ANTHEMION -Crowther 1

Home , Linenfold

Anthemion was founded to continue the business of Britain’s oldest established dealer in architectural antiques, Crowther of Syon Lodge following its closure in October 2002.

The team of people associated with Anthemion has over the past 40 years, all had involvement with Crowther and were in an unequalled position to create a facility that would continue servicing the needs of Crowther’s clients and anyone with an interest in the specialist market of architectural antiques.

The team is headed up by Sharon Powell, whom old Crowther clients will remember as their primary contact during the last 15 years of the company’s trading.

Other members include Crowther’s mason of some 35 years, their blacksmith, cabinet makers and carvers.

Whether you are looking for a large architectural feature such as a grand classical temple to accent a vista, or simply you’re looking to create an intimate area of repose from which to enjoy the landscape, Anthemion can provide the answer.

Fountains, urns, finials, statues, temples, seats , chimneypieces and fine English panelling are among the items Anthemion handles. Architectural originals, many of which are from the noble houses of Europe and some are of more modest provenance.

And where a suitable antique piece cannot be found to satisfy a client’s requirement, Anthemion has at its disposal a team of craftsmen employed to produce authentic copies of classical originals in stone, marble, bronze, terracotta and lead.

In addition to architectural ornament, Anthemion is also able to help with the need for salvage items such as bricks, flagstones, cobbles, ceramic and marble flooring, and from their network of sources, can, where required, find reclaimed materials to match something that may be existing on site.

ANTHEMION LIMITED PO Box 6, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0AS. England Tel & Fax: + 44 208 943 4000 Mobile: +44 (0)7904 522546 Internet: www.anthemion-crowther.com E.mail: [email protected]

® For over 100 years the name of Crowther has been synonymous with fine English panelling.

Working in association with a team of master craftsmen - cabinetmakers, carvers and polishers - Anthemion continues this tradition.

Committed to preserving the fine craftsmanship of a bygone age, these men use traditional materials and methods techniques to create authentically designed rooms. All decorative detailing is carved by hand and the custom finishes are applied by hand.

Whether the desired effect is for, for example, the recreation of the oak linenfold panelling of the 16th century, or for the larger panelled designs of the 18th century, their specialist knowledge of period detailing, materials, methods of construction and finishing of the panelling, will ensure a room that is an accurate copy of a period original. So much so, that their advice has been sought around the world by interior designers and private clients alike. Preparing the arched window surrounds for a Two hand carved Limewood Robert Adam design project in Poplar Bluff, Missouri over door plaques, shown pinned on temporary The panelled room of today may require some backing ready for installation modifications to that of its predecessor to accommodate a client’s personal needs for items such as audio, visual and computer equipment, and these men’s specialist skills and knowledge can ensure that these are incorporated without comprising the authenticity of the design.

While being known as specialist in English period styles, and often being sought by both the private client and interior design to assist with the design of the panelling, the craftsmen are equally happy to work in collaboration with the contemporary designer, ensuring the same quality of craftsmanship be applied.

Stain is applied to a Georgian style bookcase Whatever the concept, from design to installation, Corbel detail being located on curved niche, to pediment. This will then be sealed, polished we can assure our clients of the highest level of be incorporated in a George II style study. and finally waxed with beeswax. care.

A Pine Georgian style bookcase with pedimented top

ANTHEMION LIMITED Crowther ®is a registered Trademark of Anthemion Limited. All rights reserved. Finely carved and polished George II style antique pine library and reception hall for headquarters of the Claudia Company, a charitable foundation located in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, USA.

ANTHEMION LIMITED Crowther® is a registered Trademark of Anthemion Limited. All rights reserved. Chimneypiece flank from an Elizabethan linenfold room adapted for installation in Houston, Texas. The project included the carving of the Renaissance design Stone mantel (detail above), in addition to arched bookcases with portrait heads carved to the frieze panels.

Bottom: A Mahogany library designed for a private residence in Zurich to house the client’s extensive book collection.

Carved stone

Left & middle: A series of figures on tapering pedestals carved in Limestone for the entrance to an orangerie in Boston. Each figure standing at 7ft 2in in height.

Right: A trip to Bologna in Italy was all it took for our client to be inspired and request that our craftsmen create a replica of the wellhead at the Palazzo Bevilacqua. A few years from now, with a little bit of weathering it may quite possibly be mistaken for the original.

Left & middle: Having purchased from Anthemion this fabulous pair of antique Bathstone finials, our client asked whether it was possible for our carvers to design something of a smaller scale to complement these to be located on a low wall in an adjoining garden. The finished article shown on the right.

Right: The brief was for an elegant bolection style mantel that had sufficient depth to provide a shelf.

Lead

An elegant sweeping baroque setting was created to display our Lead figure of a dancing girl.

A fountain was required for a courtyard setting. A series of Lead strapwork design panels were linked together to form an octagonal cistern, for the centre we carved a baroque style fountain in stone, and the whole was raised on stone steps.

The combination of Lead and stone is particularly pleasing one and when our client asked us for something with a little difference we were pleased to put forward the idea of combining someLead dolphins with a hand carved scalloped stone bowl. The overall height of the piece was 7ft 6in.

Another of our commissions involved combining a composition stone bowl, the body of which was decorated with Romanesque style arches, with one of our Lead fountain pieces of a Lily Girl. The two pieces complemented each other well and provided an effective solution for the client’s location. The overall height was around 46". Marble

The skills of our craftsmen extend to the production of ornament for both the interior and exterior. Commissions have included the carving of copies of classical originals as well as more contemporary works.

Shown here is a copy of Canova’s Hebe, and a clay macquette of Einstein made in preparation for the carving of the Marble. Of a grander scale, is the carving of a large central fountain feature, and on a more intimate level, a niched wall fountain. . Commissions have included also the carving of marble facades, flooring, wall cladding, tables tops and as shown here, the production of elaborate features for the bathroom.

Coade stone

Coade stone is what one might term the ‘Rolls Royce’ of Terracottas. Created by Eleanor Coade in 1769, it was used extensively in the late 18th and early 19th century for all manner of garden ornaments, sculptures and architectural elements. The fine quality of the material and exquisite detailing achieved by its designers, meant that the work of the Coade manufactory was utilised by every major architect of the time and been seen as far afield as Russia, Australia, Brazil and the United States.

Eleanor Coade died in 1821 leaving her estate to charity, and by 1835 the Coade manufactory had fallen apart and with its demise so too was the formula lost for its unique material. Over the years, there have been many unsuccessful attempts to recreate it, resulting in much poorer quality pieces, which in term were more vulnerable to weather. At Anthemion we are fortunate to be working with the craftsmen who became the first person to truly perfect the art of recreating the eighteenth century process of making Coade stone and English Terracotta, and who could be considered worthy to take up Eleanor Coade’s mantel. Wrought iron work

Always set for a challenge, Anthemion’s blacksmith took it in his stride when asked whether it was possible for him to create a copy of the entrance gates outside one of Britain’s landmark buildings.

While on a recent business trip to London, saw what he believed was the perfect entranceway for the house he was building in Atlanta .The antique wrought iron gates which marked the grand entrance to the Natural History Museum was obviously not to be had, so his thoughts went to how he might create an authentic copy.

Our blacksmith went to the Natural History Museum and took detailed measurements and made templates of the gates, and set to work, constructing the gates to suit the client’s site. Certain modifications had to be made to accommodate the scale of the intended location – the replica are slightly taller than the originals. The attached photograph show the results of his labour, which when viewed in conjunction with the originals (on right), I think you will agree are worthy of praise.

If you have a concept you would like to realise please contact us and we’ll do our best to bring it to life. Restoration & maintenance

Anthemion has at its disposal a team of highly skilled restorers, craftsmen whose services have previously been restricted to members of the antiques trade, but are now readily available to the Company’s customers.

These craftsmen are experienced in the restoration of stone, marble, wrought iron, lead, bronze and terracottas, and can advise on the maintenance and conservation of the same.

These men may also be called upon to assist with the installation or dismantling of the more complex items such as temples, chimneypieces or items of particular importance.

Above: A French 19th century Marble cupid figure, with badly weathered and stained surface. Left lower arm and hand missing and quiver broken.

Below: The figure after restoration, with newly carved hand and quiver, and the whole cleaned and polished for interior display. ANTHEMION LIMITED Crowther® is a registered Trademark of Anthemion Limited. All rights reserved. Restoration in Marble

Top: A Marble figure of a swan maiden by the 19th century sculptor George Simmonds, shown left, badly stained and with sections missing. Middle & right: figure after restoration.

Bottom: A very important 18th century Marble fireplace. This came to us in need of extensive cleaning and polishing, and with the need for missing sections to be recarved, such as the ears to the squirrels, the underside of the central rocaille and numerous of the leaves and berries. ANTHEMION LIMITED Crowther® is a registered Trademark of Anthemion Limited. All rights reserved. Restoration in Stone

Top: In progress, copies of two 19th century Bathstone brackets being carved to partner with the originals.

Bottom: A very important 17th century stone figure of ‘Plenty’ by Caius Cibber. Losses to the statue, required that a new lower arm and hand be carved to left hand side and wrist section to the right, together with general cleaning .

Top: An Austin & Seeley composition stone figure of boy with dog, severely damaged by a fallen tree, had to be reconstructed with new sections cast and coloured to match original.

Bottom: A massive pair of composition stone finials, badly cracked with decorative detail missing. The whole taken apart and completely reformed, with new handles constructed using existing elements as a guide, and finial lids made to suit.

Top: An early 19th century sundial, believed to be Coade Stone, needed major restoration, requiring the modelling of various sections, including rams’ horns, figures to the mid section and anthemion patterned paterae.

Bottom: An exceptional 18th century Coade Stone chimneypiece, the restoration of which involved the remodelling of a section of the shelf, and swags and floral details decorating the main body of the chimneypiece

Top: A massive 19th century Terracotta model of the Diana Chasseresse. Restoration involved the remodelling of the deer’s hooves and horns, together with the general cleaning of the group.

Bottom: A 19th century Terracotta model of a hippocamp, for which new legs were modelled.

* Advisory service on the purchase and sale of all forms of architectural ornamentation and contemporary works

* Expert advice on the conservation of panelling, and manufacture of authentic period style panelling

* Historical research, identification and authentication

* Valuations

* Restoration/conservation

* Manufacture of hand carved replicas

* Skilled advice and assistance with installation and dismantling

UK Office: PO Box 6, Teddington, Middx TW11 OAS. England Tel & Fax: +Tel & Fax: +44 208 943 4000 Mobile: +44 (0)7904 522546

US Office: PO Box 11578, Bainbridge Island WA 98110, USA Tel & Fax 206 842 4594

Internet: www.anthemion-crowther.com E.mail: [email protected]