Vintage Cast Iron Snowy Owl Doorstop in White and Yellow with Gilt Base

This little snowy owl looks as though she has just been woken from a nap and is trying to work out who let you in. She is a small vintage cast iron doorstop, hand painted in bright white with buttery yellow wings, a scattering of black speckles and wide amber eyes that follow you around the room.

Owls have been favourite subjects for cast iron doorstops since the Victorian door porter first appeared in British hallways, loved as emblems of wisdom and as a cheerful nod to the countryside. This one belongs to that long tradition of painted animal doorstops, made to be both useful and a pleasure to look at.

The casting is crisp and full of character. Her feathered chest is picked out in tiny raised scallops, her wings are brushed with yellow and a blush of peach, and her claws grip a craggy mound painted in slate grey, moss green and a dash of red. She sits on a shaped octagonal plinth in deep black, edged in gold, with a band of raised oak leaves gilded around the sides. Behind her a flat iron wedge slides under the door, so she holds it firmly in place rather than just leaning against it.

She stands 10cm high, 7cm wide and 7cm deep including the wedge, and weighs 480g, ideal for an internal door, a cupboard or a study door that likes to drift shut. The gilt shows gentle rubbing to the edges of the plinth, in keeping with her age, while the paintwork on the owl herself is bright and fresh.

We would put her on a bookshelf beside a stack of nature guides, on a windowsill with a jug of dried hydrangeas, or at the foot of a bedroom door. She would make a lovely present for a bird lover, a new graduate or anyone who collects owls, and she sits happily alongside our other painted cast iron doorstops if you fancy starting a small flock.