Design

Object Type
Since this design was intended for use by cabinet-makers, it had to be clearly understood. The colours of the overmantel indicate what material each part was to be made out of. The golden yellow corresponds to the gilded frame and the blue to the mirror.

People
Robert Adam employed Thomas Chippendale, who designed this overmantel, to carry out in detail some of the schemes of furnishing that he was undertaking in important country houses. Gilt furniture such as this overmantel was intended for the saloon, or principal room, in a grand house.

Time
The design includes classical ornament such as rams' heads and palm leaves. This kind of ornament had been discovered at the sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii in southern Italy and was an important feature of the Neo-classical style that was fashionable at this period. It was made known by published descriptions of the excavations and also by the sculpture and artefacts that were acquired in Italy by wealthy visitors on their Grand Tour.