Pair of Andirons

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Pair of Andirons
Datec. 1840–1900
PlaceUnited States
MediumCast iron, painted
DimensionsEach: 19 3/8 × 10 3/4 × 17 3/4 in. (49.2 × 27.3 × 45.1 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Sue Rowan Pittman
Object numberB.92.10.1,.2
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Maple Bedroom
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Figural andirons became popular by the late eighteenth century, as evidenced by the trade card Paul Revere engraved for Joseph Webb, a Boston iron merchant and manufacturer. The Bayou Bend andirons represent a nineteenth-century version traditionally described as Hessian soldiers, the German mercenaries who fought for the British in the American Revolution. Variations suggest that more than one manufacturer produced them; however, at present they are associated only with New York City’s Phoenix Works.

Technical notes: The figures are hollow-cast with an integral horizontal tab on the back that aligns with the billet bar and is secured by a nut and bolt. The figures are painted.

Related examples: A similar set is at Winterthur (acc. no. 64.1546.1, .2). For examples with the foundry marks A.W.S. and  MBB, see Maine Antique Digest, October 1994, p. 19-E; Maine Antique Digest, December 1994, p. 11-E.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


ProvenanceSue Rowan Pittman (1935–2002), Houston; given to MFAH, 1992.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
Marked on back of figure: M113; PAT. PEN; and below, 2000 [each in a rectangle]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

scan from file photograph
c. 1790–1810
Brass and cast iron
B.61.93.1,.2
Pair of Andirons
c. 1790–1815
Brass and iron
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Pair of Andirons
c.1815–1830
Brass, ormolu, and iron
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Pair of Andirons
c. 1760–1800
Brass and iron
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Pair of Andirons
Daniel King, Sr.
1760–1800
Brass, iron
B.86.9.1,.2
Pair of Andirons
early 18th century
Iron
B.69.522.1,.2
Pair of Andirons
c. 1760–1780
Brass, iron
B.76.242.1,.2
Pair of Andirons
c. 1770–1800
Iron and brass
B.53.23.1,.2
Pair of Andirons
Isaac Conklin
c. 1807–1817
Iron and brass
B.96.2.1,.2
Letter Knife
Gorham Manufacturing Company
1902
Sterling silver with cast iron Tsuba
2004.1298
Pair of Andirons
no date
Brass, steel
96.1581.1,.2
Pair of Andirons
c. 1740
Gilt bronze
2021.367.1,.2