What is the difference between a mantelpiece and a fire surround?

In practice, nothing. Dealers use mantelpiece, fire surround, chimney piece and fireplace for the same object, and the titles here swap between them freely. Mantelpiece is sometimes narrowed to the shelf alone. Chimney piece is the older word, and it turns up on two of the larger pieces in this category.

Which woods turn up most in antique fire surrounds?

Pine leads, named in nine of the twenty-eight titles on Sellingantiques, including pitch pine and painted white pine. Oak, mahogany and walnut make up about a quarter of the set between them, covering Edwardian oak with a granite top, Art Deco golden oak, and carved mahogany chimney pieces.

How old are the mantelpieces listed?

The dated field runs from 1800 to 1930. Twelve of the twenty-eight listings carry a clean year; the rest are given as era words such as Victorian, Georgian or 19th Century. Victorian is the largest single label, followed by Edwardian and the 1900s. Two 18th Century entries and one title dated circa 1770 are the earliest things in the set.

Are marble surrounds worth more than wooden ones?

Marble and stone occupy the top of the range in this category, and pine sits at the bottom. Carved white marble accounts for the highest-priced surrounds. Within the woods, carving and applied gesso ornament lift a piece above plain joinery of the same timber.

Do mantelpieces come with the grate or insert?

The evidence doesn't say. Titles here describe the surround, and only one listing names a combination fireplace, where the cast-iron surround, insert and grate are cast as a single unit. Insert and surround are treated as separate things in the trade's wording.

How often do antique mantelpieces come up for sale?

Roughly two a year are listed on Sellingantiques, which makes them one of the thinner categories on the site. Twenty-two different dealers have handled them across the archive. Almost nobody carries them as a repeat line, so what appears tends to be a one-off from a house clearance or salvage.