VERY IMPORTANT ANTIQUE AND DIRECTOIRE STYLE ITALIAN FIREPLACE, CARVED IN A TRULY SUBLIME QUALITY OF CARRARA STATUARY, OBVIOUSLY A “UNIQUE PIECE,” MOREOVER COMING TO US IN ENVIABLE CONDITION OF PRESERVATION.
A man and a woman at the sides of the frontal, Bacchus in the center of the same frontal while at its sides we have a Torch ( whose Flame is not that of Platonic or Spiritual Love but that of the actual Amorous Passion) and a Quiver (representing the Lining par excellence and here, excuse me, but you will have to work of Fantasy you to arrive at the actual Meaning of this Lining because if I were explicit I would risk HEAVY wrath....).
In short, it can be said without a doubt that this fireplace is nothing but a hymn to Bacchus, Tobacco and Venus...
AWESOME AND BRAVE, AT LEAST FOR THOSE TIMES, THE THEME OF THIS FIREPLACE.
FANTASTIC THE SCULPTOR THAT THIS “FILM” HAS GIVEN US, ONE FRAME AT A TIME....
MINIMAL NOTES ON THE STYLE OF THIS FIREPLACE:
After the French Revolution, the first style in furniture is precisely the Directoire, which inherits the neoclassical taste of the just passed Louis XVI style, a style on which are grafted clean lines, inspired by the sobriety of customs, proper to the ongoing Social and Cultural Revolution. The Directoire is thus a transitional style between the “ancien régime” and the Empire, which, with Napoleon, will again transform the taste for furnishings.
In Italy the Directoire style lasted very few years, and as far as fireplaces specifically are concerned, I estimate its duration to be from 1795 to 1805.
This is why fireplaces found in this style are very rare indeed.
What's more, this specific fireplace has on its side the fact that it was carved in the finest white marble known in the world, the Carrara Statuary.
Those who are looking for the refinement of lines, the excellent quality of materials and even the rarity of the mantel in their fireplace (but this one is really unconquerable, eh..) cannot but rejoice at this artistic and historic sculpture, especially since the price of such a rarity is comparable to the cost of a modern “styled fireplace” WITH THE FLAVOR OF PLASTICS..
