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I Forge Iron

ironwork of different cultures


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Wondering if anyone knew of any bookssites about eastern ironwork (mainly architectural) I've seen a lot of European but not too much Chinese Indian mid east. Maybe there isn't much of it, but its hard to believe it didn't exist. I'm also interested in the same for old European/Scandinavian museum ironwork
Thanks for any help

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Medieval Ironwork In Sweden  - Lennart Karlsson  - ISBN 91-7402-192-3  2 volumes.   Last saw it for sale on Amazon.  Pricey but IMO worth every penny.   Deals mainly with Iron Clad Doors.    

 

Eastern Ironwork ?    I would also like  that info.  

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There is the book, "Japanese Cabinetry, the Art and Craft of Tansu. Check out www.shibuihome.com. There is shown lots of hardware on the cabinets. The business firm, Shibui, also sells architectural hardware, etc. See their menu.

 

I googled 'Japanese tansu hardware, and clicked on 'Images.' Pretty good. Also, the Japanese castles had some wonderful large hinges and bolts, but I don't know of a book that shows them.

 

I have in my possession a nice Japanese trammel (adjustable height pot hook) with a clever friction stop, all forged iron.

 

I've seen a little of Indian iron grilles which were repetitive designed, small c-scrolls all collared.

 

I've seen a few photos of Scandinavian grille work, and there was a certain period when there was an extensive use of round-sectioned iron, which gave the work a 'soft look.'

 

I don't know much about Chinese work.

 

In Europe, we find the use of large gates and grilles, whereas that kind of work was not always found in Eastern countries.

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I'm not sure about architectural, but try the American Natural History site. http://anthro.amnh.org/asia It's not all specifically about iron, but it has numerous iron artifacts. Just use their search bar to type in what you're looking for (such as hook, axe, etc)

 

You can also look at artifacts in other parts of the world at http://anthro.amnh.org . I'd highly recommend their African collection as a good way to get lost for an afternoon. 

 

(and a well deserved shout out for this goes to the original ifi forum that clued me in a few months ago,  )

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India has a lot of ironwork  in certain locations due to traditions of window and door "protection".  I have a book on medieval indian metal processes that besides the nifty way they figured out to smelt zinc mentioned casting gates with cast iron and then heating them in large furnaces and decarbing the surfaces to end up with a steel outer layer.  (same method was used in ancient China for some tools like plows)

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