The nickel Playfair fire basket reflects the Rococo style of the mid 18th Century. In 1751, a Swedish chemist, A. F. Constedt, invented the nickel, or ‘German silver’ – an alloy of copper and zinc – from which this fire basket is made. The pierced serpentine apron is decorated with a phoenix, the ‘fabulous bird of the classics’ that rose from the ashes. Available in polished brass, steel or nickel.