Firebacks

Edging: cavetto

131 results

  1. 1097

    leland_little auctions 3 mar 18 lot 260 hillsborough nc 699x635.jpg
    699 x 635 mm

    Description: Rectangular; cavetto-moulded edging; [?]fillet frame parallel with edging; on top, central date between two groups of initials in triad, with six 'daisy heads' above; on each side, vertical line of at least four squared cross stamps; inside frame, four fleurs-de-lys between two oval 'buttons' on a rectangular base at least five 'daisy heads' in a vertical line on each side.

    Notes: A significant fireback, it comprises decorative stamps from at least three series of firebacks produced in the Forest of Dean area, linking their production to the same ironworks. The same fireback (or copies thereof), with and without the attached grate, was illustrated in catalogues issued c1910-21 by Arthur Todhunter, architectural antiques dealer, of New York (catalogue #919, $50). Leland Little auction, Hillsborough, North Carolina, 3 Mar 2018, lot 260, $400.

    Inscription: THM [triad] 1669 THM [triad]

    Manufactured: in 1669 possibly at Elmbridge Furnace, Newent in the Forest of Dean area of England.

    Current location: not known.

  2. 863

    lenygon_fig 257.jpg
    ~715 x ~1000 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular central panel with additional arch above; bead and fillet edging; pictorial scene of, on the left, a tree next to a female and, in the centre, a male figure, both in eastern dress, a page behind holding a train, and to the right a short obelisk surmounted by a crescent, behind which is the head of a figure with a camel; behind is a small building also surmounted by a crescent, with clouds above; the word, ASIA, is centre bottom; identical shaped border with cavetto-moulded edging; a pomegranate on top with descending swags of drapery; at the sides, overlapping bunches of foliage suspended from ribbon bows; at the bottom, a central cartouche between fruit bunches; on top, a pomegranate with a descending serpent on each side, and a pomegranate on each shoulder of the plate.

    Notes: A pastiche of the EUROPA design based on an engraving c.1642 of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife, Luise Henriette of Oranje-Nassau, by Mathias Czwiczek, with the figures adopting very similar poses in an oriental setting; one of a series depicting allegories of the four continents.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: ASIA / MB

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-17th century possibly in the Siegerland area of Germany.

    Current location: not known.

    Citation: Hodgkinson, J. S., 2016, 'The 'Europa' fireback at Preston Manor, Brighton', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 154, pp. 297-9.

  3. 392

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 026.jpg
    905 x 740 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shape; cavetto moulding on all sides, with short gaps at each end of the base (possibly to accommodate firedogs); date in top corners; shield, supporters, coronet and motto of the Barony of Bergavenny: Gules, on a saltire argent, a rose of the field, barbed and seeded proper. The motto, ‘Ne vile velis’ (Wish nothing base) is a pun on the family name.

    Notes: The arms are those of William Nevill, 16th Baron Bergavenny, of Kidbrooke Park, Forest Row, Sussex. The date of the fireback coincides with the completion of the mansion. Formerly part of the J. H. Every collection.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: 1736 / NE VILE VELIS

    Arms: William Nevill, 16th Baron Bergavenny

    Manufactured: in 1736 in the Weald area of England.

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

    Museum number: 1944.24.086 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

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

    Citation: Hughes, G. B., 21 Apr 1955, 'Old English Firebacks', Country Life, 117, pp. 1056-60.

  4. 405

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 039.jpg
    820 x 620 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shape with small rhomboidal flanges in the corners of the arch; cavetto moulded edge on all sides; Stuart royal arms (1605-88, 1702-14) with lion and unicorn supporters, garter, crown and motto; raised inscription in a tapering label beneath crown.

    Notes: An amended copy of a 17th/early 18th century original (see no. 633). The added inscription has been impressed with the personalised cast handle of a cooking vessel. A bronze skillet bearing the inscription 'STANDEN 1726' on its handle has been recorded elsewhere, but the impression on the fireback has been formed from a handle with the inscription inset in relief, whereas the 1726 inscription is inscribed. Also the lettering on the handle used to personalise the fireback, which includes the letter A surmounted with a horizontal line, is of an earlier style. Three members of the Standen family, Thomas, James and Elias, were founders at Beech or Robertsbridge furnaces, Sussex, 1728-9, and a John Standen was casting skillets at Heathfield Furnace in the early 1730s; each could have been the founder of the 1726 skillet, but the maker of the handle used in the fireback casting may have been earlier. Formerly at Marshalls Manor House, Maresfield, Sussex.

    Inscription: IAMES STANDEN [+Garter and royal mottoes]

    Arms: English Stuart royal

    Manufactured: in the late-17th to early-18th century in the Weald area of England.

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

    Museum number: LH000.943 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

    Citation: Dawson, C., 1903, 'Sussex Iron Work and Pottery', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 46, pp. 1-54.

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

    Citation: Hodgkinson, J. S., 2020, 'A Skillet Handle on a Fireback', Journal of the Antique Metalware Society, 25 (2020), pp. 48-51.

  5. 407

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 041.jpg
    435 x 470 mm

    Description: Quasi-arched rectangular shaped; unique, cavetto moulded edging, which loops upon itself three times. A mythical salamander shown in the flames which legend states it is able to resist; behind is what appears to be a palm tree, on either side of which the date is stamped.

    Notes: The fireback has been incorrectly dated 1550 instead of 1650, which Schubert, following W. R. Lethaby, asserted was a forgery claiming indications that a ‘6’ had been erased. Undoubtedly the first '5' is more prominent than the other figures though the exact method by which it has been substituted is not clear. Corrosion to the bottom right corner may have obliterated a letter 'M' seen on another casting; presumably part of 'IM'.

    Inscription: 1550

    Manufactured: in 1650 possibly at Brede Furnace in the Weald area of England.

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

    Museum number: LH000.901 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

    Citation: Dawson, C., 1903, 'Sussex Iron Work and Pottery', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 46, pp. 1-54.

    Citation: Gardner, J. S., 1898, 'Iron Casting in the Weald', Archaeologia, 56, 1, pp. 133-164.

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

    Citation: Lethaby, W. R., 1 Oct 1926, 'English Cast Iron - I', The Builder, 131, no. 4365, pp. 537-8.

    Citation: Lower, M. A., 1866, 'The Antiquities preserved in the Museum of Lewes Castle', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 18, pp. 60-73.

    Citation: Schubert, H. R., 1957, 'A Forgery in Iron', Journal of the Iron & Steel Institute, 165, p. 125.

  6. 408

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 042.jpg
    580 x 480 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shape; cavetto moulded edge all round; holes pierced in top corners; a fouled anchor with one fluke resting on the base, a scroll below each top corner, foliage above the text, which is above the anchor; the initials either side of the lower fluke.

    Notes: The inscription is a quotation from Psalms 139, v. 1: ‘Domine, probasti me et cognovisti me’ (Lord, thou hast searched me and known me).

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: PROBASTI / ME / I M 16 5[0?]

    Manufactured: in the mid-17th century possibly at Brede Furnace in the Weald area of England.

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

    Museum number: LH000.908 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

    Citation: Dawson, C., 1903, 'Sussex Iron Work and Pottery', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 46, pp. 1-54.

    Citation: Hodgkinson, J. S., 2014, 'A Seventeenth-Century Sussex Woodcarver: The Evidence of Cast Ironwork', Regional Furniture, 28, pp. 39-48.

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

  7. 419

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 054.jpg
    530 x 770 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular central panel with cavetto-moulded edging; standing female figure holding a bunch of lowers in her left hand and a pot of flowers in her ight hand; to her left a ribbed, two-handled vase of tulips, to her right a fountain with a seated figure of Neptune/Poseidon holding a trident in the right hand; the words, Fruhling, split by the figure; above, clouds; on top a scallop shell between two descending sea serpents.

    Notes: An iconic personification of Spring. Formerly at Swanborough Manor, Sussex.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: FRVH LING

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-17th century possibly in the Siegerland area of Germany.

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

    Museum number: LH000.909 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

    Citation: Dawson, C., 1903, 'Sussex Iron Work and Pottery', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 46, pp. 1-54.

  8. 426

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 061.jpg
    450 x 610 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular central panel with bead edging; suspended from the top, by a ribbon, a ring with a popinjay, or parrot, perched thereon, biting a twig in its right claw; below left is a seated child; around this panel is an arched rectangular border with fillet edging containing floral swags hung on ribbons suspended from rings; on top, two serpents.

    Notes: A common design among firebacks produced in Germany for the Dutch market. Formerly part of the J. H. Every collection.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-17th century in the Siegerland area of Germany.

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

    Museum number: 1944.24.072 (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

  9. 445

    lewes,_sussex arch soc 085.jpg
    764 x 600 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shape; cavetto moulded edging; garter enclosing Stuart royal arms, with supporters, crown and motto; date split either side of garter buckle.

    Notes: The style of the numerals is very similar to those on a plate bearing a lion, dated 1656, and is likely to be the work of the same pattern-maker; a variant (no. 253) has a substituted date of 1664.

    Inscription: C R / 16 41

    Arms: English Stuart royal

    Manufactured: in 1641 in the Weald area of England.

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

    (part of the Sussex Archaeological Society museum group)

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

  10. 477

    maidstone_museum 03.jpg
    490 x 540 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shaped central panel, bead edging, bust of female figure with long hair and eastern crown decorated with flowers; arched rectangular shaped border with fillet edging; leafed, Corinthian column on each side with symmetrical swirls of foliage above and a row of acanthus leaves below.

    Notes: The figure is that of the Virgin, part of the arms and crest of the Mercers’ Company: Issuant from a Bank of clouds a Figure of the Virgin couped at the shoulders proper, vested in a crimson robe adorned with gold, the neck encircled by a jewelled necklace, crined Or and wreathed about the temples with a chaplet of Roses alternately Argent and of the first, and crowned with a Celestial Crown. The arms were first recorded in 1568. One of a small series of firebacks with similar proportions and detail.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-17th century in England.

    Current location: Maidstone Museum, St Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent, England.

    (part of the Maidstone Museum museum group)

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