Historical information

Fireplace tongs were used to add wood to the fireplace as well as break down the crackling wood to add more oxygen to growing flames. Of the four tools that were usually found in an upright fireplace set, tongs had the biggest design variation. Some tongs looked like medical calipers that were rounded at the bottom, while others were almost like metronomes with their rectangular shapes.

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Tongs are tools used to handle items, and generally move the item from one place to another, or turn things, like a piece of meat on a barbecue.
Tongs usually have flat ends to pick up items without damaging them and to grip onto the items easily, however, some tongs have claws or toothed ends to grab more bulky and slippery items.
Tongs are used mainly for handling food or hot items.
Modern tongs are usually made from plastic, metal, stainless steel, or other material, depending on their purpose.
Originally, tongs were probably wood sticks that eventually became metal sticks around 3000 BC to handle hot items in a fire
Tongs are used to extend the hand or as a replacement handler for potentially dangerous items.
Tongs usually have a sprung end so that the operator is required to squeeze the middle of the tongs to grab hold of an item, or they have a pivot which requires the user to squeeze the handles at the end to grip onto items, these being more effective at holding heavy items due to the extra force able to be applied.
There are many types of tongs including barbecue tongs, salad tongs, blacksmith tongs, crucible tongs, ice cube tongs, sugar cube tongs and fire tongs.
Tongs are often called ‘a pair of tongs’ and the word comes from the Old English, ‘tange’ or ‘tang’, meaning ‘that which bites’.
There is evidence of Egyptians using metal rods and tong like tools to hold objects over fire, in around 1450 BC.

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Significance

Fire tongs are still used with most open fires in homes.

Physical description

Brass fire tongs with holding clip and flat rounded handle at the end.

Inscriptions & markings

None.