Antique English Fire Bucket – City of London 1840

Antique English Fire Bucket, City of London, circa 1840, a beautiful reminder of when fires meant lines of people handing out buckets of water down the line to put out a fire. This early 19th century black bucket was made of leather, painted and lacquered. Buckets of water might not save a burning building, but they often slowed the fire enough to prevent it from spreading to nearby homes and to allow the home owner to salvage belongings.  More simple fire buckets had the name of the home owner painted on it, but this one has the most glorious depiction of the British Royal Coat of Arms on the front featuring the lion and unicorn.

The top has a black painted metal rim.  Inside pitched to render water-tight, with the original decoration. These rarely survive in such overall good condition as they were practical objects, although in this case finished to a high standard due to its planned residence. Superb as decorative object especially by a fireplace. Plenty of patina and wear as shown, befitting its age. There are a few spots missing on the front embellishment, but oh! what a stunning decorative accent this is. Use this as a planter for a fern {I suggest lining in plastic first} or display in all its glory on top of an armoire.  {Spotted it way up high in a dealer’s space on a recent buying trip and just had to bring it home for you!}

• Measures 12″ x 9-1/2″h.