Bellows
ca. 1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Until the coming of central heating, the fireplace was virtually the only source of warmth and therefore the focal point of the room. When cost was lavished on such a feature, it was appropriate that the tongs, pokers and bellows that went with it should also be fittingly decorated, like this richly carved and parcel guilt example. From about 1550, bellows were carved with grotesque masks and mythical creatures, picked out in gold, throughout Italy, and they were probably intended to match similarly decorated walnut stools or sgabelli, placed along the walls of that particular room.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Walnut, carved and parcel gilt, with leather wind chamber with chased brass nozzle |
| Brief description | Italian 1540-1570 |
| Physical description | "Bellows. Walnut wood, carved in relief with masks and serpents, partly gilt. It has a chased brass nozzle". - 1879 Registered Description. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This object was bought in 1879 for £26 - 12 and "Lot 368 of the Londsdale Collection at Christies [no date of the auciton given]. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Until the coming of central heating, the fireplace was virtually the only source of warmth and therefore the focal point of the room. When cost was lavished on such a feature, it was appropriate that the tongs, pokers and bellows that went with it should also be fittingly decorated, like this richly carved and parcel guilt example. From about 1550, bellows were carved with grotesque masks and mythical creatures, picked out in gold, throughout Italy, and they were probably intended to match similarly decorated walnut stools or sgabelli, placed along the walls of that particular room. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 82-1879 |
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| Record created | December 6, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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