FIREPLACE PLAQUE, BULLFIGHTING, PICADOR. CAST IRON. SPAIN, EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

Chimney plate with Picador. Molten iron. Spain, early 20th century. Fireplace background plate made of cast iron with a rectangular shape and decorated with reliefs on the front. The upper part presents a composition of leaves flanking a smooth shield, and is extended along the sides and the lower area thanks to a series of lines and more leaves of classicist influence in the corners. The front shows a figurative fighting scene, with a picador (or garrochista or varilarguero) spearing a bull, which charges the horse that the rider is riding. This type of piece was already used in the Gothic period, and outstanding examples are preserved, such as the one on the Imperial shield of Charles V (dated to the 16th century; Lázaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid), for example. Although heraldry is considered by some experts to be the most unusual decoration of these objects, we have received pieces with mythological or pastoral scenes, architectural elements, religious motifs, etc. The present one, in addition to presenting an interesting decoration due to its historical value in the study of the fight, it is necessary to highlight the quality and depth of the reliefs it shows.

· Size: 53x74x2,5 cms.