The sculptor John Bacon operated a large workshop producing neo-classical Chimney-pieces. This example, made for Lord Irwin’s house, in Portman Square incorporates figures representing the Muses of Drama and Music, after models exhibited by Bacon at the Royal Academy in 1777. The chimney-piece had been poorly stored, the centre tablet had been corroded to the right hand side, and the soffit and Cornice both broken beyond repair. We retained  the bed mould and re-constructed the rest of the Cornice and soffit. Despite these replacements Bacon’s sculptural ability is clear, the flowers on the tablet are sharp, and the muses, whose eye line runs through the eye of the flanking capitals, are elegantly worked. The chimney-piece has been re-fitted on a veined marble slab and the fireplace fitted with a Portland hearth and covings.