Adelphi chimneypiece thumbnail 1
Adelphi chimneypiece thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 118; The Wolfson Gallery

Adelphi chimneypiece

Chimneypiece
ca. 1771 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.

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).


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAdelphi chimneypiece (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Carved and painted pine, with marble
Brief description
Chimneypiece of carved and painted pinewood, the outer jambs carved with pendants of bellflowers within ovals formed by intertwining pendants of husks, the frieze with a variety of neo-classical motifs, centreing on an urn supported by two birds.
Physical description
Chimneypiece of carved and painted pinewood, the outer jambs carved with pendants of bellflowers within ovals formed by intertwining pendants of husks, the frieze with a variety of neo-classical motifs, centreing on an urn supported by two birds.
Dimensions
  • Height: 162.56cm
  • Width: 203.2cm
  • Estimated weight: 80kg
80 kg - estimate by Peter Riley Dimensions checked: Registered Description; 01/01/1998 by KN
Style
Gallery label
British Galleries: Robert Adam's style was spread by the activities of the building firm that he ran with his brother James. This chimney-piece comes from a house in the Adelphi (named after the Greek for 'brothers'), a group of streets on the banks of the river Thames. The Adam brothers were involved in urban speculation across London, but the Adelphi was the firm's most famous and fashionable development.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Presented by Art Fund
Object history
Made in London for the library of 5 Royal Terrace, London, the residence of David Garrick (1717-1779) from 1772 until his death. Designed by Robert Adam (born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, 1728, died in London, 1792)
Summary
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.

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).
Bibliographic reference
Tomlin, Maurice, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture (London: HMSO for Victoria and Albert Museum, 1972). cat. no. N/2, pp. 102-103.
Collection
Accession number
W.42-1936

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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