Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-11
ITALIAN CHIN NEYPIECES
MILLIONAIRES FIRE.
QUENTLY HAVE COPIES.
Carrara Marble and Onyx Are Used
The Simpler Materials Possible
for Good Effects.


the development of civilized architecture.
| In designing them it is not possible for the
architect to copy from a model from the
old Greek or the old Roman houses, for the
very good reason that those highly artistic
nations had no chimneys They were not
accustomed to heating their houses over
much, and when they did SO a brazier Of
Goals served the purpose. Even in bleak
Boeotia Grecian scholars must have shiv-
cred at their studies during the winter
over pans of smolderng charcoal or en-
bers. 1t is therefore small wonder that in
ancient times so many people dressed in
animal skins, for in no other way would
they have been able to keep warm in the
winter.
The braziers of the old Roman palaces
were very beautiful, ornamented with re-
pousse work. while the vessels themselves
were fashioned of bronze, Of copper, of sill
and for the wealthy patricians some
times even of gold.
In northern lands. where mighty fires
were needed to battle with the giants Of
cold and frost, the great logs that orna-
mented medieval hearths lay open in the
hall while the smoke from the fires scared
roofward and made it's way out as best it
could.
The earliest suggestions Of chimneys and
chimneypeces came in the castles of the
middle ages A shelf sometimes Surmount-
drinking ute sis were put, while over the
shelf were -dnged the swords and lances
of ancestors or perhaps the masters own
weapons of war and of the chase.
In Medieval Days.
In the more elegant castles of medieval
Italy and France some beautiful specimens
of the artistic builders skill are seen in
simple yet elegant chimneypieces. The
Italian is mostly done in marble, the carved
~ IL no
work of frost fairies or the mistlike ex-
halations from the beautiful Adriatic.
To copy the most ornate Of these dreams
in marble would be impossible, for many
of the chimneypieces In the great Italian
palaces were from the hands of masters of
sculpture-wielders of the chisel beside
whom modern sculptors are artistic pyg-
mics. Even were these masterpieces in
marble transferred to the interior of a
modern house they would be highly incon-
gruous. The marble chimneypieceS of the
Florentine and Venetian palaces harmon
lie with the carving Of the walls and cell
ing, while the same in the oak-fnished
apartments of an English house or the
mongrel adaptations of wood employed in
many American houses would be in the
worst taste.
Copies Palace Styles.
An American millionaire who is erecting
a magnificent residence with his newly ac-
quired wealth is having a number Of the
marble chimneypieces in a famous Italian
palace copied for his American castle The
sculptor who is doing the work is wise
enough to make his chimneypieces ino.nate,
yet elegant. The high, overmentel effect
he has not striven for, the different pieces,
especially for the bed rooms, being quite
simple, although constructed on lines Of
beauty. The white marble he will combine
with other marbles, all the materials used
being Of the rarest and costlie5t variety.
The pillars for one of the mantels now
completed are of onyx, and the panels of
others carved in relief are Of the most
delicately sculptured Carrara.
While these designs are more ornate
than most persons can afford If made on
the same costly plan as those of the mil
lionaire, their general lines Of beauty Ioay
be followed in the making Of ordinary
chimneypieceS.
The Best Materials.
For the parlor the best materials which
can be afforded should be used. and infert-
or woods or stones should be avoided. The
opening should be lined with friedrich rath-
er than with iron. because the former re-
tains the heat better than the iron, al
though it is less ornamental.
For kitchen chimneypiece, oak, deal or
stone, slate or q composition Of hrebrickS
Is the best material to use. For bed rooms
in humber homes slate or stone Is prefer
red. Marble or some handsome wood which
matches the woodwork of the room Is
correct for the parlor.
1t should be remembered tndt Soou of
coal fires are far more healthful than any
of the artificial methods of heating. To OBJ
tain the best effects the fuel chamber
should be set out as! far as possible into
the room, for thus 1t will radiate heat all
over the apartment. The projection or
shelf is most conveniently located about
four and one-half feet from the floor and
should stand out about four or six inches
and have a thickness Of about two inches.
An ashpan with a grated cover is q con-
venience. Placed under the fire and fitted
into the space like a drawer, it will catch
all the ashes, sitting them out, SO that the
larger cinders may be poured back on the
fire to further undergo the process of esm-
huStfOn.