Bulletin - July 2007
6389 are a pair of Antique English Alabaster Chimneypieces . Described as "Substantial and Very Worthy" they represented the very essence of early Victorian respectability , moral fibre and unadorned financial prosperity.
The material , Derbyshire Alabaster, was extensively quarried in the 15th century and was a major export. It was worked into ornamental internal structures such as Church altars and statues. A famous example of the use is in Holkham Hall in Derbyshire where the entrance hall has massive fluted columns made from the material. This occurred until the late 19th century when supply in quantity seems to have been exhausted.
Other examples of this soft, pleasant marble like material are 8987 an Arts & Crafts fireplace, 8869 a Medieval style hunting frieze , and 7613 a massive Jacobean panelled screen…both the latter now ensconced in a large property near Moscow.
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