What is the commonest type of antique fire grate?

The free-standing iron fire basket. Half of all titles use the word "basket" and iron is named in a hundred of them, so that shape is the default of the category. The recurring house form is an English cast-iron basket of about 1900, open-fronted, for coal or logs, sold loose rather than as part of a surround.

Are fire grates sold with andirons?

Often. Andirons appear in a fifth of titles and fire dogs in a smaller group again, usually as a set with the grate, sometimes with a fire back as well. That combination is more visible in current stock than in the archive, making up about a third of what's listed.

How old are most of these grates?

The dated field spans 1700 to 1940, with 76 listings carrying a clean year. The largest single bucket is the 1900s, followed by 19th century and Victorian as bracket labels. The earliest dated piece in the samples is an eighteenth-century iron grate given as 1700, with a Georgian one at 1750. The latest is a cast iron grate dated 1940.

Does a style name in the title mean a date?

No. Adam, Regency, Georgian, Gothic, neoclassical, Renaissance, Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts all appear as descriptions of design. Several pieces carrying those names are dated by the dealer to the 1920s, including titles such as "18th Century Style ... (Circa 1920)".

What's the difference between cast and wrought iron grates?

Cast iron is moulded in a sand mould, which allows repeat decorative fronts. Around a third of titles say cast. Wrought or forged iron is hammered rather than moulded, a small group in the archive, though a larger share of current listings.

Where do these grates come from?

English dominates, named in 45 titles. French origin surfaces only twice in the samples, once as an inglenook grate on andirons and once as a bronze chenet. Around fifteen fire grates come to market on Sellingantiques in a year, and thirty-nine different dealers have listed one.