Balustrade thumbnail 1
Balustrade thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ironwork, Room 114a

Balustrade

1763 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
London (made)

Wrought iron balustrade panel with wrought iron frame and scrolls. The acanthus foliage has been cast in lead and applied.


Object details

Categories
Ironwork
Metalwork
Architectural Fittings
Object type
Balustrade
Materials and techniques
Wrought iron and cast lead
Wrought Iron
Lead
Casting
Forging (Metal Forming)
Brief description
Balustrade panel, wrought iron, with acanthus foliage applied in cast lead, London, 1763
Physical description
Wrought iron balustrade panel with wrought iron frame and scrolls. The acanthus foliage has been cast in lead and applied.
Dimensions
  • Height: 94.5cm
  • Width: 86cm
  • Depth: 4cm
Gallery label
BALUSTRADE PANEL Wrought iron and cast lead England; 1763 From Sheen House, Richmond, London. Although the frame and scrolls are wrought iron, the acanthus foliage is cast in lead and applied. Casting not only allowed greater intricacy or ornament, and the use of different materials, such as brass, but was cheaper. The availability of cast iron from this date precipitated a marked decline in traditional smithing. Museum No. M.340-1910(07/1994)
Subjects depicted
Scrolls (Motifs)
Acanthus
Bibliographic references
  • Donnell, E. English Ironwork designs from the Restoration to the Regency. The Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp.70-71, fig.1.
  • Encyclopaedia of Ironwork: Examples of hand wrought iron from the Middle Ages to the end of the Eighteenth century. 1927. pl.316(2).
  • Höver, Otto. Das Eisenwerk: Die Kunstformen des Schmiedeeisens vom Mittelalter bis zum ausgang des 18 Jahrhunderts. Tubingen, 1961. pl.31.
  • Hollister-Short , G. J. Discovering wrought iron. Tring : Shire Publications, 1970. 72 p., ill. p.67
  • Ayrton, Maxwell and Arnold Silcock. Wrought iron and its decorative use. London : Country Life, ltd ; New York, C. Scribner's sons, 1929. 4 pl., 196 p., ill. fig.227
  • Zimelli, Umberto and Giovanni Vergerio. Il Ferro Battuto. Milan, 1966. plate 58, p.128
  • Godfrey, W. H. The English Staircase. London, 1921. pp.66-8, pl.lX.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.340-1910

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O380675/balustrade-unknown/
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