Neoclassical Style Four-Panel Brass and Steel Mesh Fireplace Screen with Scalloped Crest Rails. France. Circa 1970.

This four-panel folding fireplace screen in brass and steel mesh presents a refined decorative character that draws on the neoclassical vocabulary while incorporating elements of the Rococo revival — particularly in the treatment of the crest rails. Each of the four panels is framed in antique gilt brass and topped by a decorative crest rail of scalloped profile, its serpentine outline evoking the exuberant formal language of the Louis XV period in a manner widely emulated in quality French decorative metalwork production throughout the twentieth century.

The body of each panel is filled with a fine black steel wire mesh woven in an open diamond lattice, which allows the warmth and light of the fire to pass through while providing effective protection against sparks. The four hinged panels can be arranged at a variety of angles, allowing the screen to be adapted to fireplaces of different widths and proportions.

Dating to circa 1970, this screen represents the continued vitality of historical decorative styles in French domestic metalwork, when manufacturers working in the tradition of period reproductions supplied a substantial market for refined fireplace accessories in the great French decorative styles.