Fireplace mantel

The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke.

Many of the historically noted sculptors of the past i.e. Augustus St. Gaudens designed and carved magnificent mantels, some of which can be found on display in the world's great museums.

In the early Renaissance style, the chimneypiece of the Palais de Justice at Bruges is a magnificent example; the upper portion, carved in oak, extends the whole width of the room, with nearly life-size statues of Charles V and others of the royal family of Spain.

The most prolific modern designer of chimneypieces was G. B. Piranesi, who in 1765 published a large series, on which at a later date the Empire style in France was based.

[1] The English chimneypieces of the early seventeenth century, when the purer Italian style was introduced by Inigo Jones, were extremely simple in design, sometimes consisting only of the ordinary mantel piece, with classic architraves and shelf, the upper part of the chimney breast being paneled like the rest of the room.

In the latter part of the century the classic architrave was abandoned in favor of a much bolder and more effective molding, as in the chimneypieces at Hampton Court, and the shelf was omitted.

[1] In the eighteenth century, the architects returned to the Inigo Jones classic type, but influenced by the French work of Louis XIV.

Historically the mantel defines the architectural style of the interior decor, whether it be traditional i.e. Classic, Renaissance, Italian, French, American, Victorian, Gothic etc.