Antique Louis XVI mantel in Carrara Marble with Columns and Cherubs - marble

Description

This rare antique marble with detached columns uses the architectural language of the Renaissance, revisited by the Louis XVI style. The columns display interesting silhouettes : adorned with foliage at the base and fluting as they rise, they are crowned with capitals that support the heads. The heads are carved with fillets and garnished with garlands of flowers carved in high relief. The fillets are topped with wisps of wheat, as is typical in the Louis XVI style. The front of the entablature presents a large rectangular molded frame, in which two putti hold up garlands of flowers on either side of a central circular motif composed of a laurel wreath, a quiver, a torch, and two love birds flying above. The hearth opening is framed by a succession of moldings and underlined by a frieze of pearls and a frieze of a spiraled ribbon, which is echoed by a ribbon at the base of the protruding shelf. The use of Carrara marble enhances its sophisticated design.