20/1937

Collection

Architectural Fittings

Brief description

Cast iron fireback depicting Richard Lenard, a founder in Sussex, surrounded by the tools and products of his trade, inscribed "RICHARD LENARD FOUNDER AT BRED FOURNIS / 1636", probably manufactured in Sussex in 1636.

Object name

fireback

Object number

20/1937

Location

On Display

Production person

Richard Lenard (founder)
IM (designer)

Production date

1636 (cast)

Production place

Brede (manufactured)

Period

Stuart (1603-1714)

Material

iron

Technique

cast

Physical description

Cast iron fireback, with the inscription "RICHARD LENARD FOVNDER AT BRED FOVRNIS" running along an arched border beneath a scroll-like design. Beneath is a standing figure of a bearded man, surrounded by the tools of the blacksmiths trade, the date 1636 either side of the figure's shoulders.

The fireback is degraded along the base with a missing section where the iron has worn thin. The casting is clearer on the top half of the back, and has softened and worn.

Content description

The fireback depicts the standing figure of a bearded man wearing a coat belted at the waist, holding a large hammer in his right hand. A wheelbarrow and a basket are either side of the hammer, and the figure stands astride a weight, a pot and a ladle. In the bottom left is the founder's furnace. A quartered shield in the top left corner contains devices of a hammer, andiron, pair of pincers and a weight. On the right, a jug, tankard and goblet stand on a shelf supported by an elaborate scrolling bracket, with the figure of a small dog just beneath it. In the bottom right is a fireback with an arched top inscribed with Lenard's initials.

Dimensions

Height: 55cm
Width: 51cm

Website keywords

fireplaces