Napoleon III Style mantle made of gray marble with white veins

A very beautiful 19th century Napoleon III Style antique mantle

Carved and hand-sculpted into a beautiful black marble richly veined with white, this mantle resumes all the features of this "Second Empire" Style which could be summed up in one word: richness.

Indeed, the Napoleon III Style (also called "Second Empire style") is characterized by exuberant shapes and a profusion of decorative motifs.

A thin molded shelf gently rests on a large, simple, rectangular lintel. The lintel is held by straight jambs topped by modillions with volutes and foliage. Each jamb is delimited by a small protruding molding at the top and a foot block at the bottom. The two hand-carved modillions are placed under the lintel giving the illusion of holding it. The mantle is highlighted by a finely molded streamlined throat.

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