Firebacks

Description: Rectangular; flanged or astragal and fillett edging; female portrait in a medallion of three concentric rings; date split between four corners

Notes: An unusually small stoveplate.

Inscription: 1 6 [?0] 4

Description: 'Dutch' style; arched rectangular shaped central panel with arch at top; bead edging; female figure with staff and fan in a garden, inscription DER MITAG below figure ; similarly shaped border of Corinthian columns and floral decoration; symmetrical serpents on top.

Notes: The inscription means NOON; identified from a clearer version in the collection of the Haardplatenmuseum, Klarenbeek, Netherlands. The representations in human form of various virtues and vices in Iconologia, by Cesare Ripa, first published in the early 17th century but republished in different editions many times subsequently, formed the basis of the subject matter of several firebacks, mostly cast from continental originals, that became popular in England from the late 17th century.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: DER MITAG

Description: Rectangle with two similar rectangular extensions at top extremities; rope edging (top and sides); on top extensions, two stamps of a dragon and lion supporting a rose and crown, each with a crowned shield bearing a fleur de lys below; central date with rose and crown below; initials TM vertically placed inside middle left edge, initial I middle right; initials I and A, respectively, at lower left and right.

Notes: The initials, TM and I, may relate to a married couple, the first two letters to their first names and the last to their surname; the initials IA are likely to be of the founder as they appear in the same arrangement on other firebacks. The unusual shape would probably have been determined by the structure of the hearth for which it was made; the rose and crown and supporters stamp can also be seen on a large fireback, dated 1593, formerly at Baynard's Park, Surrey; the date and IA stamps can be seen, in identical form, on a fireback in the Victoria & Albert Museum, and on two other firebacks, suggesting a common source for all of these firebacks.

Inscription: TM 1582 I / I A

Description: Quasi-rectangular with narrow arches at top ends and a broad low central arch, between which are flat-topped peaks linked to the arches by shallow concave curves; flanged edge (top and sides); mirroring the edge a channel has been engraved into the metal, extending into the small arches, producing the effect of a wide fillet along the top and sides with an inverted U-shaped return into the end arches; within the channel, at each end, a primitive representation of a vertical, hollow plant stem and four mirrored pairs of curved branches, with a vertical channel parallel to the edge joining the branch ends on the inside; between these is cast a small, rectangular panel with ovolo edging, bearing a full achievement of the arms of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers; the date is centrally placed above this panel.

Notes: An usual fireback for several reasons: the use of engraving for significant elements of the design, the flanged edge, and the incorporation of a small fireback. The Clothworkers’ arms: Sable a chevron ermine between in chief two Havettes Argent and in base a Teazel Cob Or; crest: on a Mount vert a Ram statant Or; supporters: two Griffins Or pellettée; the arms as displayed were granted in 1587. An example of the armorial fireback on its own is in Petworth House (no. 522).

Inscription: WV 1659 WV

Arms: Worshipful Company of Clothworkers