Fire screen ca. 1736–40 Probably carved by Ferdinand Hundt Fire screens have been used since the Middle Ages to shield those standing or seated near a fireplace from the excessive heat of the open flames and from flying sparks. Toward the end of the seventeenth century, screens of rectangular shape with a large central panel of colorful fabric or other boldly contrasting material were developed to conceal the dark opening beneath the mantel that otherwise would interrupt the ornamental dado and paneled decoration of the room.[1] The materials used for the frame of these screens ranged from wro

Fire screen ca. 1736–40 Probably carved by Ferdinand Hundt Fire screens have been used since the Middle Ages to shield those standing or seated near a fireplace from the excessive heat of the open flames and from flying sparks. Toward the end of the seventeenth century, screens of rectangular shape with a large central panel of colorful fabric or other boldly contrasting material were developed to conceal the dark opening beneath the mantel that otherwise would interrupt the ornamental dado and paneled decoration of the room.[1] The materials used for the frame of these screens ranged from wrought iron or copper to carved wood or even silver, and the panel was often decorated with scenes from the forge of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.[2] Especially vulnerable to changing fashions and fire damage, exuberantly carved screens such as the present example have only rarely survived. The purpose of the Museum's screen is suggested by its decoration. At the top, two snake-dragons that seem to breathe fire from their gaping jaws flank the idealized head of a woman in a shell-and-acanthus cartouche. By turning their heads away from the goddesslike image they protect her complexion from damaging heat, a conceit that conjures the ideal of feminine beauty at the thought to be of French origin,[3] this screen in fact represents virtuoso Franconian Rococo carving at its sculptural best.[4] The expressive design and skillful carving suggest that it was one of several screens ordered for the lavishly furnished palace, or Residenz, in Würzburg, the cultural capital of Franconia, by Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (1674–1746). As prince-bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg, this noble prelate ruled as the spiritual head of the regional Catholic Church and as an independent prince of the Holy Roman Empire, who—in theory—held the emperor as his feudal lord. The office of prince-bishop, a political unicum of the Holy Roman Empire and some neighboring areas, was said to be ba

How we Work

Contribute

Legal

Contact Us