rare c. 1929 heavy ornamental nickel-plated cast bronze "wrightesque" eye & ear infirmary interior door header salvaged during the demolition of the illinois charitable eye & ear infirmary designed and built in 1929 by architects charles herrick hammond and edgar martin. the single-sided strongly geometric bronze panel was originally mounted above the entrance door within the building's vestibule. the building was designed by c.h. hammond, who was a partner in the firm of perkins, chatton, and hammond (dwight perkins was a highly regarded prairie school architect in his own right). edgar martin was a partner in the firm of schmidt, garden, and martin. he left the firm and became the state supervising architect for several years, during which time he worked on the eye and ear infirmary. the unique commission, featuring the talents of both prairie-school architects, was executed in a highly unusual mayan revival style - quite possibly the only of its kind in city of chicago. the basic form of the building can be described as art deco in style with a facade comprised of "chicago style" brick and minimal bas-relief terra cotta ornament, no doubt inspired by the frank lloyd wright textile block commissions in california (e.g., hollyhock, ennis, etc). the mayan sensibility is evident on the building's roofline parapets, window hood and sills, entrance and cornice. the salvaged bronze header is an extension of the deco mayan style theme exhbited on the building's facade. the panel is composed of unique arranged squares in a mondrian- like fashion. measures 44 1/2 x 5 inches. only two were fabricated for the interior and exterior side of the building's entrance. priced individually. exact fabricator unknown.