Style Louis XIV / Ref.15495

Important Cast Iron Fireback with a Sunflower, Dated 1709

Important cast iron fireback of very large dimensions, measuring 130 cm in width, with a monumental and symmetrical composition characteristic of the early 18th century. The fireback is dated 1709, the date being directly incorporated into the decoration.
At the center is an oval medallion surrounded by a vegetal wreath, containing a large sunflower, recognizable by its prominent circular center surrounded by numerous radiating petals. The flower, supported by a long vertical stem, forms the principal element of this emblematic composition.
The medallion is surmounted by a large open crown with fleurons, while substantial vegetal ornaments extend symmetrically on either side. Powerful scrolls terminating in leaves and palms occupy the full width of the fireback and frame the central motif. This expansive arrangement of the decoration is particularly well suited to the exceptional dimensions of the fireback.
The composition is completed by five large letters: T, B, M, G and A, arranged around the central motif, together with the date 1709. These initials may refer to the commissioner, a family, or several individuals, although their precise meaning remains to be determined.
The arms represented here can be compared with those of the Guillois family, whose principal heraldic charge is precisely a sunflower. Several armorials describe their arms as bearing a stemmed sunflower growing from a terrace, while one variant also includes secondary flowers growing from its stem. Most significantly, the arms of the Guillois family were recorded in Paris in Charles d’Hozier’s Armorial général de France, compiled from 1696 onwards, making them directly contemporary with this fireback dated 1709. The presence of a large central sunflower, together with this chronological correspondence, therefore supports this comparison, although a definitive attribution cannot currently be established.