Orig Antique Art Nouveau Heavy Door Knocker, Striking Plate, Keyhole, shabby chic

  

Just absolutely gorgeous & stylish, in our family for over 100 years. I don't think you will find another like it. This is an original Art Nouveau hinged door knocker with base plate, and a plate for the keyhole. It's a beautiful sweeping curved shape, it has it's original attachments to fix through the door. It's got a wonderfully shabby chic look to it.

Worn green paint, with a buttermilk undercoat, a shiny metallic white metal showing through in places. Neither the knocker or striking plate are magnetic, so I suspect made of some sort of heavyweight alloy.

The keyhole plate is metallic. From an era before Yale keys were used. It still works well, I find it so beautiful, but it needs to be on a house of the right era. It was on our family house at 175 Guildford Street, Birmingham - an area where there were many casters & much metalworking.

This was the door knocker to my Great Grandparent's home, kept by Grandfather when they passed away & stored as he liked it and held memories. They lived in the same house for many decades at 175 Guildford Street Birmingham, where he and all his sons worked in the local Brass manufactury Sperryns as foremen, the daughters worked in the jewellery quarter or in clerical/ secretarial jobs. They had 9 children in that same same home who lived there all their lives until they were married or in the case of 3 of their daughters "the maiden aunts" until their parents died in the early 1930's. My Dad kept it as a bit of family history & on the passing of my parents it came to me. All my family at that time were experts in casting and they could have very easily cast it themselves or had it from one of the many other local manufacturers of metal work at the time. My great grandfather was born 1850 & lived until 1934. They lived well all were successful in their work & contributed to the household & had some lovely things.