Fireplace Mantels
Fireplace mantels serve many purposes. They can be extremely ornate and decorative in design, highlighting the fireplace as the focal point of a room. Mantels can also be functional in design, providing a shelf to display photos or other knick knacks. Of course, as the retail market has deemed appropriate during the holiday season, fireplace mantels are designed to display Christmas cards, be decked with garland, and be hung with stockings. While all of these uses are still rather visual in nature as opposed to functional, the original fireplace mantels were strictly a functional component of the fireplace.
History of the Fireplace Mantel
Fireplace mantels date back to early medieval times and were originally designed to catch smoke from the fireplace and channel it outside. Unlike the fireplace mantels of today, these were simple hoods that extended over the top of the fire and connected to the chimney. The very first example of a fireplace mantel, also called a chimney piece, is English in origin and is located in the Kings House in Southampton. It is believed to have been built in the early twelfth century. Over time, the term fireplace mantel is more often associated with the outer edge of a fireplace, including the firework's framework and mantel shelf.
Form Over Function
As time passed, and the term mantel began to encompass more than just the simple hood over the fire grate, the design element became a focal point. In Renaissance times, mantels often encompassed the entire length of the wall of the room that it was located in. It was also not uncommon for their decorative aspects to extend all the way to the ceiling. Fireplace mantels became great works of art, with famous designers and sculptors being hired to create masterpieces, just as you would hire one of the great painters to create a portrait. The trend, which started in England, quickly spread throughout Spain and France as well. The demand for massive, intricate, ornate, and decorative mantel pieces lasted for centuries.
Simplicity Regains Favor
By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Italians gained a larger influence on the art world and introduced a movement towards simpler architecture trends. Mantels were still very beautiful, but they were also extremely understated and no longer designed to be the centerpiece of the room. In most cases, they were actually designed to blend into the room's overall decor instead of standing out like the mantels from earlier centuries.
The Bold and the Beautiful
By the end of the seventeenth century, mantels had become little more than neatly contained, yet beautiful, frames around the fireplace. Most examples from this time period did not even possess a shelf component and were designed to be flush with the wall. They did, however, return to a much bolder design, intended to stand out with the return of more ornate carving techniques and materials being used. The latter seventeenth century brought the two disparate design styles f earlier times into one cohesive style that was designed to not overpower the room, but still be a beautiful focal point.
Mantel Shelves Become Functional Again
As time went on, the styles of the fireplace mantels continued to waver back and forth between ornate and bold designs and simple and understated ones. Simple designs were sometimes highlighted with sculptural pieces on either side of the fireplace which were used to hold the shelf component that had once again become a component of the overall design. The primary reason for the shelf returning was so the upper class, especially the members of royalty of the period, would have a place to display their elaborate portraits.
From Then Until Now
From the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century, fireplace remained the primary source of heating for a home. The emphasis on mantel pieces continued and they gradually toned down over time. They were still ornate and intricate, often hard carved or sculpted. They were made from beautiful woods, rich stone, and other exotic materials.
As advances in heating and cooling methods took shape, fireplaces become a luxury rather than a necessity. Since they are more a matter of personal preference in most homes, there is still a great disparity in the designs of the mantel pieces. Smaller homes tend to have simple and functional mantels, while larger homes often boast more substantial pieces. They are still made from a variety of materials and can be found in designs that are inspired by every period and style that came before them.
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