Pair of Modernist Wrought Iron Andirons with Ring Finials, in the Style of Jacques Adnet, circa 1950

A striking pair of modernist andirons in blackened wrought iron, conceived in the formal language of Jacques Adnet and characteristic of the finest French fireplace metalwork of the mid-twentieth century. Each andiron consists of a slender vertical rod surmounted by a simple open ring, the upright set into a broad, X-shaped base that spreads low and firmly across the hearth. The monochromatic, all-iron treatment—with no brass or gilding to soften the composition—gives this pair a graphic, almost sculptural authority that places it firmly in the modernist tradition.

The ring or anneau finial is one of the most recognizable motifs in Adnet’s decorative vocabulary, appearing on andirons, lamp bases, and furniture hardware alike. Where some examples incorporate a brass sphere, this pair opts for pure iron geometry: the circle, the cross, the vertical. The result is an object that could as easily stand in a modernist gallery as before a working fire—such is the confidence of the formal reduction.

Wrought iron fireplace furniture of this type was produced throughout the 1940s and 1950s by a constellation of gifted French blacksmiths working within the orbit of Adnet, Poillerat, and the broader tradition of the Compagnie des Arts Français. The quality of the forging here—the uprights cleanly shaped, the ring smoothly closed, the base arms well-proportioned—places this pair securely within that distinguished lineage.

In good condition consistent with age and use, the blackened finish intact and the iron free from significant damage. A restrained and handsome pair that will assert itself quietly in any fireplace setting.