Treasury of Ironwork Designs: 469 Examples from Historical Sources: 469 Examples from Historical Sources

The history of Western decorative arts is filled with splendid examples of ornamental ironwork - elaborately wrought designs for gates and fences, finials and posts, banisters and window grilles, signs and marquees, cathedral screens and a host of other architectural and decorative features. This practical archive brings together nearly 500 outstanding examples of the ironworker's art. Meticulously rendered in fine black-and-white line art, the designs have been reprinted from rare European and American catalogs and periodicals of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including L'Art Pour Tous, Art Journal, The Illustrated London News, Harper's Monthly and others. The designs illustrated here date from the Middle Ages through the late 19th century, encompassing the ornate figuration of the Renaissance, the exuberant innovations of Baroque and Rococo artists, and the sinuous designs of 19th-century ironworkers inspired by the Art Nouveau aesthetic. Artists, architects, designers and craftspersons will all find this volume and ideal sourcebook of beautiful designs - all copyright-free - from a great tradition in the decorative arts.