The Fireplace [antikvár]

i : I I , I I l.j Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION FIRE COMES FROM THE HEARTH; LONG LIVE THE FIRE OF LOVE. Traditional Catalan proverb, inscribed by Gaudi on Casa Vicens. HE FIREPLACE IS THE HEART OF THE house. For thousands of years it has been at the centre of human habitation, enclosing the life-sustaining fire, marked by the richest architectural and decorative embellishment artists and craftsmen could provide. Today, despite central heating and all the domestic conveniences of the twentieth century that have deprived the fireplace of much of its practical role, we are reluctant to abandon this ancient focus, steeped as it is in symbolism and centuries of tradition. Boarding up a Victorian grate or bricking in an inglenook may have seemed good ideas to postwar aficionados of the contemporary life style, but appear more like sacrilege today. Over the past decade or two, we have come to appreciate that conserving architectural heritage is not merely a matter of preserving grand rooms in stately homes, but also means respecting and reinstating the original features of older, less exalted houses. In new homes, too, a fireplace is one of the most sought-after features. Advances in technology have brought us smokeless fuels, closed fireplace systems that deliver heat extremely efficiendy but cause minimal pollution, and even highly insulated prefabricated flues and fireplaces that can be installed fairly easily. As we warm our hands by a crackling log fire or fall into a peaceful reverie watching flames dance in the hearth, we experience the same sense of companionship and security that sustained our ancestors. But it's comforting to know that we do not share the same degree of dependence. Out of the ring of our cosy fireside circle there are no savage animals to be kept at bay by the leaping flames, no chilly stone corridors or marble halls to freeze us to the marrow, no impenetrable darkness after nightfall. We have hot water at the turn of a tap, and when we roast chestnuts and toast bread or marshmal-lows on the fire, we don't have to rely on the same source to cook the rest of our meal. OPPOSITE Based on an interior depicted by Hogarth, this room in an eighteenth-century house in London's Spitalfields carefully evokes the atmosphere of the period. Set into dark panelling, the eighteenth-century fireplace has a cast-iron fireback; the simple wooden mantelshelf carries an array of suitably authentic objects. LEFT 'Home Sweet Home' by Walter Dendy Sadler portrays a cosily domestic scene from the nineteenth century, with a family enjoying festive celebrations. The identification of hearth and home is a powerful one, taken for granted in centuries past, but no less relevant today despite all the conveniences of technology.