Fireplace Surround, Kenwood House

Robert Adam made several designs for the fireplace in the Library at Kenwood. The final design was execute by John Devall & Co. It features Corinthian pilaster piers ornamented with urns, calyx, arabesques, anthemia, and olive leaves, beside a bands of egg and dart moulding and a band of fluting.

The frieze is ornamented with deer masks, sphinxes, smoking altars and a central rectangular panel containing a globe, half figures and arabesques. It is similar in design to that by Adam in library at Osterley Park.

Overlooking London’s Hampstead Heath since the early 17th century, Kenwood House was transformed in the 18th century into a grand neoclassical villa. Now restored to its Georgian splendour, Kenwood is home to a world-famous art collection.