Tijou, Jean [key], fl. 1689–c.1711, French designer of ironwork, known exclusively by his works in England. He arrived in England c.1689 when William and Mary, his lifelong patrons, began their reign. The purely French Renaissance type of design that he introduced greatly influenced English smithcraft and was perpetuated by his apprenticed artisans and by his New Book of Drawings (1693). His notable gates and railings adorn the grounds of Hampton Court Palace (1689–1700), and he fashioned the screens and grilles of St. Paul's Cathedral for Sir Christopher Wren. His cathedral irons show a characteristically lavish use of rosettes, figures, and embossed leafage, which marked the high point of English wrought ironwork.
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