Fire Set in Black Lacquered Metal and Polished Brass. France. Circa 1.

This fire accessory set illustrates the elegance of French decorative ironwork from the 1970s, combining two materials with contrasting aesthetic qualities — black lacquered iron and polished brass — to striking effect. The stand consists of a circular base disc in brass, from which rises a polished brass shaft ending in a spherical connector, followed by a wide flat disc of generous diameter, serving as a tool holder. The accessories — poker, shovel, brush, tongs, and stand — are freely suspended from this upper disc, their rods in matte black lacquer providing a marked chromatic contrast with the warm gold of the brass. The most distinctive feature of the set is the treatment of the tool handles, each ending in a closed loop or a wrap of lacquered metal. This detail, both functional and ornamental, recalls the graphic vocabulary of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when French designers explored simplified geometric forms as an alternative to the naturalistic ornamentation of earlier periods. The combination of polished brass and black lacquer is a hallmark of high-quality French domestic ironwork from the period, reflecting the influence of the Italian design movement and the broader modernist aesthetic that dominated French interior furnishings from the 1960s onwards. The result is a set that is both practical and sculptural, equally at home beside a traditional fireplace or in a contemporary interior.