tall french provincial Andirons w/ posset cups, 30.5"h

tall french provincial Andirons w/ posset cups, 30.5"h

Start price	950.0 USD
Current price	950.0 USD
Start time	09/18/2008
End time	10/18/2008
Bid count	0
See more about tall french provincial Andirons w/ posset cups, 30.5"h

This is a very early french design of andirons...or chenets... with posset cups and spit hooks. This pair was likely made in the southern..french part of colonial America and likely date to the 18th century. Francis Whitaker, the famed blacksmith-designer-instructor, referred to this type of andiron with posset cups as french provincial and noted that the cups were used for mulling wine. In his book..."Beautiful Iron", he features a pair that he made in this style which differ slightly in construction....also he decorated the legs on his chenets with a criss-cross pattern while these have a similar chevron or herring bone pattern. All parts of these andirons are forge welded and/or riveted...the legs are formed directly from splaying the column...the columns are tapered and tilt slightly back (one a bit more than the other). The spits hooks are held on the column by collars at the top and bottom...the whole assembly turns freely and can thus be placed either on the front or rear of the column. The large hot rivets which hold the posset cups in place have been changed and thus the tops of the column and rivets show recent scorching from heat. Besides the two new rivets, there are no other repairs, replacements or modifications....all of the metal appears to be original hand forged stock. The height is 30 1/2" and the overall depth is 21". The posset cups have an inside diameter of 6 1/2" to 6 3/4".