Busts of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington embellish this mantel from the Federal period, along with a center panel of Liberty with eagles at her feet. The ornament is made of cast composition or “compo,” a time-saving, easily molded plaster-like material first popularized in England by the architect Robert Adam. Compo was used not only on picture frames, but also on architectural elements. Robert Wellford (1775-1844) was the foremost maker of compo in the United States. He worked in Philadelphia, and it is possible that the BMA mantle, with its classicizing but nationalistic themes, was made there. Recent research has revealed an original color scheme that resembles Josiah Wedgwood’s soft blue and cream pottery. The mantel recalls another example that was rescued from a Federal house built for Harrison Gray Otis and is now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.