Architectural woodwork in America began to receive decorative paint treatments by the early eighteenth century. Painters’ manuals and handbooks offered instruction in painting wood surfaces in imitation of expensive or exotic materials, such as marble, tortoiseshell, or wood grain. This mantel from the Connecticut River Valley is an interior architectural form that echoes the style of the Federal period in design and construction. The complex flat-top cornice rests on fluted columns that terminate in blocks with marbleized painting. Another feature is the neoclassical carved patera, a fluted oval embellishment that is found on building exteriors and interior forms such as doorways, cornices, and furniture. Although the maker of this mantel is unidentified, it is related to the work of Nehemiah Randall (1770–1850), a western Massachusetts joiner.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Mantel," exhibition label for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.