Decorative Ironwork
Umberto Zimelli and Giovanni Vergerio
ILLUSTRATED
FIRST EDITIONPublisher: Paul Hamlyn
Copyright: 1966--CONDITION--
This book is in good condition. Hardcover with dust jacket. Jacket is in excellent condition; unclipped. Gray cloth boards are lightly worn along edges and corners. Richly illustrated. Hinges tight. Binding square. The text block is crisp and clean. 159 pages. --ABOUT THIS ITEM--
A brief glance at the illustrations in this book is enough to reveal the amazing virtuosity of the blacksmith's art, an art which has modestly flourished from the Middle Ages to the present day. In the Middle Ages, heavy wooden doors were reinforced and incidentally decorated with ironwork mounts, hinges and bolts. Later, ironwork began to be used in churches for screens across the choir and around chapels and tombs. By the Renaissance, craftsmen were also producing splendid lamp-holders, fire-screens, gates and coffers. In 18th-century France, the outstanding craftsman was Jean Lamour, smith to the court of King Stanislas at Nancy where examples of his workmanship can still be seen. In Germany, among the magnificent examples of Baroque ironwork, the gates and railings of the castle park at Würzburg are supreme. Spain, having inherited the craft from Moorish invaders, has produced a wealth of objects from locks and coffers to the monumental screen in Granada Catherdal and the incredible constructions of Antonio Gaudí. The craftsman in iron has clearly never lacked a vigorous creative imagination, and whether your taste is for the lace-like delicacy of a Gothic choir-screen or the grand sweep of a Baroque staircase, this book will provide ample enjoyment and interest.
Item Dimensions: 7.75 inches x 5.5 inches
LOC B4 S1