Antique Cast Iron Fireplace Summer Cover — Aurora, Dawn-Bringer, Original Nickel

Description

Original nickel plating over cast iron gives this panel a surface of real depth: bright high points catch the light across the figure and frame while aged patina settles into the recesses, lending dimension and character across the whole relief. At the center, Aurora rises as the dawn-bringer, torch lifted overhead with a sunburst breaking behind her, scattering flowers from an urn carried by a winged putto below. A second cherub looks on from above, and at the lower seam two more cupids turn to face one another. The modeling is crisp throughout: the sweep of drapery, the rays of the sunburst, the petals and foliage all rendered with the confidence of a strong original pattern.

The figure follows an iconographic type associated with the Viennese sculptor Karl Sterrer (1844–1918), who modeled allegorical torch-bearing relief panels of Day and Dawn in this same tradition. The frame is where this piece separates itself: the curved, sinuous Rococo Revival cartouche — shell crest, C-scrolls, floral sprays worked into the reserves — is a form seldom encountered on a summer cover. In original nickel — a plated finish rarely seen surviving on a cover of this size — it is rarer still.

Provenance: Salvaged from the Ragon Mansion at 1119 Parrett Street, Evansville, Indiana — an 1878 Italianate residence long known by the name of the Ragon family, Evansville’s Gilded Age wholesale-grocery magnates. Damaged in the Christmas Day 2024 fire and demolished in 2025, the mansion is gone now; this piece was acquired directly from the salvager who cleared the house.

At a Glance: Type: antique fireplace summer cover, extra-large. Subject: Aurora (dawn-bringer) with cherubs, shaped Rococo Revival cartouche. Material: cast iron with original nickel plating. Dimensions: 26.5″ W × 32″ H. Era: c. 1878. Provenance: Ragon Mansion, Evansville, Indiana. Condition: excellent cast iron with crisp, well-preserved relief; nickel surface with aged patina retained in the recesses; a microcrystalline wax finish protects the surface.