International studio (82.1925)

mteRnAUonAL

that there may be equal honor
in the breach. Also, rooms not
so successful show that neither
system is fool proof. One thing,
though, is certain. A fine man-
tel will add beauty to any room;
it will often -make charming a
room otherwise uninteresting.

Fireirons, the furniture of
the fireplace, present a wider
variety of choice than do the
mantels. Fireirons themselves
are most closely related to the
fireplace by scale; period is of
secondary importance. English,
Italian and Dutch andirons have
so much in common that only
the most meticulous decorator
would hesitate to place an Ital-
ian pair in an English fireplace
because of differences in origin.
Both the height of the and-
one of a pair of andirons by louis aine lejeune iron and the quality of its orna-

Courtesy of the Krausbaar Galleries j • t tit

ment determine its scale, i he

of foreign design, were rare in Spain, and yet no simplest form, the heavy, columnar shaft sur-
one objects to an Italian fireplace in a Spanish mounted by a ball, looks larger than either a more
room. We have even designed Spanish fireplaces, slender or more ornate piece of the same size, and
using a combination of wall-niche and kitchen, will look out of place in an ornamented mantel,
which, although they have no actual prototype For heavy, stone mantels, suggestive of feudal
in Spain, seem quite appropriate in a modern days, the scrolled Italian andirons, or those topped
American Spanish room. We cannot, therefore, with cages for holding flambeaux are always har-
be too captious. It is of importance that the fire- monious. And, either in the original or reproduc-
place and the room be in harmony; it is of much tion, the English andirons with racks for pokers,
less importance how that harmony is achieved. forks and spits are highly desirable.

Although the modern tendency is to rely more In both Europe and America sculptors and

on the decorator's sense of design and harmony craftsmen have often designed andirons using
than on fixed rules, the treatment of a room with figures of men, animals or mythological creatures
a fireplace may be roughly as motives. Some of the Ital-

divided into two schools. In fireplace in the home of mr. joseph ian examples show great skill
one the fireplace is made the riter. andirons by hunt diederich both in design and execution.

centre of interest, other fea-
tures being subordinated to it
and so arranged that the eye
is led to the mantel. In the
other the fireplace becomes
simply a part of a general deco-
rative scheme. The first is
based on the traditional archi-
tectural theory that in any
room, as well as on the facade
of a building, there should be
a focal point. It is a tradition
whose successes attest its
worth. The number of beauti-
ful rooms, however, where the
rule has been broken prove

In modern times the American
sculptor, Hunt Diederich, has
made interesting pairs of and-
irons as well as the decorative
iron firescreens which are better
known. The firescreens made
in France by Edgar Brandt,
the Jerronier whose work is the
finest in modern Europe, are
beautiful examples of crafts-
manship and design. The pair
of andirons by Louis Lejeune,
of which one is shown in the
illustration, offers a striking
example of combined use and
beauty.

one thirty-two

november 1925