No 15. Legs of Iron?

Here we go with Post Number 15. I have written about Silver, Treen, Bone, Ivory, Brass amongst other materials, but this week I have probably an unexpected material – Iron.

The first thing to say is that clearly Iron legs cannot be the result of carving, so the end product is not the direct efforts of an artisan. Iron legs will be created from shaped moulds into which liquid Iron (1535 degrees C) will be poured. The mould normally comprises 2 halves, held together and then separated when cold to reveal the moulded object.

 

                                                                                    

For this leg the mould itself is the artistic part and being just 3 inches long the Tamper is quite small. There is no hatching on the tamping end, but close examination does show a shoe outline with a heel indicating a lady’s leg,  and a stocking/sock can be seen which ends just below the knee. Looking at the leg face on and remembering that there should be two identical halves to the mould,  it can be seen that the garter lines do not exactly match up!! The left is lower than the right!   Still, considering the material the maker was working with it was a good try.

This iron leg does appear pretty rudimentary and is not as tactile as other legs. Being iron it is relatively heavy, weighing 25grams, about the same weight for size as a bronze leg. As a comparison, Bone or Treen average 5grams, but weight has no relevance to the efficient use of a Pipe Tamper.  

This leg is one of my most recent additions , No 155,  and found at a recent quality antique fair at Exeter in 2021.

The only other Iron item in my collection is a gift from a generous birding friend who found it in an antique shop whilst away birding in Norfolk in 2019. Whilst interrupting her main reason for being in Norfolk, it was that much more appreciated!

 

  

                                                                                                         

This is an Iron Door knocker!! And weighs in at a hefty 775g, qualifying as being (currently) the heaviest of all my legs. It is an absolutely functional door knocker, and has a base plate with two holes, to screw to a surface near a door. The boot is held in place by an iron bolt, and the leg is dropped to bang on a raised iron nob. There is an unexplained number 3 on the back, but no other markings.

Bearing in mind what I said above about Iron the moulding is very good. The Wellies have a ridge round the top and the sole is rutted as boots would be. Only when looked at face on does it become apparent that the boot is very thin, but this is because the boot is solid iron – to create a hollow boot would need separate mouldings, which would render it uneconomic to manufacture.

I just love it!!   It is not in my collection box -it is on the side of a bookcase in my study. Whilst the above Tamper is an antique, there is no evidence that the knocker is older than vintage.                                                                                               

From the heaviest, I thought I would include the tallest (excluding Walking sticks of course). This is a desk lighter which I bought at Stafford in 2018. I recall scrutinising a number of display boxes on a stall and telling the owner I was looking for legs. He asked, “Have you seen this on the shelf?” and because I had my head down I had missed it. NOWADAYS, at Antique fairs I am always looking along the shelves in case there is something larger, and a glass bottle I will tell you about in due course, was found on a top shelf!!

This leg sits 8 inches high and is made of Steel. The lighter section lifts out of the leg frame, and being gas operated can be refilled. This section could be fitted to many different forms of stand, but the heavy leg holds the lighter steady, and looks impressive on say a coffee table.

It has the word Japan on the base, but no other markings. The only other deduction is that it is a left leg, as the design includes a short suspender on the left!!