What is the difference between a fire basket and a grate?

Grate is the general word for the iron fuel-holding part of a fireplace, free-standing or built in. A fire basket is one form of it, basket-shaped and standing on its own legs or on andirons. The two words are used together across these listings. "Fire basket" appears in around a third of titles, and many of those describe the piece as a grate in the same breath.

Are most antique grates cast iron?

Cast iron dominates. It appears in about a third of all titles, and the crisp repeated ornament on these grates comes from iron poured into moulds. Wrought iron, hand-forged rather than cast, is a small minority across the archive at roughly one title in twenty. It is a larger share of what is currently listed on Sellingantiques. Brass and steel show up as trim or as mixed-metal work.

Why are andirons mentioned so often?

Because the basket frequently sits on them. Andirons, also called fire dogs, are the uprights that support logs or carry a grate clear of the hearth. Almost a quarter of titles name andirons or fire dogs, and live stock leans further that way. The phrase "basket andirons" has gone from a rarity to nearly a fifth of current listings.

What is an inglenook grate?

One made for a large recessed open hearth. These are the physically distinct group, described as wide, curved, huge and very heavy. They are a small share of the category, around one title in fourteen, and log grates sit alongside them.

How old are these grates usually?

The dated field runs from 1700 to 1960 across the listings carrying a clean year, with an early 18th-century iron fire grate at one end and a hand-made forge grate of 1960 at the other. The commonest single signal is a turn-of-the-century date, with c1900 in a tenth of titles. Victorian and 19th Century are the broad labels that recur most. Anything before 1800 is thin on the ground: a handful of one-off 17th- and 18th-century entries.

Does a Georgian or Regency label mean a Georgian date?

Not always. Several grates described as Georgian, Regency or Adam style carry a dated field in the 1920s, so the label is recording style rather than manufacture. The titles themselves often say "style" outright. Where a listing gives both a period name and a year, the two are worth reading as separate pieces of information.