Brass and Wire Mesh Folding Fireplace Screen

The fireplace screen performs a double duty in the French interior: it is a safety device — a barrier against sparks and rolling embers — and simultaneously one of the most visible objects in the room, positioned at eye level against the most architecturally significant wall. The finest examples were conceived accordingly, their materials and proportions chosen to complement the chimney breast above them and the furniture arranged in their presence. This folding brass and wire mesh screen, made in France around 1970, belongs to a long tradition of fireside elegance treated with the craft attention it deserves.

The folding structure is one of the most considered solutions to the practical problem of the fireplace screen. Unlike a fixed panel, which must be sized precisely to a single opening and stored awkwardly when not in use, the folding screen adjusts to different hearth widths, stands without wall support, and folds flat for compact storage. The three-panel construction used here is the classic French solution: when deployed, the outer panels splay at a slight angle to create a stable freestanding structure; when folded, the whole collapses to just 25 cm in depth. The engineering is simple and the execution here is clean.

The materials are well chosen for their contrasting qualities. The brass frame — polished to a warm golden lustre — provides structure and visual warmth, its geometric profiles forming a composed border around each mesh panel. The wire mesh grille combines transparency with protection, allowing the glow of the fire to read through the screen while arresting any errant spark. At 53.5 cm wide and 58 cm high, the screen is suited to a fireplace of moderate scale: compact enough for a bedroom or study hearth, but sufficiently substantial for use in a salon.

A fireplace accessory in this condition, with the brass retaining its patina and the mesh intact and undistorted, is rarer than it might seem: these objects were made to be used, and daily handling takes its toll. This example has survived in the kind of considered household that understood the value of its furnishings. It is a small but complete object of French domestic craft. Dimensions: 53.5 × 25 × 58 cm.