Fireside antiques is the collective term for the furnishings and implements associated with the open hearth. It covers fenders, firedogs and andirons, fire baskets and grates, firebacks, fire irons and companion sets, coal scuttles and log baskets, fire screens and fireguards, trivets, toasting forks and bellows, as well as the chimneypiece itself.
For centuries the fire was the heart of the house, and its furniture reflected the status of the room. Medieval and Tudor halls burned logs on iron firedogs against cast-iron firebacks, while Georgian drawing rooms adopted elegant steel and brass grates designed for coal, often to designs in the Adam or Regency manner. The Victorians produced fireside equipment in enormous variety, from polished brass fenders and copper coal helmets to Arts and Crafts pieces in beaten metal. When assembling a fireside, dealers look for pieces that suit the scale and period of the fireplace, and they check that fenders fit the hearth and that grates are sound and unburnt. Original surfaces, good casting and well-made joints all matter. Although many fireplaces are now decorative rather than working, period fireside pieces continue to give a room a strong focal point.
