By 1778 fine ceramic cameos came into fashion, notably those of Josiah Wedgwood who produced designs by Flaxman. Intricate, contrasting friezes were created by skilled craftsmen, following Adams' classical designs. He made free use of flowers, acanthus leaves, scrolls, ribbons and ram's heads, while sphinxes, urns and vases were also subjects for decoration, his style being Greek rather than Roman. The designs for chimneypieces were elaborate and even more elegant.
What singled Adams' designs out from others of the time was their good proportions, symmetry, grace and lightness-they were always aesthetically pleasing. The use of stucco panels above the mantelshelf depicting scenes of the Greek classics was another characteristic of Adams designs—they were seen in the most elegant of homes, and many were very elaborate in design but always had a delicacy of form.
Many original examples of exquisitely beautiful Adams fireplaces still exist today Osterley Park on the outskirts of London, for instance, is a magnificent
An excellent example of the kind of Classical features incorporated by Adams into his designs.
This fireplace shows the columns finished with an Ionic capital and enhanced by a contrasting marble, together with typically delicate wrought iron details on the inner surround and fire screen. The simplicity of this design carries a grace and elegance that was synonymous with Adam's fireplaces.
A detail showing the corner of an Adams fireplace. He had a great love of figures
and urns and they are seen often incorporated into his designs, alongside the delicately-carved swags he also favored.
FIREPLACE STYLES
Fusion of his styles, showing Adams and his many designs of chimneypieces to their full advantage. This building was begun in 1761, and since Adam took nineteen years to complete the work it illustrates his changing style as he matured. The early styles in the Library, Hall, Eating Room and Drawing Room show bold but not heavy decoration, often using the same motif in the frieze, bookcase and chimneypiece. In the Drawing Room, this motif is even carried through onto the apron of the grates to produce an accord within the room. As Adams progressed in his middle years, he refined his designs even further—and in his anxiety to avoid heaviness the designs became much more linear and intricately minute in scale, creating a delicacy and refinement not known previously.
While Adams was designing chimneypieces of exquisite beauty, his brother, John Adams joined a famous iron founder, the Carron Company of Stirlingshire. Together they were responsible for creating a new look in fire grates. Dog grates had become more fashionable than the cumbersome iron baskets that had been used previously, and the Adams brothers brought in a new form giving them a line, balance and proportion that enhanced the complete design of the chimneypiece. Seated on their slender legs, the dog grates were polished to a high sheen that resembled precious metal, the casting was fretted and woven like black lace and the design flowed in graceful lines—these became known as jewel grates. An original jewel grate stands today in the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was constructed with two fronts—a winter front and a detachable summer front—both beautifully constructed. The summer front is fixed by a spring attachment, which was easy to remove. Copied throughout the world, many of these grates are still in use today. Osterley Park Drawing Room is an interesting example of Adams' willingness to experiment with different metals. The dog grate here consisted of a mixed metal called "paktong," which was an alloy of zinc, copper and nickel that together had a yellow tinge. He felt they created a harmony, within a room of the different elements.