Coal Boxes
Throughout the Parliament Building, decorative metal work speaks to love of craftsmanship. Master metalworker Paul Beau’s intricate designs for the decorative elements in Parliament were copyrighted so they couldn’t be used elsewhere but the building.
The coal boxes he designed speak to the earlier era and the cold winters in the original Parliament Building. For the new building, they were decorative pieces for office spaces.
They are sturdy wooden containers, hinged and decorated with iron cast in the familiar design of the fleur-de-lys. This box, which measures 48.3 by 46 by 46.5 centimetres, is showing its age, with drying wood and splitting iron fixtures, yet it remains solid, a testament to the craftsmanship of Beau and his team.
