Firebacks

Description: Arched rectangular shaped central panel with paternost bead edging; figure holding a bow in his left hand and a lyre in his right hand, a quiver suspended from his belt, on an undulating ground with small trees, and suspended swags of drapery above; Arched rectangular shaped border with fillet edging, and symmetrical flowers and swirled tendrils; initials at bottom centre; on top, symmetrical pattern of swirled leaves and tendrils.

Notes: The figure is Apollo, personifying the Sun, one of a set of 'Eight Deities' engraved by Hendrick Goltzius (1592), after Polidoro da Caravaggio; the fireback is one of a large group bearing the same initials, which probably denotes the pattern maker. Other groups may have been the work of the same carver or workshop. The execution is rather crude. Formerly part of the J. H. Every collection.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: SHR

Description: Arched rectangular shaped central panel with bead edging; arched rectangular border with bead edging; fructal and floral festoons suspended on ribbons with two putti at the top and two on each side; in the left and right bottom corners, the initials 'HH' and 'S' respectively; at the bottom, a central cartouche with date (indistinctly), between floral swags; on top, twin spirals between descending floral festoons.

Notes: A border panel, without the central pictorial panel.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: HH S

Description: Arched rectangular central panel with bead edging; wickerwork Garden of Holland (Hollandse Tuin) within which is seated a berobed female figure holding a cap of freedom on the end of a long pole; before her is the crowned heraldic lion of the States General of the Netherlands, clutching a sheaf of arrows in its left front paw; above are the words, Pro Patria; arched rectangular border with fillet edging; central cartouche at top, with festoons of fruit, flowers and leaves suspended on each side from ribbons supported by rings; at the bottom, swirled ribbon around an oval compartment bearing the inscription 'L6C'; on top, a central cartouche from which descend a cornucopia on each side of the arch.

Notes: An overtly patriotic theme with symbols of Dutch nationhood; the inscription at the bottom indicates the style of border; other firebacks with the same inscription have the same border; similar inscriptions (e.g. L7C and L8G) indicate different borders.

Inscription: PRO PATRIA / L6C

Description: Arched rectangular central panel; fillet edging; pictorial scene of a cloaked figure, to the right, tempting a dog, to the left, with a tasty morsel; behind are the outlines of a door and window; arched rectangular border with fillet edging, the date along the bottom; down each side, a floral festoon; over the arch, the inscription, the initials split between each side of the main inscription; on top, floral scrolls.

Notes: The inscription translates as 'loyalty above gifts'; some castings omit the initials, NL, indicating that they were a subsequent addition. The illustration is derived from 'The thief and the dog', one of a series of engravings of Aesop's Fables by Wenceslaus Hollar.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: N / FIDES DONA SUPERAT / L // 1696

Description: Arched rectangular central panel with bead on fillet edging, pictorial representation of a man and woman walking, behind the woman a child holds her train and a young person carries a parasol; from behind a column on the right, a horse's head is visible, a tree stands to the left, at the foot of the scene is the word 'EUROPA'; arched rectangular border with fillet edging, from a central bunch of grapes at the top of the arch, a ribbon on each side suspends bunches of fruit and flowers; at the bottom a central cartouche containing the inscription 'L7G', with flowers on each side;; on top are two mirrored dolphins.

Notes: The pictorial scene is based on an engraving c.1642 of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife, Luise Henriette of Oranje-Nassau, by Mathias Czwiczek; one of series of firebacks depicting allegories of the four continents; the initials, L7C, denote the style of border - other firebacks having the same inscription have the same border - and other borders are denoted by similar inscriptions (e.g. L6C and L8G).

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: EVROPA / L7C

Description: Arched rectangular central panel, bead edging, female figure, her right arm raised, sitting on a bull; arched rectangular border, fillet edging, swags of fruit bunches suspended from ribbon, inscription below central panel; on top, symmetrical floral swirls and flowers; plain panel at bottom.

Notes: The image is of Europa being carried away to Crete by Zeus disguised as a bull.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: 16 NDW 97

Description: Arched rectangular central panel with canted, cavetto-canted shoulders and bead edging on a broad fillet; seated female figure in a chariot drawn by dogs, symmetrical hanging drapery above right; same-shaped border with fillet edging at top, and suspended ribbons with floral bunches; at base, symmetrical palm leaves tied with ribbon; symmetrical serpents on top their tails intertwined.

Notes: The design is derived from a personification of America, one of a set of playing cards entitled Jeu de la Géographie, designed by Stefano della Bella (1677). The pattern for this fireback, from which the protuberances above the serpents’ heads is missing, is in Rottingdean Grange (no. 930). The pattern, however, has a base panel of a chain-link design, which is missing from this casting.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Description: Arched rectangular panel with a Salomonic column on each side enclosing a scene of Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac but being restrained by an angel; below, bottom panel of indeterminate decoration (due to corrosion); above each column a burning torch, with symmetrical floriate scrolls over the arch.

Notes: Given the biblical subject, this is probably of German manufacture although the Salomonic columns are more often encountered on English pastiches of the 'Dutch' style.

Description: Arched rectangular shaped central panel with bead edging; pictorial scene of a seated female figure resting against a hurdle, holding an anchor, a child on each side of her, the one on the left standing clutching corn stalks, the one on the right sitting also holding the anchor and a circular object; a bird sits on a post; arched rectangular border with bead edging; fructal and floral festoons suspended on ribbons with two putti at the top and two on each side; in the left and right bottom corners, the initials 'HH' and 'S' respectively; at the bottom, a central cartouche with date, between floral swags; on top, twin spirals between descending floral festoons.

Notes: The figure is an allegory of Hope. The theft in 1699 from a Thames-side warehouse of several firebacks, including '3 of Hope with an Anchor' may refer to this type (Post Boy 11-14 Nov. 1699). A recasting.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: [?H]H ...

Description: Rectangular central panel with bead edging all round, pictorial representation of the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, the angel carries a lily, Mary kneels at a desk, between them is a basket, above them a dove descends from clouds amid sunbeams, to the left is an arch, in the centre a bed, and to the right a window and a canopy; above the panel is a bead-edged arch with a central scallop shell and a floral swag suspended from scrolls; arched rectangular shaped border with fillet edging, a cascade of leaves and fruit (inc. apples, grapes, pears and pomegranates) descending from a wreath, at the base two cartouches conjoined by a scallop shell and containing the inscription; on top a scallop shell between two dolphins.

Notes: A common fireback design originating in the Siegerland of north Germany and made for the Dutch market. A good clear casting. The illustration is copied from Virgil Solis, 'Biblische Figuren',1562.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: ANNO 1667