Samuel McIntire Mantel from the Elias Hasket Derby House, Salem (1798)
A Federal-style wood mantel with applied composition ornament, made in 1798 for the Salem, Massachusetts, house of merchant Elias Hasket Derby and associated with carver Samuel McIntire.
Samuel McIntire was Salem's leading architect-carver, and the Derby house was among the grandest Federal-era houses in New England. This mantel shows the delicate Federal style that replaced heavier Georgian work: slim pilasters, a frieze with small applied ornaments such as urns and swags, and finely reeded mouldings. Composition ornament, a moulded paste, allowed this detail to be applied to wood. Today the same delicacy is achievable with CNC-carved appliqués on a paint-grade mantel.
Paint-grade Federal mantel with reeded pilasters and CNC-carved appliqué urns and swags; Heirloom for full ornament, Signature for reeding only.
A custom version typically runs $5,000–$15,000+ per mantel, shipped.
- Style
- Georgian & Colonial Revival
- Element
- Fireplace Mantels & Surrounds
- Date
- 1798
- Maker or designer
- Samuel McIntire
- Materials
- Wood, composition ornament
- Dimensions
- 54 3/4 x 77 x 9 in. (139.1 x 195.6 x 22.9 cm)
- Source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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