G437

An Exquisite Neoclassical Chimneypiece in White Statuary Marble.

A well proportioned and finely carved late 18th century chimneypiece in a distinctive Adam style. The tiered shelf is supported by the frieze decorated with flower garlands held by ribbons. The cornerblocks are carved with Neoclassical urns, and these are resting on jambs where the motif of ribbons and flower garlands is repeated, with a chain of bellflowers falling down each leg. The lightness and delicacy of the decorative elements of this chimneypiece is typical of the architect Robert Adam (1728–92), the most prominent exponent of British Neoclassicism.