Wrought Iron Wall Art: A Brief History And its Production

The word wrought in wrought iron actually comes from an old English vernacular which means to work.  In its entirety, wrought iron, translated literally means “worked iron”.  This type of metal is the evolved version of cast iron, which can also be molded into different shapes.  It is, however, very brittle and cannot be worked into bigger pieces.  Wrought iron wall art became popular with the discovery of the blooming process.  This process allowed intimate contact of the melted ore with slag or other metal impurities.  This gives this type of metal its porous texture.  It also allowed the metal to have a variety of chemical and physical properties.  The puddle process for making wrought iron made it possible to produce even more improved versions of the metal by making it more consistent in terms of weight, density, malleability and tensile strength.  This was done by keeping it in a separate reverb furnace that prevented the intrusion of sulphur and phosphorous from causing weak impurities in the metal.

It has a rich history which can be seen in the way that it was produced.  It was often made in bar form, which made it easy for overland transport.  Sometimes it is run through a slitting mill that made it into rods.  This is done to make easy to manufacture raw materials for the production of nails.  By running long pieces of it through flat rolls, they produced hoop iron which was one of the two essential components in making wooden barrels and wooden wagon wheels that saw the pioneers through the discovery of the West.  Plate and black plate were thinly hammered versions of this metal that were used in making the boilers and boiler plates that could be seen in the old locomotives of the era.  And finally, certain bars of this metal were refined and cut into distinct and particular weight and were shipped off to distant Africa as part of the currency for the Atlantic slave trade.  This last type was called voyage iron.

As you can see, wrought iron has a history that surpasses the modern metals that exist today.  In fact, they can be found in several old world buildings whether they are historical, mundane or both.  If you wish to make a plain wall in your home more sophisticated or have the historical elegance of this metal, then there are several designs that can be applied to it.  If you are willing to sketch out a design or create a rough draft of an idea that you have, then any designer or manufacturer of this metal will be able to reproduce and perhaps even improve upon your design.  That is how easy it is to mold.

Wrought iron wall art need not be just for aesthetic purposes, most of these wall arts have a full degree of functionality too.  Scones and candleholders can add dramatic lighting to a room, corridor or patio.  Using this metal as antique-looking grills or bars for your windows, big or small, will give you a degree of protection.  Add a bit of history to your home by adding these pieces of art to your walls using wrought iron.