mantelshelf means A shelf above a fireplace.
Etymology
From mantel + shelf.
noun
- A shelf above a fireplace.“Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.”
- Synonym of mantel (“type of maneuver to surmount a ledge”).