Irish green marble mantel with columns - marble

Description

Beautiful Irish green marble Empire period mantel, circa 1810. This mantel belongs to the rare category of mantels with detached columns – rare because of the technical skills required of the sculptor. The detached columns here have the elegant simplicity of Tuscan architecture, of Etruscan inspiration. They support a straight lined sharp angled protruding entablature that is reminiscent of a Temple entrance. Green was a color that was much appreciated and used in the time of Napoleon I. The Empire style was inspired by Roman art, mythology, Egyptian art, using namely Caryatids, sphinxes, Victories, eagles, palm leaves, etc. Our mantel represents a very purified version of this style where simplicity allies with the beauty of the stone. The green Irish marble is beautifully celebrated by the simplicity of the decor and the quality of the craftsmanship, creating a monumental elegant piece of work. Green marble from Ireland comes from the County of Galway in the province of Connacht and is rich with green mica and pyrite minerals that give this very particular hue. As this marble is very rare, the mantel was made with different pieces of marble, including the shelf. The sides were made later in another green marble known as Patricia marble.