Pair of Neoclassical Brass Andirons with Pine Cone Finials, in the Style of Maison Jansen

This refined pair of brass andirons belongs to the neoclassical revival tradition that Maison Jansen and its contemporaries cultivated with such authority throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Each andiron is composed of a pine cone finial rising above a stack of graduated brass balls, the whole set upon an elegantly arched tripod base whose three legs splay outward in a scalloped movement reminiscent of Empire-period furniture mounts. A slender wrought iron log bar extends from the rear, providing the functional counterpart to the decorative front standard.

The pine cone — a motif of extraordinary antiquity, venerated in Roman, Renaissance, and neoclassical decorative art alike as a symbol of immortality and regeneration — is here rendered with characteristic crispness. Its articulated scales, tapering to a neat point, are balanced below by the succession of beaded spheres that form the shaft, an arrangement that recurs throughout the Jansen atelier’s work in both lighting and furniture hardware. The combination of materials — polished cast brass for the ornamental elements, contrasting matte iron for the log support — is entirely typical of the finest Parisian workshops of the 1930s and 1940s.

At fourteen and a half centimetres wide and twenty-one and a half centimetres tall, these are salon-scaled andirons, suited to a more intimate fireplace or a decorative installation rather than a large working hearth. Their compact dimensions do nothing to diminish their authority; on the contrary, the precision of their casting and the quality of their finish are all the more appreciable at close range.

A charming and versatile pair, these andirons would read equally well in a period room furnished in the French neoclassical or Empire manner and in a more contemporary interior seeking a note of restrained elegance. They present in excellent condition, with a warm, even patina and no losses to the brass elements.