{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O78476"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78476/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM2691/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM2691/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AM2691","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O78476/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O78476","accessionNumber":"M.1-1985","objectType":"Firedog","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"<b>Object Type</b><br>Firedogs are designed to stand on either side of the fireplace and hold burning logs above the floor to allow an updraft. Wrought iron firedogs survive from the Iron Age and the basic design has remained unchanged. Until the early 16th century firedogs were usually made of wrought iron but records confirm that from the 1540s onward cast iron firedogs were produced in great numbers.<br><br><b>Materials & Making</b><br>This firedog is of cast iron, a material first used in Europe around 1400 for military purposes. In Britain, military and domestic objects were being made from this material by around 1500. Using cast iron to make firedogs was cheaper and quicker than using wrought iron and it  had the advantage of making the mass production of a single design possible.<br><br><b>People</b><br>The inscription on this firedog, 'Wyllam Man', probably refers to the name of the owner rather than the maker.","physicalDescription":"Firedog made of cast iron, with the inscription WYLLAM MAN. ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cast iron","id":"AAT11004"}],"techniques":[{"text":"casting","id":"AAT53104"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Cast iron","categories":[{"text":"Household objects","id":"THES48939"},{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"},{"text":"Ironwork","id":"THES251837"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2006AM2691"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"58BR (VA)","id":"THES49232"},"free":"","case":"WE","shelf":"EXP","box":"4"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Firedog","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"England","id":"x28826"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1576","earliest":"1576-01-01","latest":"1576-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"60.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"32.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"53","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Dimensions checked: measured; 24/03/2000 by DW","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"Cast with the name \"Wyllam Man\" and the date \"1576\"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"most likely the owner"}],"objectHistory":"The firedog may be a later casting of an old pattern.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Firedog, cast iron, England, 1576","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Conway, M. Old English Firedogs. <u>Apollo</u>. March 1945. pp.77-79."}],"production":"Dated 1576","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"British Galleries:\nFire dogs held the logs off the hearth, allowing air to get underneath them, which was necessary if the logs were to burn well. The chimney-piece and hearth were naturally the focus of attention in an age when the fire provided both heat and light. In 1576 William Man was choosing a fashionable Renaissance design for his new dogs, with the uprights in the form of classical columns.","date":{"text":"27/03/2003","earliest":"2003-03-27","latest":"2003-03-27"}},{"text":"FIREDOG \r\nCast iron\r\nEngland; dated 1576\r\n\r\nWith the inscription WYLLAM MAN, probably the owner. This firedog may be a later casting of an old pattern.\r\n\r\nMuseum No. M.1-1985","date":{"text":"07/1994","earliest":"1994-07-01","latest":"1994-07-31"}}],"partNumbers":["M.1-1985"],"accessionNumberNum":"1","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":1985,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LN0791","2019LP2844","2019LP2578","2019LV6782"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-12","recordCreationDate":"2003-03-27","availableToBook":false}}