A very fine carved Arrabescato marble fireplace, BY JOHAN PETER VAN BAURSCHEIT THE YOUNGER (1699-1768) FOR THE CITY PALACE 'AAN DE MEIR' IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM ROCOCO, MID 18TH CENTURY

The city palace Aan de Meir in Antwerp, Belgium

[1] I.M. Breedveldt Boer, Tekenen en Vasseren, het bedrijf van Jan Peter van Baurscheit (1699 – 1768) en de architectuur in het tweede kwart van de achttiende eeuw, Utrecht 2003. All information about the correspondence, way of working and collaboration with suppliers and craftsmen in the workshop comes from this thesis.
[2] Mimi Debruyn, Bouwhistorische studie van het voormalig Koninklijk Paleis te Antwerpen, Meir 50, in opdracht van het Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, Afdeling gebouwen, Antwerpen 2000. The two fireplaces are mentioned in ANP, 0/2/1095: nr. 86, p. 74-75 (Budget of 1813, done by VERLY on 28 juli 1812: Etat sommaire des Ouvrages à exécuter au Quartier Général Impérial d' Anvers. Budget 1813).
Appartement de S. M. L' Impératrice: Section 99. Antichambre. Art. 756: 'Le nettoyage de la cheminée en marbre'. (p. 74).
Appartement de S. M. L' Impératrice: Section 100. 1er Salon de l' Impératrice. Art. 760: 'Le nettoyage de la cheminée' (p. 75).
[3] S.A.A. Insolvente Boedelskamer, 2115 Copeyeboek van Brieve, fol 5, letter to Monsieur J. Bommeaux on May 8 1748, idem fol 13, letter dating June 20. In this letter Van Baurscheit asks for five different samples of marble and he explains that in every room he would like to use a different colour of marble and aims for a different design for each fireplace.
[4] Copeyeboek van Brieve, op.cit. a letter to Piersoel, marble supplier in Namen dating May 18 1748, contains exact instructions for the execution of a black marble fireplace in addition to the designs sent.
[5] Also included in a major representative route. The chimneys were placed by craftsmen. The gilded wooden ornaments were supplied by the workshop. Mirrors were ordered from Sr. le Normant in Amsterdam, and the grisailles were produced by J.F. Geraerds.
[6] When the commissioner unexpectedly died, the building work stopped for some time and the next owner, Lord Fraula, completed it. Some fireplaces by Van Baurscheit, which had already been ordered, were delivered, including a black one with yellow veins, which is now situated on the mezzanine of the caretaker in the right rear building. This fireplace is similar to the black marble copy described above. See also M. Debruyn, 'Het paleis op de Meir in Antwerpen. Van particuliere woning tot keizerlijke en koninklijke verblijfplaats', in: Gentse Bijdragen tot de Interieurgeschiedenis, vol. 33, 2004, Leuven: Peeters, 2004, p. 39-84, foto's p. 66.

In overall very good condition. With very crisp carvings. A small crack to the lower left moulding and plinth. Both sidepanels with restored crack.
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We are grateful to Mrs. Dr. I.M. Breedveldt Boer, PhD at the University of Utrecht on the architectural firm of Johan Peter van Baurscheit the Younger, for writing the following note:

Two fireplaces
The two fireplaces originate from the city palace 'Aan de Meir' of Joan Alexander van Susteren in Antwerp. This building, dating from the middle of the eighteenth century, is a masterpiece of the renowned architect Johan Peter van Baurscheit the Younger (1699-1768).¹
The fireplaces were removed from their original location shortly after 1905, because two rooms on the first floor were joined and arranged as a ballroom.² The two fireplaces were important focal points along a representative route for visitors, which was designed for business revenue.

Judiciously placed ornament
Van Baurscheit demanded the highest quality marble and sculpture. Where possible, the colour and shape of the fireplace varied from room to room.³ The gray-veined white marble fireplace is typical of the excellent quality of the work produced by the architect (Lot 204). The shell and leaf motifs exhibit a strong degree of plasticity, being curly and highly polished.⁴ The fireplace has its original top, with the typical sharp profiled cornice. One would expect a matching wooden marbled trumeau, with carved gilded ornaments, and a mirror with a painting, like the fireplace on the ground floor of the city palace (Fig 1).⁵ The black marble fireplace with its original trumeau has a more corporate look (Lot 205) ⁶; this is appropriate given that the room for which the fireplace was designed was probably used for business meetings.

Le bon goût
With his knowledge of classical proportions and his mastery of ornament, Van Baurscheit belonged to a group of architects who were capable of placing stylish and detailed ornamentation within the framework of classical architecture approved by the Academie Royale d'Architecture de Paris. In this "ideal" city palace all parts of the exterior and interior, designed by Van Baurscheit, are in harmony with each other and with the city palace as a whole. The fact that all of the components of the palace were manufactured in close accordance with the designs of the architect is in line with the doctrine of le bon goût. The quality of the work, designed with this doctrine in mind, would immediately be recognized and lauded by art lovers with taste. This way of working made Van Baurscheit widely popular with wealthy clients in Antwerp and Zeeland.