Thanks to its strength, resistance but also its malleability, iron can be transformed in innumerable ways answering completely different needs. This was traditionally the work of the blacksmith who forged the numerous architectural elements decorating the interior and exterior of buildings: balconies, balustrades, stair railings, fan lights, canopies, porch roofs, signs, as well as coping, cresting, and finials on roof tops. They also executed grilles of all types used for defensive or ornamental purposes. Locksmiths contributed decorative, utilitarian bolts, locks, and various types of hinges including ornate strap hinges. Still other craftsmen made caldrons, pots, andirons, firedogs, shoes and spurs for horses anchors and chains for ships and cannons and munitions for warfare.
Iron craftsmen sought inspiration for their models in the pattern books published throughout Europe beginning in the 16th century. Arabesques, tracery and foliated scrolls are the bases of this vocabulary where classic styles can be found alongside more novel trends.The technological advances in metallurgy in the late 18th and the early 19th century opened the way for metallic architecture. Henceforth, iron would replace stone and wood in the structural framework of buildings and bridges. With significantly lower manufacturing costs, cast iron, which, as its name specifies, was poured into molds, progressively replaced wrought iron which became a luxury item. Affordable by the masses, cast iron allowed a wide array of constructions and objects to be designed such as furniture, garden structures, fireplaces and heating apparatus, urban furniture, decorative objects, etc.