G095
An English carved Bath stone chimneypiece, circa 1890. The compound moulded shelf is carved with running bands of leaves set above a frieze centred by a rectangular tablet carved with flowers, fruit and foliage on the manner of Grinling Gibbons. This tablet is flanked by leaf and flower head corbels and the opening is surrounded by a deeply carved bolection moulding and raised on squared blocks. Bath stone is a limestone that has been quarried since Roman times and was the chosen material of Ralph Wood who, with John wood, built Roman Bath. Throughout the 19th century many earlier styles and designs were revived, particularly those of the 17th and 18th centuries. This overt reference to the master carver Grinling Gibbons revives the late 17th century style. Gibbons (1648–1721) became the leading English Baroque sculptor famous for his decorative carvings in wood, although he worked as much, if not more, in marble and stone.
External Height 67 in (170.2cm) Width 70 1/4 in (178.4cm)
Internal Height 46 3/4 in (118.8cm) Width 53 1/4 in (135.3cm)
Depth 7 in (17.8cm)
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