English Art Nouveau / Arts & Crafts antique circa 1900 brass firescreen surround set with a beautiful hand embroidered panel of 'FORTUNA' goddess of luck, fortune and fate. She is depicted as a dancing maiden having long black locks of hair, a chequered dress and sweeping red shawl and blue scarf. She is holding a tambourine decorated with the suits of cards and her feet are alighting of a wheel design and around her emanating rays include the 12 signs of the zodiac.
We are attributing this brass firescreen to W.A.S. Benson, but we have no specific design for it. It could be by another manufacturer such as Benham and Froud for instance. However, many of the design features in this piece are Benson characteristics, such as the curling forms of the handle, the balls, the overall form of the legs seen from the ends, the egg shaped ovals on these ends, the fluting of the legs and shape of the feet. Please see for reference 'W.A.S. Benson, Arts & Crafts Luminary Pioneer of Modern Design, Edited by Ian Hamerton / Antique Collectors Club. Each and every one of the above features appear many times over in this wonderful book of Bensons work.
This gorgeous firescreen is unmarked and is in good condition. There is a spot of water staining to the bottom edge of the embroidery (please see the photographs).
Height 75.2 cm, 29 and 5/8 inches.
Width 57 cm, 22 and 1/4 inches.
Depth maximum 20.5 cm, 8" inches.
Weight unpacked 6.8 kilograms.
Overseas buyers, we would be happy to ship the firescreen overseas however given the weight of the piece and the amount of packaging involved for a safe delivery, the shipping cost is likely to be high and we would be grateful if you would contact us for a shipping quote.
Please message us should you have any questions. We aim to ship within 3 working days of receipt of cleared payment and this piece will be shipped domestically via Parcelforce 48.