Style Louis XIV / Ref.15534

Fireback bearing the arms of Louis-Urbain Le Febvre de Caumartin and Marie-Jeanne Quentin de Richebourg, 1690

This exceptional fireback was made for Louis-Urbain Le Febvre de Caumartin and Marie-Jeanne Quentin de Richebourg in 1690.

The coat of arms is in the center of the fireback, in a cartouche adorned with a palmette in the shape of a lion’s head; it is a “coat of arms of alliance”. The shield on the left, azure with five argent bends, belongs to Louis-Urbain Le Febvre de Caumartin (1653-1720), knight, lord of Caumartin and Boissy, marquis of Saint-Ange, count of Moret, State Councillor in 1674, Master of Requests in 1682, Financial Intendant in 1690. The one on the right, azure with three golden pine cones, belongs to Marie-Jeanne Quentin de Richebourg (died 1709), only daughter of Charles Quentin, lord of Richebourg and of Saint-Ange. Their marriage took place on June 5, 1680. The coat of arms, surmounted by a marquis’s crown, is borne by two lions turning their heads as if to roar; they appear to stand on a pedestal, on which is inscribed the date 1690. The ornamental frame is decorated with scrolls, vertical garlands and a line of mirrors at the top. Finally, the whole is crowned with a flame, echoing the use of the fireback.

Another plate, with identical decoration but split and illegible at the bottom, is documented in Philippe Palasi’s book Plaques de Cheminées Héraldiques (p. 159). The latter indicates the existence of two plates, one at the Manoir de la Bonelière in Saint-Mars d’Égrenne, Orne, the other at Orne-Couesme-Vaucé, Mayenne. There is no mention of a flame on these plaques, which are apparently devoid of any.

Our fireback weighs just over 200 kg. Its thickness decreases from the bottom to the top. The lower part shows period burrs.