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Ironwork is anyweapon,artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made ofiron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork:wrought iron andcast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000 BC, it was theHittites who first knew how to extract it (seeiron ore) and develop weapons. Use of iron was mainly utilitarian until theMiddle Ages; it became widely used for decoration in the period between the 16th and 19th century.
Wrought ironwork is forged by ablacksmith using ananvil. The earliest known ironwork are beads fromJirzah inEgypt dating from 3500 BC and made frommeteoric iron with the earliest use of smelted iron dates back to Mesopotamia. However, the first use of conventional smelting and purification techniques that modern society labels as true iron-working dates back to the Hittites in around 2000 BC.
Knowledge about the use of iron spread from the Middle East to Greece and the Aegean region by 1000 BC and had reached western and central Europe by 600 BC. However, its use was primarily utilitarian for weapons and tools before the Middle Ages. Due to rusting, very little remains of early ironwork.
From the medieval period, use of ironwork for decorative purposes became more common. Iron was used to protect doors and windows of valuable places from attack from raiders and was also used for decoration as can be seen atCanterbury Cathedral,Winchester Cathedral andNotre Dame de Paris. Armour also was decorated, often simply but occasionally elaborately.
From the 16th century onwards, ironwork became highly ornate especially in theBaroque andRococo periods. In Spain, elaborate screens of iron orrejería were built in all of the Spanish cathedrals rising up to nine metres high.
In France, highly decorative iron balconies, stair railings and gateways were highly fashionable from 1650.Jean Tijou brought the style to England and examples of his work can be seen atHampton Court andSt Paul's Cathedral. Wrought ironwork was widely used in the UK during the 18th in gates and railings in London and towns such as Oxford and Cambridge. In the US, ironwork features more prominently inNew Orleans than elsewhere due to its French influence.
As iron became more common, it became widely used for cooking utensils, stoves, grates, locks, hardware and other household uses. From the beginning of the 19th century, wrought iron was being replaced bycast iron due to the latter's lower cost. However, the EnglishArts and Crafts movement produced some excellent work in the middle of the 19th century.
In modern times, much modern wrought work is done using theair hammer and theacetylene torch. A number of modern sculptors have worked in iron includingPablo Picasso,Julio González andDavid Smith.
Cast iron is produced in afurnace stoked with alternate layers ofcoking iron then poured into molds. After the iron cools off, the sand is cleaned off. The Chinese were the first to use cast iron[1] from the 6th century AD using it as support forpagodas and other buildings.
Then cast appeared in other countries and took a special place inKyivan Rus' of the XI century. Metal was mainly turned into domes for churches, its utensils, and bells. Later it was developed for the military goals.[2]
It was introduced into Europe by the 14th century[1] with its main decorative uses being asfirebacks and plates for woodburning stoves in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. By the end of the 18th century, cast iron was increasingly used for railings, balconies, banisters and garden furniture due to its lower cost.
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