VII
CHESNEY’S DIRECTORY
As with all the other categories of carved component offered in THE DIRECTORY,
each tablet has been copied from a precision mould taken from an original 18th
or 19th century Chimneypiece that has at some time been part of Chesney’s antique
stock. This technique guarantees total authenticity of detail as the carver is not
being asked to interpret an illustration but rather to exactly replicate the original
from a working model. Every carving is entirely hand produced without the use
of any copying machinery, and polished and waxed to an antique finish.
VENEERED
AND INLAY DETAIL
Whilst many Chimneypieces were constructed entirely from Italian white statuary
marble, virtually all designs allowed the option of incorporating panels, slips
or intricately inlaid patterns of coloured marble in combination with white statuary.
The use of coloured marble in this way was generally as an adjunct to carved
detail to be found elsewhere in the Chimneypiece. THE DIRECTORY illustrates the
most popular applications of this device and the materials that can be used to create
this striking polychrome effect.
THE MATERIALS
Only the finest materials are used
by Chesney’s in the carving and
construction of their bespoke
Chimneypieces. In addition to the
use of the finest white marble for
all architectural mouldings and
carved elements, a selection of
historically appropriate coloured
marbles such as Spanish Brocatella,
Siena and Verde Antico are
available for incorporation in any
design, whether as inlay or in the
form of simple coloured panels.
Various domestically quarried
limestones can also be used as
an alternative to marble. These
different materials are illustrated