Fireback thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Fireback

ca. 1550 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Cast iron fireback with three daggers formed by impressing a dagger into the sand casting bed.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cast iron
Brief description
Fireback, cast iron depicting three daggers, made in England, ca. 1550
Physical description
Cast iron fireback with three daggers formed by impressing a dagger into the sand casting bed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 470mm
  • Width: 730mm
  • Depth: 40mm
Gallery label
FIREBACK Cast iron England; c. 1550 The three daggers were cast by impressing an actual dagger into the sand casting bed. This may represent the arms of the Vigumes of Launceston, Cornwall. Mrs C. Starkie Gardner Collection Museum No. 896-1901(07/1994)
Object history
Mrs C. Starkie Gardner Collection.
Historical context
The museum is grateful for images and information supplied by the researcher and author, Jeremy Hodgkinson FSA, 30 March 2022
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Jeremy Hodgkinson, "Pre-Restoration Iron Firebacks", The Journal of the Antique Metalware Society, Vol. 20, June 2012, pp. 2-15, ill. p. 4
  • Gardner, John Starkie. Ironwork. Part 3: A complete survey of the artistic working of iron in Great Britain from the earliest times. London : Published under the authority of the H.M.S.O., 1922. 198 p., 46 p. of plates, ill. ISBN 0905209028. Fig.51, p.159.
  • Gloag, John and Derek Bridgwater. A history of cast iron in architecture. London : G. Allen and Unwin. 1948. 395p., ill. Fig.15, p.17.
  • Butterfield, W. Ruskin. Old Wealden Firebacks. The Connoisseur. Dec. 1916. pp.197-206.
  • Lloyd, N. Domestic Ironwork. I. Firebacks. Archaeological Review. LVIII, 1925. pp.58-67.
  • Hodgkinson, Jeremy. British Cast-Iron Firebacks of the 16th to Mid-18th Centuries. Crawley: HodgersBooks. 2010 fig. 46, pp. 71, 226
Collection
Accession number
896-1901

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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