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1989-345, Fireback
Fireback with Fairfax arms
1989-345, Fireback

Fireback with Fairfax arms

Dateca. 1770
Produced by Isaac Zane Jr.
Artist/Maker Nicholas Bernard and Martin Jugiez
OriginAmerica, Virginia, Winchester
MediumCast iron
DimensionsHeight: 34 1/4"; Width: 31 5/8"; Maximum thickness at edge; 1 7/8"; Weight: 291 lbs.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1989-345
DescriptionCast iron fireback of "tombstone" shape with arched top, rounded corners and a beaded & dashed edge. The central portion bears the Fairfax arms above "ZANE.," the name of the ironmaster, and MARLBRO.," the name of the furnace which cast it.
Label TextFar more than a heating accoutrement or a shield for masonry work, this exquisite fireback is a masterpiece of colonial southern ironwork. It was produced from a pattern carved by the Philadelphia firm of Bernard and Jugiez, and was cast at Isaac Zane’s Marlboro Furnace near Winchester, Virginia. It bears the arms of Fairfax and Culpepper, and may have originally been produced for one of the family’s seats in Virginia. Due to Fairfax’s popularity, it is thought that Zane, whose signature appears at the bottom, produced castings for commercial sale. It was among the most beautiful of Zane’s cast iron products, and one he held in high esteem, noting in 1795 that he had paid £8 for it. Weighing nearly 300 pounds, it may be the heaviest early American fireback.

A number of iron furnaces began production in western Maryland and Virginia well before the Revolution. Most produced raw pig iron and rudimentary household forms, but some generated remarkably sophisticated goods. Far more than a heating accoutrement or a shield for masonry work, this exquisite fireback is a masterpiece of colonial southern ironwork. It was cast at Isaac Zane’s Marlboro Furnace near Winchester, Virginia, from a pattern carved by the Philadelphia firm of Bernard and Jugiez. The fireback bears the arms of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, proprietor of Virginia’s vast Northern Neck. It may have been produced for one of his family’s Virginia seats.
ProvenanceSotheby's, New York
Exhibition(s)