Waldorf Astoria 37M White Statuary Marble Mantel with Inlaid Details

This English Regency style mantel is carved from white marble with warm gray veining and hand painted with delicate black detail. Across the apron, finely painted arabesques, foliate scrolls, palmettes, and urn like shapes frame a hand painted oval medallion. Round marble rosettes above each jamb are filled with a floral motif completed in pointillism, and the pattern across the apron is echoed down each leg palmettes facing each other to form a chain of three flowers. The inside of the mantel has a green marble insert with white veins.

The hand painted decoration on this marble mantel gives us clues to its age, as it is a refined example of Neoclassical ornamentation drawing from the Adam style an 18th century English design movement. The Adam brothers, particularly Robert Adam (1728-1792) and his younger brother James Adam (1732-1794), were Scottish architects and designers who profoundly influenced British and European interior design in the second half of the 18th century. Their designs often included hand painted motifs on surfaces like plaster, wood, and occasionally marble, particularly in grand homes where marble mantels served as central features of the drawing room. The Adam style was hugely influential across Britain and Europe and laid the groundwork for later Regency and Federal styles in England and the United States.

The use of hand painted motifs on marble became a way to soften and humanize classical architecture, and such decoration signaled both taste and refinement, with a nod to archaeological discoveries in Italy that reignited interest in the classical world. As such, motifs such as urns, festoons, rosettes, sphinxes, griffins, acanthus leaves, and medallions were frequently used and all arranged with symmetry and balance in order to evoke order and enlightenment ideals. In addition to the motif choice and placement, the black paint was also a deliberate choice. Black against the white marble creates a sharp, elegant contrast typical of Neoclassical interiors and deliberately placed to emphasize the decorative elements without overwhelming the form or material of the mantel.

This antique mantel was one of several pieces imported from Europe to furnish the historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC, which opened on October 1, 1931. This mantel is original to Room 37M. A Waldorf Astoria authenticity card is included with your purchase.
Pictured still installed at the Waldorf Astoria, this mantel is in good condition with some surface wear along the edge of the shelf and staining on top. Located at our Scranton Warehouse, please allow 3-4 weeks for processing.