Pair of Andirons

DateProbably 1810-1820

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Shenandoah County

MediumCast iron

DimensionsOverall (1): 13 3/16 x 11 7/16 x 11 13/16in. (33.5 x 29 x 30cm) Overall (2): 12 5/8 x 11 9/16 x 10 5/8in. (32 x 29.3 x 27cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Antique Collectors' Guild

Object number1981.808.3,1

DescriptionPair of anthropomorphic andirons with cast billet bars and simplified ball and claw feet. The uprights are in the form of an armless female bust wearing a cap, an ornamented bodice and set upon a pedestal. A petalled apron is set below, and flows down the outside of the legs.

Label TextWhile wrought andirons were made by hammer at the anvil of a skilled blacksmith, a blast furnace was needed to produce a cast set. Much bulkier that wrought types, cast sets of andirons have been produced in a variety of shapes since the middle ages. Many were architectural and others were anthropomorphic, meaning various elements took a human form. After the Revolutionary War and for many decades, the "Hessian" or "Grenadier" was an extremely popular subject, as was George Washington. Others were less specific like these, which take the form of an armless female bust set upon a pedestal.

Being that a number of these andirons have been found in Shenandoah County, Virginia, it is thought that they are a product of an iron furnace operating in that area.

ProvenanceEx Collection: Frances Wood, Mount Joy, PA, Claudia Hopf, Salem, MA, and J. Roderick Moore, Ferrum, VA.

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