ALFRED GEORGE STEVENS (1817-1875) CARYATIDS FOR THE BOY STOVE, CIRCA 1855 patinated bronze, registration marks for March 1851, 36cm high, with later painted wood mount 56cm high; together with TWO LIONS, bronzed metal, each raised on a painted metal plinth, 37cm high Qty: (4) Provenance: The Peter Rose and Albert Gallichan Collection Footnote: Note: This pair of caryatids would have formed part of a bronze, lacquered brass and steel fireplace known as the 'Boy' stove, designed by Stevens for Hoole & Co., Sheffield and first exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851. The original plaster for one of the figures, and design drawings for the stove, are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. 4029-1853). Alfred Stevens, active as a sculptor, designer, and painter, rejected traditional distinctions between fine art and design. As chief designer for Hoole & Co., he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, maiolica, terracotta ornaments and chimneypieces. Decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London, and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London are amongst his most celebrated works.