Napoleon III style black marble mantle

This beautiful and wide antique mantle was made in the 19th century. This Napoleon III style mantle was hand-sculpted and carved out of a very beautiful black marble that features some thin white veins.

The wide and thick lintel, which supports a thin molded shelf, rests on a pair of straight jambs topped by finger flutes modillions. The whole piece is decorated with molded panels and ends with foot blocks.

The Napoleon III style is also called Second Empire style. It can be summed up in one word: richness. In general, this style is characterized by an exuberance of forms and a profusion of decorative motifs inspired by the Antiquity, as well as the Renaissance or the Louis XVI style. This period was a time of great transformations in Paris under the impulse of Baron Haussmann. With the proliferation of apartments, the marble mantles become common pieces of furniture!

Note that the tablet has been restored by us.

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