the breakfront moulded rectangular shelf above a frieze carved in relief with repeating anthemia, flanked by endblocks - each bearing a lion-mask, the jambs bracketed with spirally carved volutes raised on block feet,

This fireplace is quintessentially English and bears the neo-classic motifs that were hallmarks of taste in Georgian Britain. The “anthemion”, a stylised honey-suckle was popularised by Robert Adam and his peers as they pored over the drawings of Robert Wood and others – returning from their Grand Tours in far flung locations such as Palmyra and Balbec – with detailed drawings of the ancient ruins and their architectural ornaments.