The story of the evolution of the grate and the hearth and its appointments is of extreme interest. The grate itself was at times ornate with polished brass beads and canopies. The older type of fireplace was mostly fitted with iron appointments, but even when andirons were upon the hearth and logs of timber crackled as they blazed up the wide old chimney, the dogs or chief ornaments of the hearth were often of brass or bronze. When hob-grates and registers came in fashion, ormolu and brass ornament contrasted with polished steel. A typical parlour hob-grate of the eighteenth century would be ornate with brasses on the hobs, a pierced brass fender on the stone slab, and a polished brass ashes pan in front of the bars to hide the cinders. The trivet or revolving stool, small or large, was in the fender or on the hearth, and massive fire brasses (not irons) filled the empty spaces. The brass trivet, revived in modern times, was originally a three-legged stool made of metal, on which a kettle or similar vessel could be placed near to the fire. The convenience of being able to put the trivet stool quite close up to the bars suggested to the maker of such things the addition of hooks by which the trivet could be hung upon the bar, thereby bringing it nearer to the heat. In later years the trivet developed a handle for the convenience of moving it about, and especially of hanging it upon the bars, and in the latest completed form with turned wood handle, iron legs, and brass fretted top, the trivet was regarded as an essential accompaniment to the fire-grate. From the three-legged stool with hooks or handle there came a minor development in the form of a light portable trivet without legs, which could only be used when hung on the bars. These varieties presented the worker in brass with an excellent opportunity of showing his decorative skill, and brass trivet tops soon became very ornamental. Fig. 36 represents a finely-pierced brass trivet, with tall legs and pointed feet and a turned wood handle. On the top of a baluster-shaped device, supported by dolphins, Atlas is represented bearing on his shoulders the globe. The date of the trivet is 1668, and on the top is also engraved the owner's monogram. Another very interesting example comes from Derbyshire, and is shown in Fig. 38. Yet another example is given in Fig. 37, this being a more elaborate design. In the centre of the plate an eagle is represented with outstretched wings. The construction of this trivet is somewhat unusual in that it is strengthened with a cross-bar; the feet are of spear-head shape. All three examples are to be seen at South Kensington.