A Tall 19th Century Brass Door Porter or Doorstop

A rare nineteenth century brass door porter of tall scale, having a finely cast and chased lion dormant weight, beneath a long stem and carrying handle.

Elaborate doorstops (or Door Porters as grander models such as this are often described) have played an important role in the English interior the early Victorian period. Foundries created extraordinary forms, cast in brass, often with iron weights, to hold open the heavy mahogany doors of important houses throughout the Kingdom. Firms such as William Tonks & Sons and Voysey produced large catalogues detailing a variety of forms, some animate; others purely sculptural or architectural. Heraldic and Classical references are often present as in this example.