed), happily and finely Neoclassical. Floral and leafy rosettes, acanthus leaves, buttercups and other decorations invade every surface of this fireplace with Beauty, and I cannot help but think how much eternal and aesthetic Gratification will be destined for the fortunate owner of this Sculptural Work of Art.
ITS PRICE IS DEFINABLE AS “RIDICULOUS.”
PRICELESS, IN FACT, ARE SO MUCH QUALITY AND SO MUCH HISTORY.
OF THE SERIES “BETTER A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE CONSTRUCTION SITE BEFORE DISASSEMBLY THAN A THOUSAND MADE IN OUR WAREHOUSE.”
THEN I COULDN'T RESIST, AND INSTEAD OF OFFERING YOU A SINGLE PRE-DISASSEMBLY PHOTOGRAPH, I DECIDED TO INCLUDE A FEW POST-DISASSEMBLY ONES, SO THAT YOU REALIZE THE WORK THAT GOES INTO SELLING AN ANTIQUE FIREPLACE... HOW MANY PARTS TO PUT BACK TOGETHER, TO CLEAN, RESTORE, WAX...
MAP PHOTOS:
PRE-DISASSEMBLY IMAGE,
PILE OF “SCRAP” BROUGHT TO OUR WORKSHOP,
DETAIL OF THE ORNAMENTATION ON THE FRONT SIDE,
DETAIL OF THE ORNAMENTATION OF ONE LEG,
ONE OF THE TWO CAPITALS.
