Firebacks

Manufactured in the mid- to late-16th century

94 results

  1. 920

    wigmore,_chapel_farm_01a.jpg
    800 x 820 mm

    Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging; top centre, quartered shield between four 'imp' figures, left facing, one with right arm raised, one of each on each side; below each pair of figures, a rope cross above an inverted V in rope, with an 'imp' figure, arms lowered, below the shield; along the bottom, eight 'imp' figures, alternately arms raised and lowered.

    Notes: The 'imp' figures are common on a group of firebacks, the rope designs having a probable apotropaic significance. The arms are probably of Thomas Wriothesley, who was Henry VIII's last Lord Chancellor and created Earl of Southampton in 1547; he married c.1533 so the arms could date to before then, but the same arms are displayed on his enamelled stall plate in St George's Chapel, Windsor, of 1545, and in stained glass in a window in the parish church at South Warnborough, Hampshire. The shield is, quarterly, 1. Wrythe or Wriothesley quartering Dunstanville and Pink, 2. Drayton, 3. Crocker and 4. Peckham. The same armorial stamp has been noted on at least two other firebacks. A candidate for the earliest English fireback with an example of personal arms.

    Arms: Wriothesley (Earl of Southampton)

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: in private hands, Wigmore, Herefordshire, England.

  2. 1305

    william_smith_auctions,_plainfield_nh,_lot_424_610x451.jpg
    610 x 451 mm

    Description: Quasi-rectangular with canted top corners; twisted rope edging (top and sides); centre top, quartered shield between two vertical carved stamps of a billet with five oval shapes.

    Notes: The arms are probably of Thomas Wriothesley, who was Henry VIII's last Lord Chancellor and created Earl of Southampton in 1547; he married c.1533 so the arms could date to before then, but the same arms are displayed on his enamelled stall plate in St George's Chapel, Windsor, of 1545, and in stained glass in a window in the parish church at South Warnborough, Hampshire. The shield is, quarterly, 1. Wrythe or Wriothesley quartering Dunstanville and Pink, 2. Drayton, 3. Crocker and 4. Peckham. A candidate for the earliest English fireback with an example of personal arms. It is possible that this casting is the one formerly at Warnham Court, Sussex, which was illustrated by J. Starkie Gardner in Country Life in 1907. A similar fireback is no. 334. William Smith Auctions, Plainfield, NH, 20 Nov 2024, lot 424 ($250).

    Arms: Wriothesley (Earl of Southampton)

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: not known.

    Citation: Gardner, J. S., 25 May 1907, 'Old Wealden Ironwork at Warnham Court', Country Life, pp. 730-2.

  3. 962

    wisborough_green, harsfold farmhouse.jpg
    1010 x 795 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shape; ovolo moulded edging; Tudor royal shield, garter, crown, motto and supporters (crowned lion and dragon); plain panels at sides and bottom.

    Notes: A common variant has a rose and portcullis either side of the crown, and the top of the lion's crown and the dragon's ear do not overlap the edging; without the extension panels, the approximate dimensions of the main plate are 805mm wide by 590 high. The quality of the relief indicates that this composite fireback was created using an early casting of the armorial back.

    Inscription: [Garter] HONI SOIT QVI MAL E PENSE / [motto] DIEV ET MON DROIT

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: in private hands, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, England.

  4. 1260

    woolley_and_wallis,_salisbury,_4_apr_2023_lot_46_1260x720a.jpg
    1260 x 720 mm

    Description: Rectangular shape; twisted rope edging (top and sides); from top: rose and crown within a shield stamped eight times horizontally; rectangular stamp with a griffin passant repeated seven times horizontally; rose and crown within a shield stamped eight times horizontally.

    Notes: Five other firebacks bearing these stamps are known: two are in Hastings, and one, dated 1569, is at Hadlow Down, Sussex. The locations of the other two, formerly in Ipswich and Guildford, are not known. Two excrescences on the lower part of the fireback show where the iron was poured, displacing the sand in the mould. Woolley & Wallis auction, Salisbury, 4 Apr 2023, lot 46 (£1,400).

    Manufactured: in the mid- to late-16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: not known.