Style Japonism, Chinoiserie / Ref.12428

Thomas Jeckyll (1827 - 1881) - Stove front made of bronze and cast iron

Thomas Jeckyll (1827-1881) was an English architect and designer famous for his metal creation and furniture influenced by the Japanese taste. Important artist of the English Aesthetic movement, he helped to revolutionize architecture and interior decoration of 19th century English houses. One of his major works is the Peacock Room made in 1876 in collaboration with James McNeill Whistler from the wealth collector Frederick Leyland, which is now in the Freer Gallery in Washington.
In 1859 and until 1881, he worked with the metal factory Barnard, Bishop and Barnards. From the middle of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, the metal factory Barnard, Bishop and Barnard took an important place in the industrial landscape of Norwich. It is thanks to Thomas Jeckyll's design that it became famous in the rest of the country, rising some pieces as true artworks, like the Norwich door, exhibited during the International Exhibition in 1862.
From this collaboration, a lot of stove fronts were created in the Japanese taste, especially the one we have, known for the capacity to slowdown the combustion process. Those stove fronts have, in most of the cases, a decoration with circles decorated with Japanese motifs as cherry flowers or birds, also sunflowers, symbol of the Aesthetic movement, popularized by the artist. These circles which are surrounding the fireplace are emphasized by some chiseled decoration on the background depicting lines or geometric forms reminding a Japanese aesthetic.
Our stove front also shows all the design characteristics from Thomas Jeckyll. The decoration is divided into five slabs with backgrounds chiseled with Japanese geometric motifs. We also see the circle and the half circle randomly placed all around the fireplace, decorated with plants reminding once again the Japanese flora. We find again the birds and the sunflowers, dear to the artist.
Furthermore, a decoration was added in the fireplace's angles. Finally, there is a circle on the top left corner decorated with plants with the metal factory signature.
The company's signature was four bees (in reference to the letter B of their name) in a circle. Also the butterflies that we find in some of the circles from Jeckyll's decor are considered as the artist's signature. On some of the stove fronts and especially ours, the four bees are no longer alone on the circle but are joined to the decor, forming a square in which we can see four B around the letter N in reference to Norwich.