Lot 149 (Home & Garden Live Auction Lots 100 to 172, 29th September 2020)

Sold for £300

Lot details

Architectural: A rare cast iron armorial of a squirrel

mid 19th century

on later carved stone base

75cm high overall

The torse beneath the squirrel suggests that this was probably one of a pair of one off commissions possibly to stand on gate piers as a family crest.

In heraldry, a torse or wreath is a twisted roll of fabric laid about the top of the helmet and the base of the crest. It has the dual purpose of masking the join between helm and crest, and of holding the mantling in place. Fairburn’s Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland records a number of families whose crest is a squirrel in a similar pose.