PEER SMED COPPER FIREPLACE HOODearly 20th Century, hammered copper of trapezoidal shape with an art nouveau scene showing a cat looking up at two pairs of birds perched among Chinese-inspired foliage delineated in repousse, incised 'Peer Smed'and with a hammer mark having '19 / 19' on either side, h. 88 w. 68 d. 15-1/2 in. (outer dimensions), fireplace opening: 14 x 44 in. (approx.);Provenance: the Ward family of Bedford, NY (circa 1920); Andrey Avinoff (Russian/American, 1884-1948), artist, botanist, and former director of the Carnegie Museum; descended through the family to thecurrent owner. Catalog note: Peer Smed (1878-1943) was a Chicago based silversmith who also sculpted in copper, creating large architecturalelements for notable buildings like the Equitable Building in New York, where a large repousse panel of his lined the entrance hall to the Cafe Savarin in the early 20th Century.The present lot is a similar architectural work by the artist and was originally installed in 'Hidden Hollows': an Arts and Crafts-style home built by the Ward family in Bedford, NY, around 1920. When the home was demolished decades later, the hood was salvaged by Andre Avinoff (an in-law of the Ward's), who did a drawing of the hood in it's original setting (see photograph).

with sooty residue adhered to surface, scratches, and bends to copper in places