Sculpted fireplace from the Renaissance?

[GLOCKCS]

Hey everyone. This is my first time on this forum, and I have a some questions about my fathers fireplace. First off, it is currently located in Youngstown Ohio. I am thinking thy there is no way in heck that this thing was made in America. I'm thinking more along the line of Italy or something. It is a mammoth fireplace, but unfortunately I do not have te exact dimensions on it yet. I am pretty sure it was hand chiseled, or at least in some parts. Any information that you might have on this fireplace would be much appreciated!

Justin

[mart]

Certainly not being an expert in that time period I would say that is what it looks like !!  Its a beautiful fireplace surround !! However it may not actually date from that time period. Many wealthier people imported similar pieces in the later centuries and some have the IR influence and have been copied.  That is not to say its a reproduction but the Renaissance was used as reference for later works. The Renaissance period started around 1600 !!
So while it could be from that time, Only an expert and hands on inspection would say for sure if it is that old !!  It would certainly be worth checking !!

[GLOCKCS]

Thanks a lot mart for taking your time posting. We had some fellow who collects and sells art and antiques, and when he saw it he was blown away. His guess was that it was made in Europe in the 17 or 1800's. The Renaissance style definitely helps put it in a ballpark, but we can't figure out anything beyond speculations. The house was built in the late 1800's, and is located in an area in Youngstown Ohio where, when once booming, this is where the wealthier families stayed.

[mart]

Those dates are more what I would expect !! If it was in the house when it was purchased,, I would research the house and its prior owners !!  No telling what you might find out about it !!  I enjoyed just looking at it !!  Not often we get to see something like that !!

[wendy177]

Good advice mart!!! Glockcs  Start at the local library & ask around most towns have a local historian or society that may be happy to help. Try finding out when this was placed in the home etc...  beautiful piece

[mariok54]

Hi,

Do you know what material it is made from?

[GLOCKCS]

Thanks for the advice guys and gals. I know nothing about the stone other than it being grey/white and there seems to be a grainy quality to it.

[mariok54]

It is hard to tell from the pics, I was just wondering whether it was marble, but you would easily have determined that.

[mart]

It does look like the few pieces of Italian marble that I have seen.  But my experience was with much smaller pieces !!  And I haven`t seen many of those !!  Italian marble is not an everyday item in Texas !!

[KiwiHoshi]

Could it be a renaissance revival piece?    Do you know the period of the house and style (Victorian, Italianate, etc.)?  If you're unsure, this site has a house styles dictionary that's pretty helpful: http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/

Really cool fireplace!  I love old homes.  

[mariok54]

I'm also looking at the wall panels ... are they oak? If so, then that would have been quite expensive, and very Victorian, and so I imagine that they wouldn't have been watching their pennies with the fireplace.

[Oceans64]

Common in the Victorian Era to have these fireplaces shipped in pieces where they would be assembled by a mason when the house was being built. If you look closely, you may find where it was assembled.  Also, look closely at the woodwork around the houe.  Is it faux painted to resemble oak (as Mario said) or actual oak? Again, common in late 1800 homes....

If you reach a dead end in researching the fireplace, try to determine the builder of the house. Did he build other homes in the neighborhood, are there any records etc...  

Also, this is a great site to read about faux painting and fireplace restoration (so you can see how these go together)...http://www.ourvictorianhouse.com/index.htm  About every page has a fireplace story.  Nothing as fancy as yours but will give you some history and a visual of how they come apart.

[GLOCKCS]

Hey, the walls, flooring, and other parts of the house are made of oak. The house was built in 1904 I believe. I just got back from the historical society and found out that the owner of the house back in the day was the son of Youngstown first rabbi of rodef shalom. House is completely made out of solid stone, I can try to post some more pictures if that would help out anything. My next step might be to email the liebman family and explain my curiosity to them. Hopefully they might find interest and help is out!

[GLOCKCS]

Thanks for the websites I'm goin to check them out right now!

[GLOCKCS]

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