Actually, definetely not just ‘any old iron’. One of the things I love studying in France (and elsewhere) is the fantastic work and workmanship that goes into creating some of the really very ordinary pieces of street furniture and the like.
A fine example of this is the following photo, taken at the Petit Palais and showing one of the sets of railings to a staircase leadingto the basement. Granted that this was a palace, but this was not the main entrance.
This shows the middle section or the rail and….
This shows the bottom section.
Looking in detail at firstly the centre of the middle section:
Look at the way that the centre of the flower has been built up with separate pieces and then the way that the surroundinghas been created – possibly from a single piece, more likely from a number of sections carefully (and invisibly) welded together. the delicacy of the leaf edges is not really conveyed by my photo but the faultless workmanship should be clear to all.
The next photo shows the base of the end stanchion (if that is the correct term?) and reveals even more delicacy in the work.
The next shots are of cast iron I believe and should be familiar to anyone who has visited Paris:
A different sort of ironwork now, these keys were used to open the door to let us out of a castle in the Dordogne at the end of our visit. Jo very nearly got herself locked in the dungeons after the guide took umbrage at her trying to take photos of the keys while she was giving her talk. They were about 6″ or 150mm long which is not completely evident in this photo.
Next we see a medieval version of razor wire…..
And finish off this evening with a shot of the most glorious set of gates topped by this structure. Sadly the gates were closed and were unlikely to ever be open again in the near future – not without a substantial part of them disintegrating. The posts and this part were in better condition but really needed some serious maintenance.
That is my fun for the evening – perhaps more words and fewer pictures next time!
Simon