The Muse Calliope Fireplace Panel

This fireplace panel demonstrates a style of bas-relief that incorporates elements such as ancient Greek figures, floral garlands, and medallions. It differs from more typical 18th-century fireplace designs that focused on symmetry and mathematical proportion. By the middle of the 18th century, designers had turned for inspiration to the excavations at Herculaneum, the city near Naples, Italy, that was buried in 79 CE after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The panel shows Calliope, the daughter of the ancient Greek god Zeus and Mnemosyne, who was the chief of the Muses. Known as the inspiration for Homer’s poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, Calliope holds a scroll indicating her role as the muse of epic poetry.