Pair of Handcrafted Gothic Revival Copper Hinges with Thistle Decoration c.1875

This pair of handcrafted solid copper Gothic Revival hinges was produced during the Gothic Revival movement (1840–1890), reflecting the period’s fascination with medieval ornament and symbolic flora. The design centres upon the Scottish thistle, chased in relief within a symmetrically branching framework that merges botanical and architectural geometry. Each hinge displays finely worked repoussé and chisel detailing, suggesting the hand of an accomplished metalworker trained in the decorative arts workshops that flourished across Britain in the later nineteenth century.

Copper was prized for its warm tone and malleability, lending itself to complex surface chasing and repoussé work typical of ecclesiastical and domestic commissions of the era. The large scale indicates they were conceived for an architectural interior, perhaps a church or grand domestic door. Their survival as a matched pair provides rare insight into the ornamental metalwork language of the Gothic Revival, where craftsmanship and design reform converged.