Fireback

Firebacks, made of durable cast iron, protected the rear, brick wall of the fireplace from flames and heat. Firebacks often were embellished in the latest styles or with a family crest. Here, the florid, Rococo-style border of C-scrolls and acanthus leaves is closely related to furniture and architectural decoration; the same woodcarvers who decorated high chests and chairs often carved the wooden molds used to create firebacks. This example bears the arms of the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons in Massachusetts. Joseph Webb was a Freemason, as was Paul Revere, who engraved Webb's trade card.

Made of durable cast iron, firebacks protected the rear wall of the fireplace from damaging flames and heat. Because of their prominent and highly visible location in the hearth, the source of light and warmth for many household activities, they were often embellished in the latest styles or with a family's crest. On this example, the florid Rococo border of C-scrolls and acanthus leaves is closely related to furniture and architectural decoration of the era. The same woodcarvers who embellished high chests and chairs often carved the wooden molds used to create firebacks.Amid the leafy flourish, this fireback bears the arms of the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons in Massachusetts-three castles, and an open compass surmounted by a dove carrying an olive branch. The Freemasons, a secretive, philosophical brotherhood of artisans and merchants, were quite active in the American colonies, particularly in Boston, where their meetings were a hotbed of revolutionary thought in the 1760s and early 1770s. Patriot and silversmith Paul Revere was a prominent Freemason who belonged to the same lodge as the Joseph Webb named in this fireback's lower inscription: "SOLD BY JOSEPH WEBB BOSTON." Revere even engraved a trade card for Webb in 1765 that advertised "All Sorts of Cast Iron work, done in ye best Manner," including "Chimney Backs of all Sizes." Revere and Webb's lodge, Saint Anthony's, met at the Green Dragon Tavern, renamed the Free Mason's Arms in 1764. The inscription at the top of the fireback, "THEoFREEoMASONSoARMS," may refer to the crest it surmounts, or to the tavern where this influential group of Bostonians met on a regular basis.This text was adapted from Ward, et al., MFA Highlights: American Decorative Arts & Sculpture (Boston, 2006) available at www.mfashop.com/mfa-publications.html.