IN THE MANNER OF SIR HENRY CHEERE, CIRCA 1765-70

With its characteristic use of white statuary marble onto a Sicilian Jasper marble ground, this chimneypiece relates to the style of the sculptor Sir Henry Cheere (1703-81), whose yard was near St. Margaret's, Westminster. Although apprenticed as a sculptor to John Nost, Cheere is rightly celebrated for his chimneypieces, supplying such princely houses as Ditchley Park, Longford Castle, Kimbolton Castle and Kirtlington Park. A member of the committee of artists who met to discuss the scheme that resulted in the founding of the Royal Academy, Cheere was knighted by George III in 1760.