-
Chimneypiece
Robert Adam, born 1728 - died 1792 - Enlarge image
Chimneypiece
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1771 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Robert Adam, born 1728 - died 1792 (designer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Carved and painted pine, with marble
- Credit Line:
Presented by The Art Fund
- Museum number:
W.42-1936
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 118e, case 5
Object Type
The chimney-piece has always been the most important feature of a room. The more imposing and costly the chimney-piece, the grander that room. However, unlike the more extravagant Palladian and Rococo examples from the 1720s onwards, those of the Neo-classical period were smaller and more restrained. Here the abundance of Neo-classical ornament indicates that the chimney-piece was destined for a fairly important room, but the use of wood instead of marble suggests a need to economise.
People
The chimney-piece comes from a house in the Adelphi (No. 5) that belonged to David Garrick. The Adelphi (Greek for 'brothers') was a speculative development on the banks of the Thames, off the Strand, by Robert Adam and his younger brother James. However, the exorbitant cost of building the foundations, as well as the high tides and pollution of the river, brought the venture at one stage close to bankruptcy.
Garrick was the greatest actor of the day. He was a friend of Robert and James Adam, whom he addressed as 'My dear adelphi'.
Subjects Depicted
The lintel of the chimney-piece is decorated with griffins, back-to-back, holding festoons in their beaks. Other motifs include small circular ornaments known as paterae, also rosettes, husks, sacrificial altars and panoplies (trophies of ancient weapons).
