Federal Mantel with Robert Wellford Ornament, Beltzhoover House (c. 1815)
A pine mantel from the Beltzhoover House in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, decorated around 1815 with composition ornament from the Philadelphia workshop of Robert Wellford.
Robert Wellford ran a Philadelphia business that produced molded composition ornament for mantels, and his decorations appear on Federal-period fireplaces throughout the mid-Atlantic. This mantel is a typical example: a simple pine structure enriched with applied scenes, sunbursts and reeding. It shows that much of the Federal style's elegance came from small, repeatable ornaments applied to plain carpentry, an approach that suits CNC production very well.
Pine or poplar mantel with applied CNC-carved ornaments and reeded pilasters; Signature tier.
A custom version typically runs $2,200–$5,000 per mantel, shipped.
- Style
- Georgian & Colonial Revival
- Element
- Fireplace Mantels & Surrounds
- Date
- ca. 1815
- Maker or designer
- Robert Wellford
- Materials
- Pine, composition ornament
- Dimensions
- 61 x 94 5/8 in. (154.9 x 240.3 cm)
- Source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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