Carved Building and Garden Elements

American brass finial and polished steel fire place tools resting on the original squared grooved marble stand, Early 19th century. Set consists of pierced shovel, tong, and poker.

Drum-form stools such as this were traditionally used in gardens and outdoor pavilions where upper class scholars read, wrote, gathered for discussion and, in general, developed thei...

An impressive and imposing pair of stone lions perched on a stone and marble plinth. Very detailed, the life-size pair proudly stand on sandstone and marble plinths, the high quali...

Enormous decorative architectural finial in early white paint, circa 1840-1880 (Look at last picture for idea of scale). Note: Regional differenc...

Decorate a garden, terrace, or entryway with this charming pair of antique French cast stone planters. Crafted in France circa 1920, each rectangular jardinière is carved on all four...

This old French Limestone fountain was hand carved in the mid 17th century and installed in a French countryside home. The piece has been well preserved throughout the years and was ...

Large hand carved Italian marble pedestal with revolving top, having cherub and rosette carved frieze, the tapered column lowering to an octagonal plinth, 19th century

The pair of antique stone capitals come with separate semi-circular bases. These are to be attache to a wall like pilasters. Can be used for planter bases, small side table or as gar...

Antique Stone Oval Basin overall dimensions: APPROX - 36W” x 22.5D” x 19”H Beautiful texture and patina.

Georgian style brass bound mahogany turf, or Irish peat bucket. The tapered swirling moulded sides have polished brass bands and faceted and twist grip loop handles; the interiors ar...

English Georgian Pine Classical mantle with original carved gesso, foliage, and medallion motif. Late 18th Century. Overall measurements- 67.25" Wide at top / 7.25" Deep at top /...

Beautiful pair garden vases in original Vicenza stone.

Reproduction wood fireplace mantel with fluted columns and carved capitals. Copied from an antique wood fireplace mantel sent to China in 2010....

A primitive stone planter, dating back to the early part of the 19th century, possibly earlier. Crafted from rugged sandstone, the irregular, organic shape offers a beautifully weathered appearance, with an original patina of moss and lichen that gives the piece an established, timeworn look. The natural organic shape provides an excellent backdrop as a garden feature...

A fine pair of painted cast iron benches with wooden seats, featuring an oak leaf and acorn motif, dog head handles on the arms, and cabriole legs with paw feet. The pair date to th...

Superfine antique hand carved teak panel with beautiful scrolling floral motifs and original patina. This was carved from a single panel of teak that was whittled down by the carver ...

A large antique profusely carved oak fireplace surround in the Jacobean style Made during the Victorian period in England, incorporating 17th century and 18th century carved elements...

19th Century Black Slate Fireplace Mantlepiece. A Large Beautiful Antique Victorian English Made Fireplace Surround Made From Black Welsh Slate. This Stunning Fireplace Surround Has ...

Once used on a provincial Chinese farm to hold water or animal feed, this 19th-century stone trough is celebrated today for its organic form and rustic authenticity. Hand-carved from...

A large and grand antique Statuary marble fireplace dating to the 1850’s. Each pilaster with two full rounded and free standing Corinthian columns th...

Rare pair of carved oak newel post figures probably depicting Sir Robert and Lady Brown, circa 1735. He is depicted with a page boy haircut, wearing a l...

This antique French mantel, crafted from Balacet marble in the 1880s, showcases exquisite Empire-style design and exceptional craftsmanship. The centerpiece features a hand-carved ge...

This magnificent chimneypiece is carved from fine statuary marble with contrasting inlaid thumbnails of dark Rosso Lavanto across the frieze. The signature motifs, expert craftsmans...

A late Regency period Carrara marble fireplace surround, the stepped shelf above panelled frieze with elegant shallow arch with applied foliate roundel to the centre, the jambs with ...

18th century Italian hand-carved gold leaf architectural element with a pair of hand-cast plaster angels, a plaster rosette, and a detail plaster cornic...

Decorate a garden or patio with this elegant antique outdoor statue. Made of cast stone in France circa 1920, the tall sculpture depicts a youngster standing on a square pedestal, ho...

Rare 18th century antique French Louis XVI fireplace mantel. Hand-carved in desirable St Anne's marble. Delicately carved recessed Jambs and Frieze; with elegantly carved centre shel...

Ornate Italian Florentine giltwood hand carved wall bracket. With feather plume motif.

A Georgian carved pine fire mantel made using materials dating from the mid 18th century, later adapted. With a warm wood colour, this antique fire surround features a classical dog ...

This exquisite antique cast stone garden urn, inspired by Victorian-era English jardinieres, is a stunning example of classical garden design and timeless craftsmanship. Dating back ...

A large Chinese hand carved shop sign from the early 20th century, with calligraphy. Created in China during the early years of the 20th century, this shop sign features Chinese char...

Stone Trough overall dimensions: APPROX - 47”W x 28”D x 22.25”H Beautiful texture and patina.

A Highly Important Empire Period Rosso Antico Chimneypiece Inset with Specimen Marble Portrait Reliefs of Roman Emperors The carved and veneered surround comprising a moulded shelf supported by a bold dentil cornice, above an inverted breakfront frieze carved with a central triglyph panel, flanked by a pair of rosettes carved in shallow relief, the frieze mounted with six carved hardstone profile portrait medallions of Roman Emperors, the stop-fluted jambs raised on moulded footblocks; in excellent condition with small restorations commensurate with age and use; the pale inclusions in the stone naturally formed. This spectacular neoclassical marble chimneypiece is carved from Rosso antico, the frieze inset with six portrait reliefs of Roman Emperors, each carved in marmo giallo on a bardiglio background, five variously incised: VESPASIANUS, TIBERIVS, OTHO, JULIUS CAESAR, TITUS. Rosso antico (marmor taenarium) is first recorded as being quarried in 1700 BC at Akra Tainaron (Cape Matapan), Greece.¹ The majority of this stone, however, was extracted throughout the Roman period, when it was one of the most coveted materials for carving due to its rich red colouring and association with highly prized Egyptian ‘Imperial’ Porphyry.² Rosso antico was chosen in antiquity for portrait busts, notably depicting Bacchic subjects such as Dionysus and satyrs due to its rich red wine colour which symbolised conviviality whilst conveying the education and cultivated taste of the owner.³ In the Renaissance, Rosso antico was also used for architectural detail on important buildings, such as the steps leading up to the choir in the medieval church of S. Prassede, and the large columns at the entrance to the Camera dell'Aurora.⁴ In 121 AD, G. Suetonius Tranquillus, secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote a biographical history of the first twelve emperors of Rome entitled De vita Caesarum (The Twelve Caesars). A Renaissance edition of Tranquillus’ work was published in 1470, followed by further reprints and translations into all the main European languages. Many of these were illustrated with prints of emperors taken from coins and statues, or imagined by the artist based on Tranquillus’ accounts. These interpretations were copied, in turn, by Renaissance designers for medals, Limoges enamels, and busts, as well as paintings such as the Eleven Caesars, a series of eleven half-length portraits of Roman emperors made by Titian in 1536–40 for Federico II, Duke of Mantua.⁵ These paintings were later given to King Charles I, before being passed in the Commonwealth to the Kings of Spain. Unfortunately, the series was destroyed in the catastrophic fire of 1734 at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, and is now only known through copies and engravings.⁶ From the middle of the 17th century until the end of the 18th century, there was an insatiable demand for marble carvings, often sold as Roman or assembled from ancient fragments, thus perpetuating the reverence for antiquity that was the quintessence of the Grand Tour. Rosso antico was in extremely short supply, even after the ancient quarries at Skutari were rediscovered in 1830, and remained one of the most highly valued of all stones. Described in 1776 as ‘dark red; scarce and dear’, it was mostly used for small objects such as Grand Tour desk ornaments, inevitably using material re-cut from classical fragments, due to its rarity, as was the case with porphyry.⁷ The portrait roundels on this chimneypiece are typical of those produced in Rome and Florence in hardstones, semi-precious stones, gold, silver, bronze, and mother-of-pearl, which, being easily transportable, would be taken home from the Grand Tour to be mounted within wooden, gilded or brass frames, as fashion dictated.⁸ A group of gold portraits of Caesars, dating from around 1660, are in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. Images of Roman emperors were not limited to Italy, England and France, however, as examples executed in Deshima for the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) show. Medallions depicting Roman emperors, invariably made of black and gold Japanese hiramakie or takamakie lacquer on copper, were produced for the Dutch market at the end of the 18th century. Examples can be found in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.⁹ There are two possible sources for the Imperial profiles on the chimneypiece: the engravings of The Twelve Caesars by Marcantonio Raimondi, or the Imperatorum Imagines by Hubert Golz.¹⁰ The portrait medallions also bear remarkable resemblance to a set of eighteen carved portrait reliefs of Roman Emperors, also of marmo giallo, almost certainly bought by David Ker (1742–1811) of Portavo, Co. Down, on his Grand Tour between 1792–4 in either Florence or Rome. Ker’s diary entry for 17th October 1793 is interesting as it reveals that he was offering his brother a choice of chimneypiece designs, which further supports a Roman origin for the offered example.¹¹ Indeed, fire surrounds incorporating antique fragments had been promoted from the late 1760s by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–78), encouraged by Rome-trained architects including Robert Adam (d.1792). One such example, inset with mythological tablets carved from Rosso antico, was acquired by the 9th Earl of Exeter from Piranesi himself for Burghley House.¹² Another can be found at Islington House, Dorset.¹³ A third, inset with giallo antico and Rosso antico, follows Piranesi’s engraved design dated 1769 for a fire surround mounted with three marble portrait reliefs.¹⁴ It should be re-emphasised that Rosso antico was so precious that it was only ever used for small tablets or details rather than an entire chimneypiece, as with the offered example; likewise, while portrait reliefs are occasionally seen on the jambs of Italian surrounds, it is exceptionally rare to see the frieze mounted with a group, especially of this scale: the combination indicates an architectural commission by an extremely wealthy patron. The sophisticated lines of this chimneypiece epitomise the French Empire influence on the Italian states at the turn of the 18th century. This idiosyncratic ‘Roman’ taste is encapsulated by that of Napoleon, who identified with Rome’s Imperial past. Napoleon’s desire to establish a visual link between himself and Roman emperors is demonstrated by the portraits of his court painter, Jacques-Louis David, inspired by portraits of Emperor Augustus. This Imperial taste extended to architecture, furniture and porcelain, the latter two of which are combined in a group of magnificent ormolu-mounted guéridons commissioned in Sèvres between 1803–11, made to immortalise Napoleon’s reign.¹⁵ The second guéridon in the series, the Table des Grands Capitaines (Table of the Great Commanders of Antiquity), commissioned in 1806, is made almost entirely of hard-paste Sèvres porcelain. The top, painted in imitation of sardonyx, is centred by a portrait cameo of Alexander the Great, surrounded by twelve smaller heads of commanders and philosophers from antiquity: Pericles, Scipio Africanus, Pompey, Augustus, Septimus Severus, Constantine, Trajan, Caesar, Mithridates, Hannibal, Themistocles and Miltiades.¹⁶ Louis XVIII presented the table to the Prince Regent (later King George IV) in 1817 as a token of appreciation for Napoleon’s defeat two years earlier, and George IV treasured it so highly that it became part of the ceremonial backdrop for all his state portraits. The table remains in the Royal Collection.¹⁷ This chimneypiece remained, until recently, in the possession of a noble Dutch family, who acquired it from the owners of a bombed Knightsbridge house in the 1940s; unfortunately, its provenance prior to this has been lost. The use of Rosso antico on this scale, inset with these splendid Imperial profile medallions, appears unparalleled. 1. J. B. Grossman, 'Looking at Greek and Roman Sculpture in Stone' (Los Angeles, 2003). Grossman states that this material was ‘...quarried in three places during antiquity: on Cape Tainaron present day Matapan on the Peloponnese of Greece; on Crete; and at the site of Iasos in Asia Minor. 2. L. Lazzarini, ‘Rosso antico and other red marbles used in antiquity: a characterization study’, Marble, Art Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Ancient Sculpture’ (1990), 237–252. C. Gorgoni, L. Lazzarini, P. Pallante, ‘New archaeometric data on Rosso antico and other red marbles used in antiquity, ASMOSIA VI, Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone’ (2002), pp. 199–206. J. Deér, trans. G.A. Gilhoff, The Dynastic Porphyry Tombs of the Norman Period in Sicily (Cambridge, 1959), p. 144. R. Gnoli, Marmora Romana (Rome, 1988), pp. 187–191. 3. A notable example is a satyr from the Emperor Hadrian's villa at Tivoli, now in the Capitoline Museum, Rome. Another is the head of a satyr in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, accession no. 2006.110. See T. Opper, Hadrian. Empire and Conflict (London, 2008), p. 165, fig. 149. 4. De Luca, Marmi antichi (Rome, 1998), p. 126. Faustino Corsi, Catalogo ragionato d’una collezione di pietre di decorazione (Rome, 1833), p. 93. 5. For related Limoges medallions, see set of ten circular Limoges enamel medallions depicting Roman emperors, en grisaille with gilding, from the workshop of Jacques I Laudin, sold Christie’s London, Fine Renaissance Bronzes and Works of Art, 19 December, 1977, lot 95. 6. See set of drawings sold Sotheby’s London, Of Royal and Noble Descent, 24 February, 2015, lot 184. 7. J. J. Ferber, Raspe’s Travels through Italy in the Years 1771–1772 (London, 1776), p. 218. 8. See Sotheby’s London, Pelham, the Public and the Private, 8 March 2016, lot 75: ‘A set of twelve mother-of-pearl cameos of Roman Emperors, Southern Italian, early 19th century’ 9. Oliver Impey, Christiaan J.A. Jörg, Cynthia Viallé, Japanese Export Lacquer 1580–1850 (Amsterdam, 2005) pp. 48–57, no. 56 & 57. 10. For a further reference, see the candlesticks by Jacques I Laudin in the Waters Art Gallery, illustrated in P. Verdier, Catalogue of the Painted Enamels of the Renaissance (Baltimore, 1967), p. 389, nos. 207 & 208. 11. John Ingamells, A Dictionary of British and Irish travellers in Italy 1701–1800 (London, 1997), pp. 572–3. 12. Oliver Impey, Four Centuries of Decorative Arts from Burghley House (Virginia, 1998), p. 53, fig. 23. 13. Country Life, 12 June, 1997, p. 162, figs. 9–11. 14. A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Roma e il Regno delle due Sicilie, Vol. II (Milan, 1984), pp. 592–93, p. 260. 15. S. Grandjean, 'Napoleonic Tables...

Handsome George III giltwood pedestal candle stand featuring a fluted tapered column with highly carved base including acanthus leaves and shells and a round wooden dish top measurin...

This stone basin was carved by hand nearly two centuries ago, sculpted from solid limestone with irregular texture and an asymmetrical teardrop shape. A pattern of chiseled grooves a...

20th Century Georgian-Style Hand-Carved Marble Fireplace Mantelpiece A truly exceptional unique fireplace, meticulously hand-carved under lice...

This exquisite pair of 1890's Indo-Saracenic columns beautifully blends intricate design elements. The Corinthian-inspired capitals are adorned with acanthus leaves, pomegranate flow...

French limestone fireplace mantel ; inside dimensions : 147.5cm wide x 137cm high

These fluted column shafts are carved from natural stone and feature a cylindrical design with vertical fluting that evokes the classic style of Greco-Roman architecture. Their rusti...

A large Javanese wooden panel from the early 20th century, with carved floral motifs and polychrome accents. Created in Java during the early years...

Fabulous clothed torso of a fair maiden from the victorian era Two pieces, has a plinth base which is separate from the figure. Well worn as it has lived it's life in a garden. Str...

Reclaimed Antique Carved Stone Fireplace Mantle chimney surround Los Angeles CA . Rare 18th century Louis XIV carved stone fireplace from Provence. Under Louis XIV, everything is full of richness and luxury, everything is grandiose and monumental. But wealth is never excessive. Without heaviness, the style seeks symmetry and perfection. Artists of this period also knew how to create new decorative motifs, new canons of beauty and new architectural rules. Under the reign of the Sun King, in the middle of the 17th century to early 18th Century , the general profile of the hood fireplace became a trumeau gradually . There is now more depth in front of the shelf and the gradual disappearance of the first ledge generates a more significant height of the trumeau. The jambs are narrower at the base and rather swollen on their upper part, recalling the balustrade legs of the furniture of that time. Molded Cornice Framing. This fireplace will be the perfect focal point for any room, living room, bedroom, library, dining room ... The depth could be adjusted when installed, since we pull the fireplace as is mostly without cutting the extra stone pieces that were partially in the wall. The simplicity of the Carved line and the symmetry, makes this fireplace versatile in any design, even in a modern space, a provincial design, an Italian design, or even a Spanish style house a Farm house or a winery. This fireplace mantle with trumeau...

Hand-carved in the style of Louis XVI, this striking French wood mantel dates to the 1900s. Decorative motifs during the reign of Louis XVI were inspired by ancient civilizations (Ro...

Hand Carved Stone Container Trough Farm Sink Fountain Basin Antiques LA Fire pit exquisite water fountain Basin Of Hand Carved Stone Lavoir. This trough could be installed with a si...

Pair of English Renaissance style (19th Century) walnut carved wall panels (PRICED AS Pair).

Use this charming vintage fruitwood spiral staircase to organize books or display decorative objects in an office or library. Crafted in France circa 1970, the circular three-step la...

Gilbert de Smet. Born in 1932 to Erembodegem in Belgium Monumental sculpted door, 1969. Carved oak and metal parts These doors were exhibited in 1969 at the Blanckenberge Casino, w...

The Balzac stone fireplace feels both modern and classical. The bold raised curved frame around the opening gives it a more modern twist. The square overall shape of the fireplace,...

This marble fountain sculpture in the style of Tulio Lombardo embodies the glory of Renaissance sculpture. Reminiscent of classical portrait busts, a bearded man's face serves as the...

19th Century Louis Marble Fireplace Mantlepiece 19th Century Statuary White Marble Fireplace ThIs Victorian Louis XV Style Marble Fireplace Is Hand Carv...

Ancient single interior door, hand-painted with a very swirling baroque motif and hand-sculpted with lozenge, smooth back as they embellished only a part of the house, built in the m...

Once used on a provincial Chinese farm to hold water or animal feed, this early 19th-century stone trough is celebrated today for its organic form and rustic authenticity. The large ...

Antique stone mortar with mallet. This last piece has a measure of 34 centimetres.  

This vintage Chinese noble steed horse sculpture is hand craft with exquisite detail which was very common in horse sculptures crafted during the Tang Dynasty. Especially for imperia...

Stylish fireplace mantel, in French limestone and dating from the 19th century. Inside dimensions : 119cm wide & 84cm high Depth : 33cm-54cm-73cm

Very good quality marble carving of a classical maiden In unrestored condition. The head is available. Probably Italian. No evidence of a signature The size given is the figure wi...

17th C. Hand Carved Stone Niche Wall Mount Plaque Architectural Element Antique . Late 1600’s Rare hand carved stone Niche from a Chateau Estate Provenc...

An early 19th Century English Regency Neoclassical statuary marble fireplace, carved in Italy to the highest quality with crisply and deeply carved undercutting to the sculptural dec...

Carefully dry stripped to reveal a sensitively patinated pine surface, showing the exceptional carving at its best; the wooden top (later) with incut corners, and a moulded cavetto c...

A magnificent heraldic shield carved in limestone, possibly from the 18th century, with deep relief work depicting divided fields with noble symbols and an episcopal mitre at the top...