A northern French Henri IV cast iron fireback, dated 1570, of rectangular form, cast in relief with a depiction of the revelation scene from the life of Saint Hubertus, the saint standing with another figure to the left, the hart bearing the Corpus Christi behind a tree to the right, cast with the legend, Frilo.c. de Witri to upper left, 67cm high, 77cm wide Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 ~ 727 AD) became Bishop of Liège in 708 AD. He was widely venerated during the Middle Ages, being patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers, and was sometimes known as the Apostle of the Ardennes Following the death of his wife during childbirth, it is related that in his grief Hubert retreated from court life, withdrawing into the thickly forested Ardennes and giving himself up entirely to hunting. However, one Good Friday morning, when the faithful were expected to be thronging the churches, Hubert sallying forth to the chase experienced a revelation. As he was pursuing a magnificent stag or hart, the animal turned and, as the pious legend narrates, Hubert was astounded to perceiving a crucifix standing between its antlers The iconography of his legend is entangled with the legend of Saint Eustace who is said to have experienced a similar revelatory experience, even in such detail as the positioning of the Crucifix, as is clearly depicted in the work by Pisanello in the National Gallery, London Comparative Literature: This fireback is recorded by Henri Carpentier, Plaques de Cheminées, F. de Nobele Paris, 1967, p94