Posted 13 years ago
kwcko
(2 items)
Purchased at a flea market 24 years ago in South Carolina. I have no idea what it is...it is magnetic, all details are hand cut and manually stamped / hammered....i like it because it is handmade, the detail and patience of this person is admirable.
It looks to be a flue plate if so they normally had stamped metal strips on the back that fit in the chimney opening when not being used. ?
Thanks, but definitely not a chimney flue plate. It is a wall hanging and has a tab on the back for a nail. With the edges and the holes, how would it seal?
kwcko,
Although I am not an expert, I tend to agree with paul king, especially since your piece is magnetic. By chance, does the front and back come apart? I remember seeing similar objects--though MUCH more cheaply made than yours--as a little girl. They had tiny metal tabs or "slot and turn groves" that held the back to the front, so that a decorative plate or dessert plate could be put in between. They weren't actually meant to seal the flue, just to provide a decorative cover to the more functional, but less attractive, non-flammable object inserted into the flue liner, like a cracked or chipped plate or saucer or an old paint can lid. The nail tab, I would suppose, was used to anchor the plate holder in the event that a windstorm dislodged it from the flue liner. A lot of those old chimneys were notorious for downdrafts.
i wonder why it would be so ornate, detailed, and bowl shaped in the middle?....i have never seen a flue that is visible. i thought a flue was always inside the chimney and was tilted open for smoke to escape and closed when there was no fire....very interesting!