#fireback

Bornean Crested Fireback (Lophura ignita), male, family Phasianidae, order Galliformes, Borneo

Firebacks recently got a bit of a redesign! They're now covered in layered, insulating, feather-like scales - that when exposed to intense heat (fire) fuse and become incredibly hard, being almost impossible to puncture.

Firebacks predominantly come in a few color morphs:

Pumice/quartz (white)

Ashy grey (light grey)

Basalt (dark grey)

Obsidian (black)

Scoria (red)

Been going to the zoo regularly to do gouache studies. I want to get good at color studies in general, and gouache might be the best portable and reuseable opaque medium available.

Photo of the Day - The Siamese Fireback (Lophura diardi) is a fairly large pheasant distributed across the lowland evergreen forests of south-east Asia. Thankfully, this species has been reclassified as Least Concern by the IUCN, as it is proving far more resilient to the threats of hunting and habitat alteration than previously thought.

The fireback is in place. Looks great, really completes the fireplace in the tavern.

A little research revealed that the symbol is called a phaeton (arrow head/spear head) and is representative of dexterity, nimble wit and readiness for battle. In this particular incarnation with the year 1606, the crown, and the wreath of laurels, it is the crest of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester.

Leicester was a man of taste and a patron of literature.

Though the brother of one of the most famous poets in the English language, it was not suspected that Robert Sidney had himself been a poet until the 1960s, when his working notebook emerged (in a 19th-century binding) through the dispersal of the Library of Warwick Castle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sidney,_1st_Earl_of_Leicester

1606 marks the year Robert Sidney became Viscount Lisle.

In the back of the fireback there is a branding stamp that reads WM. H. JACKSON COMPANY, NEW YORK. Turns out that this company, which specializes in fireplace fixtures, is still in business. According to their website, they were established in 1827. Click here to visit their site. 

Update as of 11/4/2019

I have received a mysterious missive from a stranger on the internet (from San Diego) who has recently acquired one of these firebacks from a remodeled mansion and has asked me for more information on mine. He contacted the current Viscount de L’isle who has assured him no fireplaces /firebacks have gone missing from his estate, but it’s possible that some of the family’s assets may have wound up in the Jamestown colony in Virginia. 

The web is really a small place. I love making connections like this.