Andirons
Probably England
1785-1810
Measurements
23-1/2 in x 11-3/4 in x 20-5/8 in
Materials
Iron and bell metal
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp
Accession Number
1958.3252
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
These andirons, with columnar shafts above round pedestals, have finials (cast in halves and seamed) with a large urn below a smaller urn and finial. The urns exhibit engraved swags—now almost worn away—around the tops of the urns. Log stops echo the design. Unusual in Americans is the upright bar forming an intermediate leg behind the log stops and the sliding log stop on the billet bar.
The andirons are made of bell metal, which is a copper alloy like brass but mixes copper (80%) with tin (20%). It was commonly used for casting bells. Brass, in contrast, mixed copper and zinc, along with smaller concentrations of tin and lead.
The andirons are similar in design to a shovel and tongs set, accession no. 1958.3251.
