Chimneypiece
Peter Besnier (fl.1643, d.1687-93)
Category
Architecture / Features & Decoration
Date
1637 - 1680
Materials
Limestone, Marble
Measurements
1930 mm (H); 2820 mm (W); 340 mm (D)
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1139096
Summary
Chimneypiece, with black limestone fire surround and white carrara marble mantel, decorated with a mascaron and twin festoons, both in gilt-bronze. The mascaron and festoons are possibly by Peter Besnier, c. 1637-9, though not mounted in this arrangement until c.1670. The mascaron, in the form of a woman's face, bears some resemblance to Queen Henrietta Maria, with a hairstyle of little curls combed over the forehead, and the festoons correspond to similar all'antica garlands elsewhere at Ham, including the Great Staircase.
Makers and roles
Peter Besnier (fl.1643, d.1687-93), sculptor
References
Rowell 2013: Christopher Rowell (ed.), Ham House, 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, Yale University Press, New Haven & London 2013, pps 158-163