POSSIBLY BY SHARP AND EMERY, DUBLIN, LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The chimney was likely produced in the late 19th/early 20th century as part of a 'Sheraton' revival that was very much in vogue in Dublin. The cabinet-maker James Hicks of Dublin, who established his firm in 1894, emulated the elegant marquetry work of 18th century maker William Moore (d.1814), and was patronized by various royals and members of the aristocracy. Similarly, the design and technique of this chimneypiece is executed in a manner accredited to the 18th century 'inlayer in marble and Stucco-worker', Pietro Bossi of Fleet Street from 1785-1798(C. O'Neill, 'In Search of Bossi', The Journal of the Irish Georgian Society, vol. I, 1998, pp. 146-175). The art of scagliola inlay, utilizing scaglia, or marble chips, was a highly specialized technique that became fashionable in England and Ireland the late 18th century although it was introduced to Britain as early as the 1670s. In his A New Collection of Chimney Pieces... of 1781, George Richardson writes 'We frequently see friezes and pilasters inlaid with various coloured marbles, but they always appear flat and dull: on the contrary, those done in scagliola in various colours, look lively and brilliant'.???The chimney's inlay relates quite closely to an example thought to have been supplied by Bossi to the Earl of Belvedere for his Dublin townhouse in 1786. While the present example utilizes Bossi's technique of incising and the graduated tones of marble, it differs slightly in its colors and finer points of execution. Victorian makers Sharp and Emery of Dublin are the likely manufacturers. Alfred Sharp and Henry Emery probably set up their business prior to 1850. Their 'Monumental Works' located at 17, Great Brunswick Street, Dublin appears in the Directories after 1870. A 1903 advertisement in The Connoisseur proudly asserts: 'DUBLIN BOSSI INLAY. This beautiful lost art revived. Old examples restored. Any designs can now be executed.' By 1904, they had a showroom at 28, Berners Street in London while the last entry that appears is for Henry Emery at 10, Belvedere Road, Dublin in 1929.

Another chimney attributed to Sharp and Emery was sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 8 April 2004, lot 1359 ($50,190).