Saturday, December 10, 2011

Bolection mantel

Located in the decorative arts collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is this mantel from a London townhouse. Bolection surround mantels like this are still common today; in fact one thinks of them as modern! However when paired with the fascinating wood swags and Ionic columns the entire character changes; this assemblage becomes a focal point rather than simply recedes. Yet another option in our Hearth and Home series.

10 comments:

The Devoted Classicist said...

The carved swags and jabots are a truly remarkable compliment to the classic bolection firebox surround.

Thankfully, the hearth stone is correctly sized in this instance, but isn't the white marble a curious choice?

In any case, it is a great fireplace and I was really happy to see it!

Bob said...

Beautiful carved marble bolection moulding are always a fav for me. My image however is coloured, not white as John noted. I like the greyish stone better than white.

Paul Gervais de Bédée said...

It ends up being a monumental frame for the painting that is to hang there. What was supposed to have happened just over the fireplace itself, in that wide rectangular space?

ArchitectDesign™ said...

Paul, it does seem strange, no? Unfinished? I think it used to have a different decorative treatment.

Kerry Steele- Design du Monde said...

This would be nice in a room where you only want a few impactful accessories. There is no mantel shelf to dress/clutter.

ArchitectDesign™ said...

Kerry, in some cases, that may be a blessing in disguise. Lol.

Ann said...

Ha, I was so distracted by the beautiful swags and jabots that I didn't notice a lack of shelf space until Paul and Kerry's comments.

The Devoted Classicist said...

I was thinking perhaps a painted canvas was intended for the top space and a mirror fitted for the lower. But I think G.d.B. is correct, and it was for a canvas and an extra horizontal rail was added to make a better fit for the framed painting shown.

Mark D. Ruffner said...

I think the painting is completely out of scale for this treatment. I would remove the bar and have a vertical painting, which would make more sense with both the space and the swags.

Austen Redman said...

A lot of the late seventeenth/early eighteenth century examples I have seen have that extra rail.