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| Cast Brass Drapery Tie-Backs John Hands, 1845 The Victoria & Albert Museum |
Typically, the long heavy curtains in the drawing rooms or dining rooms of posh
Nineteenth Century London homes were tied back in the window cornices to allow
as much light as possible into the room. For this purpose, special ornamental
hooks were designed to act as tie-backs.
The design for the examples we see above was registered in August of 1845 by coincidentally-named John Hands of Prospect Row, Birmingham, who was a brass founder. Originally, these tie-back ornaments were described in the register as “metal ornaments to be fixed on the end of window cornices.”
The design for the examples we see above was registered in August of 1845 by coincidentally-named John Hands of Prospect Row, Birmingham, who was a brass founder. Originally, these tie-back ornaments were described in the register as “metal ornaments to be fixed on the end of window cornices.”
The pair is rendered as an individual lady's hand holding a bouquet of flowers. This was a fashionable theme at the time. Single hands were often used in the decorative arts for everything from vases to ornamental handles.
They’re quite attractive, I think. Such metal tie-backs have had a resurgence in
popularity in recent years in homes with grand windows and long, fashionable
drapes.
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