Fireplace Help

[StripyCat]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out where my fireplace came from. The house was built in 1902 and I'm pretty certain it's not original. The last time the house had any major work done was in the 1960s so I assume it was added then. I had thought it was a reproduction but when I looked at the sides there are marks where some very ornate skirting board and dado was- so I'm guessing it used to live somewhere grander before it came here. Does anyone have any ideas? I've added some pictures below. Size wise it's 145cm (57 inches) tall and 215cm (84 inches) at its widest.

Thanks

 

[Penners]

StripyCat - On the basis of those photos it's very difficult to give you any definitive information about your fireplace, I'm afraid.

If it's original (and I mean to its style, not its location in your house) then I would hazard a guess that it is Georgian. The decorative work looks as though it's in a variety of timbers - I can certainly see oak and possibly rosewood - and it doesn't look as though it stands in relief, so it may be marquetry rather than planted-on mouldings. If this is the case, then the fireplace may be quite a high quality piece.

However, it's impossible to say where it came from, or indeed whether it is older than the house. So many reproduction fireplaces of this type have been made over the centuries that without a close examination by an expert we're pretty much in the dark (well, I am anyway!).

Nigel Watts is knowledgeable on Georgian stuff - let's hope that he spots this thread.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

I would say that the material, and the combination of motifs (though individually they are "right"), aren't right for a Georgian fireplace. It looks Edwardian to me - so the right period for the house - but obviously brought from somewhere else and too big for the chimney breast etc.

 

[Penners]

Useful opinion from an expert, there. Gareth, do you think the decoration is marquetry? And purely for my own edification, what is the material that makes you suspect Edwardian?

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Polished mahogany. It's not absolutely unheard of for Georgian fireplaces, but it is much more of an Edwardian material, for that purpose - Georgian timber fire surrounds are far more usually pine (and painted). And yes, I'm sure it's marquetry.
It's most of all the way all the bits fit together into a whole which doesn't look quite right for the 18th century.

 

[Penners]

Many thanks for that expert view. I presume the invoice is in the post?

 

[StripyCat]

Thank you both for taking the time to look.

I think that the patterned bits are marquetry- they are flat but when I run my nail over them I can feel the joins between the pieces of wood.

It's interesting to hear that it's probably Edwardian- I do wonder where it came from given its size.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I'm quite jealous of that fireplace really as I collect Sheraton Revival furniture. One of the many lessons I've had from our dear Mr Hughes is that when the Edwardians revived styles they took the best, prettiest elements and made them very refined, polite, perfect , fancy. It's a look that's so in keeping with those astonishingly decorated hats and dresses of the time.

The real Georgian stuff seems purer, simpler, somehow. I suppose by 1900 there were far more sophisticated ways of making more complex things.

 

[Penners]

Regardless of its age or provenance, it's certainly a fine piece that's worthy of lots of TLC.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Regardless of its age or provenance, it's certainly a fine piece that's worthy of lots of TLC.

Is that a hint Penners?

 

[Penners]

Not sure I follow your drift, Joss - are you hinting at something to do with my own age and (lack of) provenance?