Fireplace crane

1750-1825

Measurements

23-3/8 in x 26-1/4 in x 1 in

Materials

Wrought iron

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Leonard J. Hampson

Accession Number

1965.122

Condition Notes

The iron is pitted and oxidized.

Provenance

A 1965 memo from Odessa curator Horace L. Hotchkiss Jr. in the object file states that the crane came “from an old house on High St., Odessa.”

Comments

The wrought iron fireplace crane (also known as a chimney or pot crane) has an upright element, octagonal in cross-section, with a rounded finial-like termination at the top and a rounded foot at the base.  A horizontal bar to hold pots has an upturned end and is tenoned into the upright.  A diagonal brace supporting the bar is twisted for decoration.

This crane may have been made originally to be connected to an iron strap, bent to a 90-degree angle at the top and bottom with holes to capture the top and bottom of the upright.