Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, valued for its pleasing color and slow rate of tarnishing. Evidence of brass production in seventeenth-century America is limited; however, by the eighteenth century advertisements chronicle the manufacture of everything from buckles to cannons. Regrettably, few of these objects can be separated from English examples, with andirons comprising the only group confidently attributed to American braziers.

The Baroque configuration of the Bayou Bend andirons recalls an earlier English design, fabricated in either brass or steel and distinguished by disklike feet, molded bosses, baluster uprights, and spherical knobs. This type may represent the earliest pattern cast by American braziers. Traditionally attributed to Newport, it is now believed that most are of English manufacture. Singular aspects of the Bayou Bend pair prompt an American attribution, more specifically to Boston. To begin with, the billet bar’s curved stepdown is not typical of English examples. Details that suggest a Boston origin include the cabriole legs and plinth base cast as a single unit and, in an effort to conserve metal, hollowed out on the back. Red brass, an alloy with a preponderance of copper, was seemingly preferred in Boston. The sliding log stop is another feature associated with Boston.

Technical notes: The log stops, upright, and knob are cast in halves and seamed. The plinth’s circular boss is riveted to disguise the juncture with the billet bar.

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.