CARVED AND GILDED HOLLY WOOD FIREPLACE WITH MANTEL. Carved by students in H. H. Richardson's Boston, MA, office. In three parts. Deep, inverted stepped cornice with row of dentiling over egg-and-dart carved banding, above series of Romanesque arches each enclosing varying vigorously carved, high-relief, trailing, scrolling vine motifs or geometric floral medallions with foliage; arches spaced by reeded pilasters; frame to beveled glass over-mantle mirror similarly carved with ornate medallions and fitted with pair electrified cast brass sconces having molded round back-plates and frosted, medallion-etched shades; firebox surrounded by pink Numidian marble from Algeria.
- Overall, H: 13'; W: 9'6"; D: 4'6". Total weight: approximately 1,500 lbs. Estimate $15,000-20,000
This mantle is one of two architectural elements that was salvaged from the Benjamin Head Warder mansion, designed by prominent American architect Henry Hobbs Richardson (1838-1886) in 1888, and erected at 1515 K Street, NW, Washington, DC. The house, built for Warder (1824-1894), a gilded-age industrial magnate involved in the manufacturing of agricultural machinery, was slated for demolition in 1923. At that time, the residence was partially dismantled and various architectural elements were retained. While the remains of the structure were subsequently purchased by architect George Totten and moved to 16th Street, NW, where the restored building stands today as an apartment house, the fireplace and doorway were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution as gifts from William W. W. Parker and from R.P. Whitty Company and the Cooperating Committee on Architecture, respectively.
Appointments to view Warder House materials can be made for November 6, 7, and 8.
Condition: overall good; several small wooden fragments detached, but retained; some areas of cracking; some gapping and separation of parts and panels (presumed restorable)
