An English statuary and siena marble chimneypiece

Description / Expertise

by Richard Westmacott the elder(1747-1808)with centre tablet depicting the birth of the poet Lucan, after an antique Roman relief in RomeCirca 1775Height 145 cm (57 in)Length of shelf 193 cm (76 in)Aperture 107 x 107 cm (42 x 42 in) A design by the architect James Wyatt (1746-1813) for an almost identical chimneypiece survives within the RIBA Drawings Collection (ref.3892 G4/23-5), it being part of the internal decoration scheme at Milton Abbey for 1st Lord Milton. That drawing, annotated on the reverse as Richard Westmacott, must surely refer to the eminent chimneypiece sculptor. Westmacott, who worked extensively with Wyatt at Milton Abbey, also supplied numerous chimneypieces for Castle Coole, as well as magnificent examples for Cobham Hall, and a related model for Powderham Castle, now resited at Tregothnan.