England Art Deco "machine Age" 1930 Folding Fireplace Screen, Hammered Iron Ssl26ecr001

England Art Deco "Machine Age" 1930 Three-panel folding fireplace screen in hammered iron SSL26ECR001

Beautiful English Art Deco-era fireplace screen with three hinged panels, made entirely of iron, circa 1930.
In the Machine Age style, foreshadowing Brutalist art

An architect’s design. Each panel is conceived as a small architectural element. A molded, relief-carved frame surrounds a central panel divided into three sections by thin, projecting moldings. The sections are covered with a hammered honeycomb pattern, which catches the light and gives the iron a sculpted appearance. The base of each shutter ends in a low arch cutout, flanked by small feet with square lugs, and the upper corners are rounded. This understated, rhythmic geometry, free of superfluous ornamentation, is typical of the Art Deco style and the “Machine Age” aesthetic of the 1930s. The three panels, connected by vertical hinges, unfold to form a screen or fold back for storage.

An object of its time. In the early 20th century, the coal fire was at the heart of the British home, but it was also the leading cause of serious accidents. The Children Act of 1908, nicknamed the “Children’s Charter,” made the absence of a fireguard a criminal offense for parents of a child who had suffered burns. As late as 1952, the British Parliament noted that the coal-fired hearth remained the leading cause of fatal burn accidents in the home. The Art Deco style, popularized after the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris, then spread to England, even influencing everyday objects: the fire screen, both useful and protective, also became a decorative element in the home.

Today, it can be used as a decorative fire screen, as a screen in front of a fireplace, or as a decorative piece on the floor or on a table.

Beautiful original patina, dark anthracite, with some signs of wear and small, scattered rust spots consistent with its age (see photos). Movable shutters, original structure.

Length: 100 cm when unfolded flat — Height: 80 cm — 39 cm when folded (approximately)

Iron (stamped sheet metal with hammered finish)