Furniture Hardware 1820 - 1830

These furniture hardware pieces, made by Henry Kellam Hancock, display a myriad of floral motifs cast in brass. Circular and symmetrical, their botanical forms echo ancient symbols of growth, renewal, and the cyclical nature of life. Consider the rosette, ubiquitous here, and its echoes in the past. We see it gracing the palaces of ancient Crete, adorning the garments of medieval saints, and blooming in the decorative arts of the Renaissance. Its endurance speaks to a primal human fascination with nature's beauty. Yet, the rosette transcends mere aesthetics. It embodies a deep-seated desire for harmony and order, a psychological yearning for the perfection found in natural forms. These humble ornaments thus reveal themselves as potent vessels of cultural memory, reflecting the perennial human quest for beauty, meaning, and connection to the natural world. The image of the flower then blossoms from a simple, decorative touch into a potent emblem, rooted in the human psyche.