N469

A Handsome Mid-19th Century Chimneypiece in Statuary and Convent Siena Marbles.

A handsome chimneypiece in Italian Statuary and Convent Sienna marbles, circa 1860. The jambs are in the form of full rounded Sienna marble ionic columns, detached from the piece and terminating in finely carved ionic capitals showing hanging festoons beneath Siena corner blocks decorated with crisply carved rosettes of acanthus leaf. The piece is richly undercut with an abundance of deep carving including an inverted dentil moulding underpinning the tablet. The frieze is formed of a Sienna and Statuary Greek Key pattern, centred with a tablet showing winged Putti carrying a wreath. Putti can either be the representation of angelic spirits in religious artworks and architecture, or act as instruments of profane love. The depiction here, with a union around a wreath, might suggest that the piece was a marital gift.