  |
Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil or architectural feature made of iron especially used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000BC, it was the Hittites who first knew how to extract it (see iron ore) and develop weapons. Use of iron was mainly utilitarian until the Middle Ages, it became widely used for decoration in the period between the 16th and 19th century.
Contents |
Wrought ironwork
Wrought ironwork is forged by a blacksmith using an anvil. The earliest known ironwork are beads from Jirzah in Egypt dating from 3500 BC and made from meteoric iron with the earliest use of smelted iron dates back to Mesopotamia. However, the first use of iron dates back to the Hittites from 2000BC.
Knowledge about the use of iron spread from the Middle East to Greece and the Aegean region by 1000BC and had reached western and central Europe by 600BC. However, its use was primarily utilitarian for weapons and tools before the Middle Ages. Due to rusting, very little remains of early ironwork.
From the medieval period, use of ironwork for decorative purposes became more common. Iron was used to protect doors and windows of valuable places from attack from raiders and was also used for decoration as can be seen at Canterbury Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and Notre Dame de Paris. Armour also was decorated, often simply but occasionally elaborately.
From the 16th century onwards, ironwork became highly ornate especially in the Baroque and Rococo periods. In Spain, elaborate screens of iron or rejería were built in all of the Spanish cathedrals rising up to nine metres high.
In France, highly decorative iron balconies, stair railings and gateways were highly fashionable from 1650. Jean Tijou brought the style to England and examples of his work can be seen at Hampton Court and St Pauls Cathedral. Wrought ironwork was widely used in the UK during the 18th in gates and railings in London and towns such as Oxford and Cambridge. In the US, ironwork features more prominently in New Orleans than elsewhere due to its French influence.
As iron became more common, it became widely used for cooking utensils, stoves, grates, locks, hardware and other household uses. From the beginning of the 19th century, wrought iron was being replaced by cast iron due to the latter's lower cost. However, the English Arts and Crafts Movement produced some excellent work in the middle of the 19th century. In modern times, much modern wrought work is done using the pneumatic hammer and the acetylene torch. A number of modern sculptors have worked in iron including Pablo Picasso, Julio González and David Smith.
Cast ironwork
Cast iron is produced in a furnace stoked with alternate layers of coking iron then poured into molds. After the iron cools off, the sand is cleaned off. The Chinese were the first to use cast iron from the 6th century AD using it as support for pagodas and other buildings.
It was introduced into Europe by the 15th century with its main decorative uses being as firebacks and plates for woodburning stoves in Germany, the Netherlands and Scanindavia. By the end of the 18th century, cast iron was increasing used for railings, balconies, banisters and garden furniture due to its lower cost.
See also
References
- John Starkie Gardner Ironwork Victoria & Albert Museum London 1978 Volume 1 ISBN 0-905209-00-1 Volume 2 ISBN 0-905209-01-X Volume 3 ISBN 0-905209-02-8 first published 1893
- Dona Z. Meilach, Decorative & Sculptural Ironwork: Tools, Techniques, Inspiration 2nd edition Schiffer Atglen PA 1999 ISBN 0-7643-0790-8
- Otto Höver A Handbook of Wrought Iron from the Middle Ages to the end of the Eighteenth Century translated by Ann Weaver Thames and Hudson London 1962
- Edward Graeme Robinson and Joan Robinson Cast Iron Decoration: A World Survey 2nd Edition Thames and Hudson 1994 ISBN 0-500-27756-7
- Gerald K. Geerlings, Wrought Iron in Architecture :; Wrought Iron Craftsmanship; Historical Notes and Illustrations of Wrought Iron in Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Belgium, England, Germany, America Bonanza Books 1957
- Theodore Menten, Art Nouveau Decorative Ironwork Dover Publications New York 1981 ISBN 0-486-23986-1
Notes
External links
- Encyclopedia.com article on Ornamental ironwork
- Wrought ironwork
- Cemetery fence ironwork
- Columbia Encyclopedia article on ornamental ironwork
- Encyclopædia Britannica article on metalwork
Article is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from Wikipedia.org Original article is here.
Ironwork - Live Search NotizieRisultati della ricerca
Yahoo! News Search Results for Ironwork
Country boy, city dad head to Nashville (Merced Sun-Star)NASHVILLE -- My college-sophomore son and I make an interesting pair. He'll listen to country music all day long and is teaching himself to pluck a tune or two on the guitar; I'll tolerate the music in limited doses, but if I never heard another country song again, I probably wouldn't miss it.
Amherst groups vie for more than $800,000 from the Community Preservation Act Committee for the next fiscal year (The Republican)AMHERST - For a variety of projects, boards, committees and a resident group are seeking more than $800,000 from the Community Preservation Act Committee for the next fiscal year.
For Sale in Mexico (New York Times)A four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath house with a garden in the Corpus Christi neighborhood of Cozumel.
Ethics Overhaul Sought in Massachusetts (New York Times)Gov. Deval Patrick's proposal to reform ethics laws included increasing the maximum punishment for bribery and giving the secretary of state the power to revoke lobbyists' licenses.
Garden Tour will be fundraiser for Secret Garden (The Wilson Times) Mark the dates May 1 and 2 on your calendar. Those are the days slated for this year's Wilson Botanical Gardens' Wilson Garden Tour and this year's festivities are raising funds for a wonderful project - the building of a Children's Secret Garden. The Secret Garden, to be constructed at the Botanical Gardens behind the Wilson Agricultural Center ...
Patrick Proposes Ethics Reform to Curb Corrupt Politicians and Lobbyists (The Tech) By Abby Goodnough THE NEW YORK TIMES Responding to a rash of public corruption scandals in Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday proposed steeper fines for ethics violations and other improvements to laws meant to keep government officials and lobbyists honest.
Blacksmith Simmons’ home on track to become museum (The State) CHARLESTON — Sitting in a wheelchair in his sun-filled room at an upscale James Island retirement community, 96-year-old Philip Simmons folds his large, age-spotted hands into his lap and thinks about what it means to live to see his former home become a museum. Those hands created thousands of pieces of ironwork that found their way into nearly every neighborhood in Charleston. Soon visitors ...
Captured 'capital' (BBC News)Inside the ruined remains of the Tamil Tiger HQ
Charleston blacksmith shop to become museum (The State)The former Lowcountry home of 96-year-old blacksmith Philip Simmons will become a museum. He created thousands of pieces of ironwork that found their way into nearly every neighborhood in Charleston. Soon visitors will tour where the blacksmith who shaped those curls and swirls and perfect straight lines worked, slept and lived. The Philip Simmons Foundation purchased the home with a ...
Evangelista: The Mansion (House) (Sun Star)DID you know that the Mansion, official summer residence of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, was built through the initiative of Governor General William Cameron Forbes?
Live Search: IronworkRisultati della ricerca
Iron Work Models di Giuseppe VitaliRealizzazione di plastici e diorami in scala, modelli architettonici, modelli museali, oggetti di merchandising. Costruzione e pittura modelli in kit, miniature da collezione e ...
ITALIANO - Wrought Iron Producer - Arteferro Products and Work - The ... Wrought Iron Producer - Arteferro - The finest Ironwork Worldwide ... Il software è un valido e semplice aiuto, alla portata di tutti gli utenti, nella progettazione di qualsiasi ...
Gonzato Design 1, fencing - Wrought Iron Producer - Arteferro Products ... Art: GD 61/1 ... Nell'attenta scelta dei dettagli sta, spesso, la spiegazione di un risultato paricolarmente equilibrato e felice.
Ironwork - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaIronwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil or architectural feature made of iron especially used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork wrought iron and cast iron.
Presentazione GD - Wrought Iron Producer - Arteferro Products and Work ... Gonzato design innovativo catalogo che fonde motivi classici del Ferro Battuto con il design moderno.
ironwork.jpgcustom ironwork
Ironwork MarcheLaurence Love is a master wrought ironsmith based in Marche Italy. From their home near Treia, Laurence and his wife Sandy produce a wide range of metal products (iron gates, iron ...
Arteferro CAD 4 Web Configurator - Wrought Iron Producer - Arteferro ... Presentazione e requisiti tecnici del software ArteferroCAD 4 Web Configurator ... Arteferro CAD 4 Web Configurator. È ormai in fase di conclusione la realizzazione del nuovo ...
Falcon Forge Gates Railings Wrought Ironwork
Custom Metal Products - Ornamental IronworkDesign, manufacture and installation of custom ornamental ironwork and repair work of original ironwork .
