Stock No: 6625

An exceptionally rare chimneypiece by Robert Adam.

This chimneypiece is an exciting new discovery. Commissioned by General John Burgoyne (1722-1792) for the eating room of his London residence at 10 Hertford St, Mayfair, it was designed by Robert Adam to embrace the Italian Neoclassicism both patron and architect had enjoyed during their time in Italy.

Burgoyne was a professional soldier, and despite being the son of a Baronet he relied on his military income. In 1743, he eloped with Lady Charlotte Stanley and as a result the pair were denied Lady Charlotte’s dowry, forcing them into and an extended trip to Europe to avoid their creditors in 1749.

It was in Aix-en-Provence that the couple struck up a friendship with the young architect, meeting him again in Florence, and visiting him at his apartments in Rome on several occasions. When their fortune had been restored by the generosity of Lady Charlotte’s father, the couple sought an architect to design the interiors for their new home they had leased on Hertford St. Naturally they engaged their friend Robert Adam, who set about designing the interior mouldings, chimneypieces and furniture for the fourteen rooms. Many of the drawings for these interiors survive in the Sir John Soane archive. At this time, Robert Adam was still Architect of the King’s Works, so Burgoyne had employed the very best architect to finish his new home.

Adam’s grand tour similarly started in France, and continued to Florence and Rome, where he met Giovanni Battista Piranesi, an established architect and printmaker known for his fantastical drawings of ancient ruins and precise interpretation of classicism. The pair enjoyed many drawing excursions together, the product of which became an essential marketing tool for the young architect, who sent these sketches back to England to win business, which it did. Within five years of his return to England, Adam was swamped with work.

What makes this chimneypiece so interesting is undoubtedly its association and stylistic similarities with Piranesi, with whom Adam shared a close friendship. We know for certain that this chimneypiece was designed after Adam’s time in Rome, having been commissioned by Burgoynes in 1769. Interestingly, this is the date of publication for Piranesi’s volume of chimneypiece designs, his Diverse Manière Cammini, which comprises 62 fanciful designs designed to be a complete departure from the Italian neoclassicism which emerged in the Renaissance.

This chimneypiece is not only Italianate in design, it is also constructed very much in the Italian manner, utilising 4 large blocks of marble which were hewn into shape from the whole. In contrast, English chimneypiece construction of this period was more aligned with cabinetmaking, using sheets of marble that were joined together. Here, the tablet and endblocks have been let in, and it is perhaps the case that the chimneypiece was made in Italy under instruction from Robert Adam and was finished in England. The carving is exquisite and bears many similarities to a design Piranesi published in his volume. Simple in form, the shelf features a small egg and dart moulding above crisply carved dentil and leaf and dart mouldings. This is supported by a generous frieze, inset with panels of verde antico marble centred by an urnular tablet, and flanked by endblocks carved with candlestands, which also bear resemblance to Piranesi’s design. The verde antico is also inset on the jambs, and the opening is framed with more exquisitely carved leaf and dart, which continues around the footblocks. This chimneypiece is very substantial in size, and is a truly innovative piece of 18th century design, and a striking departure from other English chimneypieces of the same date.

English, c.1769.

Full provenance on request.

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