Gilt bronze fireplace gallery, France, early 19th century Initials B.d. on the back. Measurements: W 112 x H 26 x D 7. extended max. W 128 cm Price: Private treaty Item accompanied by our certificate of authenticity This refined fireplace galerie was made in France in the early 19th century, in finely chiseled and gilded bronze. The galerie, which is extendable, consists of two terminal elements on the sides, with a cubic plinth base, decorated on the front with chiselled decorations in the shape of a cornucopia from which emerges a composition of flowers and fruit, a dolphin with a raised and sinuous tail and flowering vegetation. Above, a molded and projecting frame surrounds a base on which rests a circular element, placed vertically, and finely decorated inside with a rich garland of flowers and fruits centered by a cherub and a rose. The two plinths are connected to each other by a smooth and molded crosspiece that supports a balustrade finely decorated with openwork bronze elements, composed of phytomorphic decorations with curls and volutes and large circular flowers. The effect of this refined openwork, quite unusual and for which great technical skill is required, gives airiness and lightness to the whole. The balustrade ends at the top with a smooth frame which has a curvature in the center. Above there are two other circular elements decorated in the center with two cornucopias with flowers and fruit. A horizontal iron bar is inserted on the back of these elements, with gilded bronze finials in the shape of a pine cone. This bar was used to help insert the wood into the fireplace, being able to rotate thanks to a refined system. The fireplace galerie, in fact, is a decorative and functional element that is placed in front of the hearth. It was very common in aristocratic and bourgeois houses between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a sign of wealth and refinement. Even today this galerie can be placed in front of the hearth or above the fireplace, or it can be exhibited as a sculpture of great elegance, enriching the environment with an object of charm, decorative and luminous thanks to the gold. The replacement of some screws with copper rivets in the 19th century is noted. Initials B.d. on the back.