Firebacks

Manufactured in Luxemburg

  1. 1135

    amerongen,_21 nederstraat 06 495x555.jpg
    495 x 555 mm

    Description: Arched shape; fillet edging; top centre, date; decorative Tudor royal shield, crown, garter (motto clockwise but reversed) and supporters (dragon and greyhound); a rose to the left and a portcullis (grid of 6) to the right side of crown; the supporters stand on a horizontal compartment which, on similar firebacks, often contains the date.

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably originally produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the rose and portcullis.

    Inscription: 15 70 / HONY SOYT QVI MAL Y PENSE

    Arms: English royal Tudor

    Manufactured: in 1570 possibly in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location: 21 Nederstraat, Amerongen, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Netherlands.

  2. 1163

    bonhams_19_feb_2020_lot_292_520x570.jpg
    520 x 570 mm

    Description: Arched; ogee edging; Tudor royal shield, garter, crown and supporters (dragon and greyhound); top left, crowned Tudor rose; top right, crowned portcullis (grid of 6).

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the crowned rose and portcullis.; the placement of the rose and crown and of the crown above the portcullis suggest that they are stamps impressed over the original moulded design before casting. Bonhams auction, Oxford, 19 Feb 2020, lot 292.

    Inscription: HONI SOIT QVI MAL I PENSE

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in the mid-16th century possibly in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location:, not known.

  3. 1175

    consuegra.jpg
    640 x 760 mm

    Description: Arch-shaped; fillet edge; Tudor shield, crown (with a circlet of acanthus leaves), garter (motto clockwise) and supporters. Crowned rose on dexter, and crowned portcullis (grid of 16) on sinister side of crown; the supporters, a dragon and a greyhound, stand on separate plinths; on the plinth below the greyhound is the number 28, probably half of the date 1528, the other part missing on the left side.

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the crowned rose and portcullis.

    Inscription: HONY SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE / 28

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in 1528 possibly in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location: Consuegra, Toledo, Spain.

  4. 1261

    drouot_auction,_paris,_21_jan_2023_lot_89_610x750.jpg
    610 x 750 mm

    Description: Arch-shaped; fillet edge; at top, date split by crown (horizontal of '7' missing), crown over a Tudor shield, garter (motto clockwise but reversed) and supporters; rose with viscount's coronet on dexter, and portcullis (grid of 16) with viscount's coronet on sinister side of crown; the supporters, a dragon and a greyhound, stand on separate plinths; the initials, G C, are placed in either side of the garter buckle.

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably originally produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the shape of the shield, the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the crowned rose and portcullis. Hôtel Drouot auction, Paris, 21 Jan 2023, lot 89.

    Inscription: 15 70 / HONY SOYT QVI MAL Y PENSE / G C

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in 1570 possibly in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location:, not known.

  5. 397

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 031.jpg
    635 x 755 mm

    Description: Arched; fillet edging; Tudor royal shield, garter, crown and supporters (dragon and greyhound); top left, crowned Tudor rose; top right, crowned portcullis (grid of 6).

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the crowned rose and portcullis.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: HONI SOIT QVI MAL I PENSE

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in the mid-16th century possibly in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location: Anne of Cleves House, Southover High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England.

    Museum number: LH000.915 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

    Citation: Lloyd, N., 1925, 'Domestic Ironwork I', Architectural Review, 58, pp. 58-67.

  6. 983

    unknown_83 622x749.jpg
    622 x 749 mm

    Description: Arched shape; cavetto-moulded edge; Tudor royal shield, crown, garter (with inscription anti-clockwise) and supporters (dragon and greyhound); crowned rose on left, and crowned portcullis on right side of crown; the supporters stand on a horizontal fillet, to the bottom right of which is the end of an illegible inscription.

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the crowned rose and portcullis.

    Inscription: HONI SOIT QVI MAL I PENSE / [illeg.]

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in the mid-16th century in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location:, not known.

  7. 747

    va_23.jpg
    625 x 750 mm

    Description: Arch-shaped; fillet edge; Tudor shield, crown, garter (motto clockwise but reversed) and supporters. Crowned rose on dexter, and crowned portcullis (grid of 16) on sinister side of crown; the supporters, a dragon and a greyhound, stand on separate plinths; the initials, G P are placed in either side of the garter buckle.

    Notes: There are several firebacks with the Tudor royal arms that were probably originally produced in the Spanish Netherlands, perhaps illustrating the association between England and Spain through the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The firebacks differ in several small details, such as the form and rotation of the Garter motto, the style of the crown, the positioning of the supporters in relation to the Garter, and the form and size of the crowned rose and portcullis. Part of the bequest to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Lieut. Colonel G. B. Croft-Lyons in 1926.

    Inscription: HONY SOYT QVI MAL Y PENSE / G P

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in the mid-16th century possibly in the Wallonia area of Luxemburg.

    Current location: Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, Kensington & Chelsea, Greater London, England.

    Museum number: M.499-1926 (part of the Victoria & Albert Museum museum group)

    Citation: Hodgkinson, J. S., 2010, British Cast-Iron Firebacks of the 16th to Mid-18th Centuries (Crawley, Hodgers Books).