Fireplace tongs

Fireplace tongs Fireplaces, which were used to heat rooms, were accompanied by fireplace accessories with two functions – utilitarian and decorative. They included: andirons, tongs, a shovel, a poker, a hook, a broom, a bellows for keeping the fire going (usually a wooden one bound in leather), a stand for utensils, a fireplace screen, and a metal sheet in front of the fireplace. These products were subject to fashion and their appearance changed according to the dominant art style of the period. Most of the fireplace accessories owned by the Łańcut Castle Museum come from the period between the 18th century and the beginning of the 20th century. They are made of brass, gilded bronze, and steel. They were established mainly in England, France, and Poland. Fireplace tongs from the Potocki family collection, steel, chiselled casting, early 19th century, probably an English product. Two-armed tongs with handle, long arms made of profiled rods, ending with round buttons for gripping logs in the fireplace. At mid-length, the arms are decorated with a “decorative bulge”. The arms ending at the top pass into an arched connecting bar, ending in a decorative knob with a handle. Baluster-shaped handle topped with a pinnacle. One arm of the tongs is movable, thanks to a pin located in the decorative knob.