Details

Object type

mantelpiece and over-mantel; chimney-piece

Place Associated

England (place of manufacture); England, Surrey, Weybridge, Oatlands Park (place associated)

Date

1565-1600

Materials

oak, stone

Dimensions

overall: 3099 mm x 2819 mm

Description

A carved oak chimney-piece, possibly from Oatlands Palace, Weybridge, Surrey. Chimney-piece carved in both low and high relief with lion-masks, decorative strapwork, and grotesque creatures and faces.

Carved on the cornice, two mermaids holding combs supporting a device with oak leaves and acorns between two serpents. The over-mantel separated in three sections by four pairs of Corinthian columns supporting, above on the cornice, carved grotesque faces and roaring lion masks. Each pair of columns are supported below with either a carved dragon or lion which flank a further carved lion mask inside a high relief carved frieze of elaborate strapwork. In the centre section, the Royal Tudor Arms surrounded by garter ribbon with phrase ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’, ensigned by crown and supported by lion and dragon. Below Royal Arms is the motto ‘SEMPER EADEM’. In left and right sections, between pairs of columns, framed by carved classical-style arches, two high relief sculptural figures in Roman-like dress holding baton. Under-mantle carved with foliage and scalloped shell repeated pattern. Chimney-piece frieze centre panel carved with strapwork, human faces, and roses. Right and left-hand side of frieze carved with female caryatid figures carrying cornucopias of fruit. Above caryatids, a carved Tudor Rose (left) and fleur-de-lys (right). Below caryatids, a demonic snarling mask (left) and a human face (right).

The decoration and style of this chimney-piece is similar to interior designs created for Tudor palaces of the 1500s. A comparable design by Hans Holbein the Younger of a fireplace for Bridewell Palace (c.1537-1543) can be found in the collections of The British Museum, London.

This chimney-piece was acquired by Sir William Burrell in 1953 from the collection of American newspaper magnate and politician, William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951). Burrell has previously donated his own collection of decorative and fine art to the city of Glasgow in 1944. Burrell acquired four lots of large stone and wood architectural features from the Hearst collection from 1952-54 with the view to incorporate these structures into the architecture of the future Burrell museum building.

The packing crate in which the chimney-piece arrived was stenciled with the words “Mantelpiece from Oatlands Park”. Oatlands Park was a royal hunting lodge built by King Henry VIII (1491-1547) at Weybridge, Surrey. Henry VIII acquired the mansion house at Oatlands from the Reed family in 1537 and started to refurbish the interiors, expanding the house into a palace with additional buildings, courts, and gardens. Henry VIII spent much time there during his reign hunting in the nearby park. It was often used by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) on her royal progresses. The motto ‘Semper Eadem’, carved on the Tudor Coat of Arms on the chimney-piece, translates to “always the same” and was Elizabeth I’s personal motto. Oatlands Palace and Park was used frequently by subsequent monarchs – including James I of England and VI of Scots and his wife Anne of Denmark. The palace was demolished in 1651 during the Commonwealth period, with the building materials sold off for other construction projects.

Credit Line/Donor

Gifted by Sir William and Lady Burrell to the City of Glasgow, 1944

Collection

Burrell Collection: Lintels and Fireplaces

ID Number

27.15

Location

Burrell Collection East Galleries