This article explains why 18th and 19th century fire grates are sought-after today and discusses three key artistic styles from the period, namely Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, and Arts & Crafts, with pieces from our collection shown by way of example.

Antique fire grates and fireplaces are often highly-regarded by collectors due to the high-quality materials and workmanship employed in their manufacture. They were created with such care and attention to detail because of the vital role that the fireplace played in the lives of 18th and 19th-century people. The fireplace was the focus of any room, being a vital source of heat during the cold winter months. Before the advent of electricity, adequately lighting a large room was no trivial task, so the fireplace was also an important source of light – sometimes aided by the use of reflective brass panels.

As well as heat and light, the fireplace provided ventilation, drawing old, stale air up the chimney to be replaced by fresh air from outside. In an era where homes were often poorly ventilated, this made an enormous difference to the air quality of a room.

Additionally to all of these practical benefits, the fireplace also greatly enhanced the aesthetics of a room with the gentle sound and mesmerising effect of the flames. It is no wonder that many scenes from the literature of the period depict characters staring into the fire for inspiration and solace.

Since fireplaces were of such vital importance, their design and craftsmanship were given the utmost consideration with incredible creativity, skill, and attention to detail going into their manufacture. They were considered works of art, to be enjoyed along with the warmth, light, clean air and pleasant atmosphere that an open fire would bring to the room. Back in the less distracting times before television, people would spend a great deal of time gazing at their fireplaces. In fact, humans have huddled together around fires for hundreds of thousands of years. The designers of fireplaces in the 18th and 19th centuries were well aware of this, and they recognised the fire place’s significance as a social catalyst that brought people together to share its warmth and admire its beauty. 

“We remember though all the firelit glow
Of a great hearth’s gleam and glare,
And we looked for a space at each happy face
And the love that was written there.”

― Caris Brooke

Neo-classical Fire Grates

Spanning from the 1760s to the 1840s was the neoclassical period of art, which influenced many of the finest fire grates. Designers were able to capture the awe-inspiring nature of ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian architecture. Often, Neo-Classical fire grates would feature pillars reminiscent of ancient temples, often including intricate patterns and figurative motifs, such as classical figures and mythological creatures. Much sought after today, are so-called, sarcophagus grates from the period are reminiscent of the coffins of Egyptian pharaohs and strike a most formidable form – supported by the paws of mythological creatures and adorned with esoteric symbols that bring to mind the majesty of that once-great civilisation.

The fusion of classical architecture with 18th Century fire grate and fireplace design brought about something entirely unique as pointed out by William Chambers in his Treatise on Civil Architecture published in 1759.

“As the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, to whom architecture is so much indebted in other respects, lived in warm climates where fires in the apartments were seldom or never necessary, they have thrown but few lights on this branch of architecture.” 

It was quite the feat of  imagination to render a technology unknown to these ancient people according to the stylistic methods they employed. This is one of the reasons such pieces are so sought-after today.