Andirons
19th Century French Antique Andirons
1780s English George III Antique Andirons
Brass, Steel
18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Andirons
1830s American American Empire Antique Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Louis XV Andirons
Bronze, Iron, Metal
1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
1790s Italian Neoclassical Antique Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
Late 18th Century French Other Antique Andirons
Iron
Late 19th Century American Antique Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
1820s French Louis Philippe Antique Andirons
Brass, Iron
1950s French Brutalist Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
1830s American American Empire Antique Andirons
Brass, Iron
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Andirons
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Andirons
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Andirons
Brass
1950s French Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Brass, Iron
1950s French Vintage Andirons
Bronze
Late 19th Century Unknown Louis XV Antique Andirons
Bronze
1960s French Brutalist Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
19th Century English Arts and Crafts Antique Andirons
Steel
2010s French Andirons
Bronze
19th Century American Edwardian Antique Andirons
Brass
Early 1800s American Antique Andirons
Brass
1890s English Baroque Antique Andirons
Brass, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Andirons
Bronze, Steel
19th Century French Antique Andirons
Spelter
2010s American Machine Age Andirons
Brass, Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Andirons
Brass
20th Century North American Art Deco Andirons
Nickel
19th Century French Antique Andirons
1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Bronze
Late 19th Century North American American Classical Antique Andirons
Iron
1970s French Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron, Brass
Early 20th Century French Andirons
Bronze
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Andirons
Bronze, Iron
16th Century English Antique Andirons
Brass
1930s British Anglo-Japanese Vintage Andirons
Iron
1980s French Vintage Andirons
Steel, Brass
19th Century French Empire Antique Andirons
Bronze
Early 19th Century French Gothic Antique Andirons
Wrought Iron
19th Century Regency Antique Andirons
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Federal Andirons
Brass
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Wrought Iron, Brass
Early 20th Century Art Deco Andirons
Iron
1860s French Napoleon III Antique Andirons
Bronze
1790s American Antique Andirons
Brass
1950s American Arts and Crafts Vintage Andirons
Iron
1880s English Aesthetic Movement Antique Andirons
Brass
20th Century American Arts and Crafts Andirons
Iron
19th Century French Baroque Antique Andirons
Ormolu, Iron, Brass, Bronze
19th Century American American Colonial Antique Andirons
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Andirons
Bronze, Ormolu
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Iron, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Andirons
Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Andirons
Brass
1850s French Louis XVI Antique Andirons
Bronze
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Andirons
Bronze, Ormolu
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Andirons
Brass, Iron
Early 18th Century French Gothic Antique Andirons
Wrought Iron
19th Century Federal Antique Andirons
Brass, Iron
Antique and Vintage Andirons
A set of antique or vintage andirons is a staple accessory, part of the fireplace tools you’ll want to collect for keeping a neat and elegant fireplace in your home.
Using andirons in a fireplace elevates the fire, ensuring more air can get to the logs thus keeping a fire burning longer. Andirons also encourage ventilation and may also prevent smoke from working its way into your living room or bedroom.
Think of these accessories as part of an upright metal support system to optimize your fire. Antique andirons are basically u-shaped brackets with a curved end that come in pairs and are largely quite simple in structure, but the design of this household necessity has improved over time. Outwardly decorative andirons have become available since their debut because one should never underestimate the style quotient of an attractive hearth.
Andirons, which earned the nickname “firedogs” given their similarity in form to a pair of upright canines, are believed to be the oldest fireplace furnishings. They have been used broadly since at least the late Iron Age. Before iron became the material of choice, stone andirons did a suitable job of balancing the logs in a fire and adding a sense of symmetry to the hearth. Fire baskets, like the combination of andirons and a grate, afforded an opportunity to layer logs in a fire rather than delicately stacking them on andirons.
Today, andirons can be found in bronze and brass, too, which contrast wonderfully with a mantel carved from dark marble, for example, and add dimension to what might otherwise be a subdued space. And while people aren’t cooking in the fireplace anymore, andirons’ spit hooks offered an opportunity to roast meat or rest the pokers that you typically would’ve kept fireside.
During the Renaissance, andirons became especially ornate and even figurative, taking on human forms as well as marine life such as dolphins. Art Deco–era andirons are particularly exquisite. While the accessories are frequently characterized by rich geometric angles and sculptural curves, attributes that we know of most Art Deco furniture, artisans of the period also looked to what was by then a long tradition of designing andirons in the shape of animals and reptiles.
Adding fashionable antique or vintage andirons will not only improve the quality of a fire but can also elevate your space as well as the fireside experience. Find modern andirons, Art Nouveau andirons and other varieties today on 1stDibs.