Antique American Cast Iron Fruit Basket Doorstop, C. 1920s–1930s, Black Paint

Details

Description

….Before there were decorative objects, there were useful ones — and the finest of them were both. This magnificent cast … Read more ….Before there were decorative objects, there were useful ones — and the finest of them were both. This magnificent cast iron doorstop is the old American domestic ideal made solid: a fruit basket overflowing with grapes, pears, and blooms, rendered in relief of quite astonishing depth and intricacy, its woven basket body and arching rope handle every bit as crisp as the day it left the foundry mold.

At 9 × 8 × 3 inches, it has real substance — heavy in the hand as a good doorstop must be — yet the modeling is surprisingly fine. Clusters of grapes tumble over broad leaves; a pear nestles against a trumpet flower; the basket weave catches the light in a dozen small shadows. The original black paint has aged to a deep, nearly lacquer-like finish that sets off every detail with the gravity of old bronze.

American cast iron fruit basket doorstops of this quality were produced in the 1920s and 1930s by a handful of regional foundries — the form was considered the pinnacle of the genre, and the best examples are now actively collected. This is one of the best examples.

Provenance: Acquired at a private estate sale in East Hampton, New York, from the collection of a distinguished diplomatic family — forty years abroad, a lifetime of collecting with singular taste.

Condition: Excellent for age. Original black paint with handsome patina. No chips, cracks, or repairs. Stands perfectly flat. A thoroughly honest piece. See less