An early 20th century Amsterdam School wrought iron and leaded glass fire screen, attributed to the Dutch sculptor and designer Joseph Mendes da Costa (1863–1939).
The substantial wrought iron frame is decorated with stylised scrollwork and encloses a geometric arrangement of opalescent and ochre leaded glass, centred by an oval panel. The strong architectural form and restrained decorative detailing reflect the distinctive aesthetic of the Amsterdam School and the wider Nieuwe Kunst movement of the early twentieth century.
The combination of hammered iron and leaded glass is characteristic of decorative interiors created for Amsterdam's progressive bourgeois homes during the period. The design bears close similarities to the work of Mendes da Costa and his contemporaries, including Chris van der Hoef and Lion Cachet, whose work helped define the movement.
Several of the glass panels have been sympathetically replaced at some point during its lifetime, while the remaining glass appears original.
Literature: Comparable examples and related decorative works are illustrated in Het Nieuwe Kunst, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1980); Jan de Maeyer (ed.), Art Nouveau in Nederland, Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle (2002); and the Rijksmuseum collection, Amsterdam (inv. BK-1959-61), which includes decorative works attributed to Joseph Mendes da Costa.
H 82.5 W 97.5 D 20.5 cm
