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Pair of stunning gilt bronze Serpents in the manner of Edgar Brandt, circa 1920. These would make fabulous door pulls for pair of double doors or wardrobe, would simply need holes to...

Brass doorstop in the form of a basket of fruit and flowers below a handle cast with entwined wheatears. Dimensions Height 14 inches Width 6 inches Depth 2 inches.

A lovely pair of cast iron Fleur de Lys door stops, mid-20th century in date. The pair are painted with a textured green, black and gold finish and are supported on semi-circular bases. Add some regal splendor to your home with these lovely door stops. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 20 x width 18 x depth 18 Dimensions in inches: Height 7.9 x width 7.1 x depth 7.1 The fleur de lys of heraldry, with its three ” petals,” its cross-bar, or knop, or ring, and its triple ” stalk,” is probably of no greater antiquity than heraldry itself. Examples of it in that particular form, examples which are mostly very indistinct or doubtful, which occur in pre-mediaeval art, are so rare as to suggest that they are accidental and have no established place in ancient symbolism or decoration. It is true that certain decorative patterns used in the art of several, perhaps even many, of the ancient civilizations, contain floral forms which are strongly reminiscent of a fleur de lys. But these never seem to be “complete”: they usually form only part of larger patterns or consist only of the “head,” and look very much like some kind of lily, conventionally depicted, which indeed is probably what they are intended to be, or is their source of inspiration. There is not very much to be said about the fleur de lys as a symbol. In Christian sacred art it has, since it is called a lily flower, been identified with the Virgin Mary, and since it is a tri-parted figure, with the Holy Trinity. In heraldry, and in a more mystic age, when men liked to see a hidden meaning in almost everything, the three “petals” have been held to denote such things as three desirable knightly qualities. The fleur de lys is really an ornament, and not a symbol. In heraldry it is also a cognizance and it is possible that originally it was not intended to be anything else. The question of its origin has nevertheless received much attention, and has been the subject of a great deal of conjecture and speculation. Some see in it a direct descendant in an unbroken line, so to speak, of the lily patterns of the ancient world: others derive it directly from the iris, or the flag, or some other flower or lily: others again prefer to see in it a spear-head, or a bee, or even a frog (both of which last have been ancient French emblems in their time). Another view, and perhaps not the least probable, is that it is derived from the sort of flower-shaped ornament of varying detail which, so far as is known, served no purpose other than that of decoration and which unsigned the scepters of many of the ancient Frankish, English and other kings of the 1st millennium after Christ (and perhaps formerly), as may be seen from their surviving coins. This fleuret is usually of a fleur de lys pattern, having the three “petals” and sometimes, the knop. If it were removed from its scepter and furnished with a decorative base of the right kind, it would become a fleur de lys. If this is in fact what happened then the heraldic fleur de lys owes its existence simply to chance and to a good sense of design, coupled no doubt, with a need for a distinctive cognizance in days when that need was being felt all-over Europe, due to the invention of European heraldry. In support of this it is perhaps worth mentioning that in 13th century heraldry the fleur de lys sometimes went by the name of floret, an obsolete variation of fleuret, a flower-shaped ornament. So far as is known, it so happened that a Frenchman, in the person of King Louis VII...

Early 20th century brass door knobs, the oval handle on rectangular backplate, original patination and unlacquered.

Large early 20th century oval rose brass door knobs, circa 1920. Four pairs available.

Victorian cast iron fox head door stop, circa 1880. This kind of doorstop was popular in England in the late 19th century and would have been placed agai...

French 1970s gilt door handles. Three sets of 1970s French lever door handles with six matching key plates and 6 lever handles finely cast with hand-ha...

Pair of French bronze handles decorated with dancing nymphs. Beautiful weighty bronze handles with dancing figures in deep sculpted relief. French scul...

A George II carved pinewood overdoor, in the manner of William Kent, the deep cornice with ovolo, egg and dart and dentil mouldings above a frieze centred by female mask flanked by s...

Long run of large antique bronze spherical door knobs, circa 1900, with circular back-plate.  

Edwardian oval rose brass door handles on circular backplates, circa 1905. Cleaned, polished and restored, suitable for everyday use.

Large early 20th century oval rose brass door knobs, circa 1920. Four pairs available.