Superb Second Empire style marble mantle

This beautiful Napoleon III style mantle made of red marble richly veined with white features a straight hearth on which are backed console jambs and a rectangular lintel. The curves of the jambs are carved with a stylized acanthus leaf and a diamond shaped motif that adorns the concave parts. Those motifs can also be found on the frieze and on each side of the lintel. A set of diamonds adorns the center of the lintel. The thin molded shelf is symmetrical with the cornices appearing above the jambs.

The Napoleon III style, also called Second Empire style, born under the impulse of the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie, enjoyed great success with the French bourgeoisie in the second half of the 19th century. This style corresponds to a certain idea of luxury and pomp and favours sumptuousness! It is characterized by an abundance of ornaments but also by eclecticism (inspired by Antiquity, the Ancien Régime as well as the Renaissance or the Louis XVI style).

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