firebacks

Updated: May 16, 2025

The firebacks and the andirons, and later the fire-dogs, of the open fireplaces are collectable curios of considerable interest, and the hobby may be indulged in at a moderate cost. The collection of mantelpieces may be left to the wealthy and to those who have baronial halls in which to refix them.

Fred. W. (Frederick William) Burgess - Chats on Household Curios

The overmantels were decorated with coats-of-arms and other carving, and the entablature over the fireplace often had Latin mottoes. The earliest firebacks date from the fifteenth century. Coats-of-arms and many curious designs were used upon them. The furniture of the Tudor period was much carved, and was made chiefly of oak.

Lucy Abbot Throop - Furnishing the Home of Good Taste : A Brief Sketch of the Period Styles in Interior Decoration with Suggestions as to Their Employment in the Homes of Today