Chats on Household Curios

by Fred. W. Burgess

FIG. 8.—THREE SINGLE DOGS OR ANDIRONS.

FIG. 9.—PAIR OF DATED SUSSEX ANDIRONS (1625).
FIG. 10.—PAIR OF SUSSEX ANDIRONS.
(In the collection of Mr. Wayte, of Edenbridge.)

There are no records of the earliest inventors of andirons or dogs. It is quite clear that small fire-dogs were in use in Rome at an early period; the one illustrated in Fig. [6], measuring 6¾ in. in height, of artistic form, two draped figures being the supports of the arch, is in the National Museum in Naples, where there are many other beautiful examples of early Roman metal work. In the seventeenth century some of the more elaborate ornamental cast brass fire-dogs were enriched with black and white or blue and white enamel, several varieties of fireside ornaments being decorated in the same way.

Enamel thus applied to metal is exceptionally valuable, as much as two hundred guineas being paid for an enamelled pair of fire-dogs. It is the ordinary forms of cast or wrought dogs with which collectors are mostly familiar, especially those made in the famous Sussex ironfields, such as those shown in Figs. [8], [9], and [10], which are of early date, the pair illustrated in Fig. [9] being dated 1625, the others probably contemporary. Single examples of similar designs are shown in Fig. [8]. The need of the metal furnishings of the hearth—as the chimney places of the smaller manor houses and the dwellings of the traders were being erected—caused an impetus to the trade of the ironfounder and smith, and the founders and smiths of the Sussex villages came to the aid of the builder. There are dated examples from the sixteenth century onwards, recording the periods when these interesting souvenirs of domestic building and the great Sussex ironfields—now deserted—were in operation.

Sussex Backs.

There is a peculiar attraction about the castings made in Sussex in the days when the foundries of that county were in full work, and many villages were filled with busy pattern-makers, moulders, and founders carrying on a thriving industry in districts which have now been given up to the plough; for the Sussex ironfields have been abandoned, as when the timber of the district was consumed it was impossible to work the forges economically, for coal was far distant and transport costs prohibitive. The old grate backs for which the Sussex foundries were famous in the seventeenth century were often modelled on Dutch designs, and some showed German characteristics. There are many noted English designs, too, mostly taking the forms of coats of arms and the shields and crests of the landlords for whom the stove-plates were made, some becoming "stock" patterns and often duplicated. There is quite a fine collection of these grate backs in several museums, and some good examples can still be bought from dealers whose agents secure them from time to time when property is being rebuilt. In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a long oblong plate on which is cast the arms of Browne of Brenchley, in Kent, probably made in the second half of the seventeenth century. There are others with cherubs and curious supporters of shields of arms. A still earlier piece, probably cast about the year 1600, is an oblong Sussex back deeply recessed, on which is the arms of John Blount, Earl of Devonshire, another bearing the Royal arms of the Tudor period. In Hampton Court Palace there are some especially fine grate backs, mostly bearing the Royal arms. At a little earlier period the cast grate backs were chiefly plain with isolated crests or designs scattered over the surface, often quite irregularly.

The three fine examples of Sussex backs illustrated are typical of popular styles. Fig. [11] shows the Royal lion of England, accompanied by the emblems appearing on the Royal arms in the seventeenth century; the Tudor rose crowned, the Scottish thistle, and the French fleur-de-lis indicative of the throne of France to which English sovereigns then laid some claim. The date of this fine back is 1649. Fig. [7] is of an earlier period, being dated 1588, beneath which are the initials "I.F.C." There are also roses and fleurs-de-lis, as well as anchors and other emblems. The back shown in Fig. [12] has for its design the Royal arms surrounded by the Garter, and the initials "C.R.," a design which was duplicated very extensively soon after the Restoration. It will be noticed that the Royal arms formed the design of the Sussex back shown in position in Fig. [1]. Some of the German and Dutch designs are very curious, many of them representing scriptural subjects, like Moses and the brazen serpent; the death of Absalom; the temptation of Joseph; and the often-repeated story of the Garden of Eden.

In the American museums there are some very interesting examples of foundry work; some of the cast backs, evidently modelled on German or Dutch designs, take the form of stove-plates, including both front and side plates, mostly bearing dates in the middle of the eighteenth century. Pennsylvania was the chief district in which these plates were made, some being cast by William Siegel, who went to America from Germany in 1758, and erected what was known as the Berkshire furnace. A curious early stove-plate in an American collection, dated 1736, has upon it a scene known as "the dance after the wedding." It is said to have been used in the front of what was known as the German wall-warming stove.