What is a peacock fire screen?

A folding brass screen that opens out like a fan or a peacock's tail, closing flat when not in use. It's a genuine recurring type rather than a one-off, appearing in 22 titles. Most are brass. One has come through as a pair, and the peacock also turns up as a decorative subject worked into fixed screens.

Are antique fire screens usually brass?

Brass leads the category by a wide margin, appearing in 135 of 347 titles on Sellingantiques. Iron, copper and bronze together account for roughly another fifth. Timber-framed screens are the minority, in mahogany, oak, rosewood and walnut, generally carrying an embroidered, woolwork or tapestry panel.

How old are most fire screens for sale?

The dated field runs from 1820 to 1930, with 170 of the 347 listings carrying a clean year. The rest are placed only to a reign or a century. Decade labels concentrate on the 1900s, 1920s and 1910s, with the 1890s and Edwardian close behind. A few titles claim Georgian, Regency, William IV or Queen Anne dates, but those sit outside the bulk of the field.

What's the difference between a pole screen and a cheval screen?

A pole screen has a small panel that slides up and down an upright pole set in a tripod base, so the height can be adjusted. A cheval screen is fixed: the panel sits between two upright legs or trestle supports and stands on the floor. Both forms show up among the timber-framed screens.

Do fire screens come up often?

About 39 reach this market a year, and 110 different dealers have listed one. The category is spread thinly across the trade rather than held by a handful of specialists. That spread means the mix changes constantly: brass guards throughout, French gilt work and Arts and Crafts copper in steady supply, and the odd Japanese lacquer or Kashmiri walnut panel.

Which fire screens sit at the top of the range?

Gilt bronze and ormolu, and the French screens in the Louis and Empire Revival manner. Large and adjustable examples run upward too, as do pairs and screens sold with a companion set. The highest-priced pieces in the archive are a Japanese gold lacquer screen and a large Victorian screen, not English brass.

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Antique Fire Screens

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A screen set in front of the hearth, either to catch sparks and block the heat of an open fire or to carry a decorative panel of glass, metal or needlework.