Forged Iron Scrolls Cooling on a Blacksmith's Anvil

The square hole at the heel of an anvil is called the hardy hole. A smith sets a cutter or a bending fork in it and works the hot bar against that tool, which leaves both hands free for tongs and hammer. Today the forge has gone cold and the anvil holds finished work, iron scrolls curling around hammered leaves. In a blacksmith jigsaw puzzle like this one, the dark metal and worn wood keep their texture right down to the scale on the iron.