soldered on, a process brought to a remarkable degree of perfection by
the Etruscans in the 7th, 6th and 5th centuries B.C. Of the gold and
silver vessels used by Solomon in the temple, we have the description in
the Books of Kings and Chronicles, but no trace of the originals, except
that on the Arch of Titus, 79 A.D., we find a representation of the
seven-branched golden candlestick (fig. 9). Of the Mediæval period, many
fine examples of church and corporation plate are still treasured in our
museums. They are of great intrinsic value, of beautiful workmanship,
chased and engraved, and enriched with cast and repoussé work and the
choicest enamels. Of the craftsman or goldsmith we know but little, but
his delicacy of touch, his just appreciation of appropriateness of
treatment to his material, and the singular grace and charm of his
design are a tribute to his culture and personality. Cellini produced
many beautiful works, yet perhaps not more beautiful than his many
contemporary goldsmiths. In our museums there are some charming
specimens of engraving upon silver, filled in with black enamel called
Niello, by Maso Finiguerre, about 1450, who produced some early prints
from an engraved plate.
[Illustration:
BRONZES. Plate 33.
]
BRONZE.
Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, has been in use from a remote period
in the history of the arts. Its adaptability for casting, its
durability, utility and colour have rendered this material one of the
most useful and valuable. Of the many fine examples of the early
Egyptian and Assyrian bronze now in the British Museum, the most
beautiful are the bronzes of Siris, two fragments of armour, with
reliefs in repoussé (fig. 4). The many Greek statues in the round, of
their Gods and heroes, show the most skilful technique and beauty of
form. The Etruscans were clever workers in this material, and they used
a most expressive treatment of incised lines, which differentiates their
decorative bronzes from those of Greece, with their delicate low
reliefs. The bronze mirrors (fig. 2) and the Cista are typical examples
of the Etruscan treatment. The finest known cista is that called the
“Ficoroni Cista,” by Morios Plantios (3rd century B.C.) and is now in
the Collegio Romano; a description, with illustrations of this example
is in the “_Magazine of Art_,” April, 1884. Descriptions of this cista
and of the many fine examples in the British Museum are given in
“_Murray’s Handbook of Greek Archæology_.” Of small decorative bronzes,
Naples Museum alone has over 13,000 examples, consisting of candelabra,
tripods, tables, chairs and couches, which, eighteen centuries ago, were
used by the wealthy Roman citizens. Of bronze equestrian statues, the
most renowned are those of Marcus Aurelius, at Rome, A.D. 175;
Bartolomeo Coleone, at Venice, A.D. 1488, by Andrea Verrocchio; and
Alessandro Leopardo; and that of Gattamelata, at Padua, 1453 A.D., by
Donatello.
A remarkable bronze figure of the Renascence period is that of Perseus,
by Benvenuto Cellini, 1500-1570, at Florence, and the figure of Neptune
on the fountain at Bologna by Giovanni da Bologna, 1524-90.
The bronze doors of San Zenone, at Verona, (see plates 1 and 3 in
“_Aratra Pentelici_” by John Ruskin), and those of the Baptistery, at
Florence, by Andrea Pisano and Ghiberti (see Renascence) are typical
examples of early Renascence bronzes. The casting of these Bronzes was
by the “Cire Perdu” method, that is, by forming a core of firm material
nearly the size and shape required, then covering with sheet wax and
finishing with the detail required, with sticks of wax projecting to
form vents for the escape of steam in casting. The wax is then brushed
over with a composition of fine clay and ground crucibles to some
thickness and the mould thus formed is connected with the inner one by
bronze rods. The wax is then melted out, leaving a cavity Into which the
liquid bronze is poured, the core and mould being afterwards removed.
Bronze is also cast in piece moulds taken from the model; the piece
mould is then lined with sheet clay and put together and the core run
in. The clay is then removed and the bronze run in as in the former
process. The sand process for casting has now reached a high degree of
perfection in which the core and mould are formed by pressure in a fine
tenacious sand.
[Illustration:
WROUGHT IRON. Plate 34.
]
WROUGHT IRON.
The decorative qualities of iron, with its strength, durability and
comparative cheapness, have rendered it one of the most useful metals in
the applied arts. Used from an early period for implements of war and
the chase, it gradually became associated with architecture and
furniture, reaching in the 15th and 16th centuries a remarkable degree
of beauty and skilful craftsmanship that has never been excelled. Many
fine Norman hinges of wrought iron are still in existence, having a
straight central bar or strap, with small scroll terminations; these
central straps were strengthened with crescent-shaped pieces,
terminating in small serpent forms, probably a survival of the Viking
traditions. This form of hinge was succeeded by the Early Gothic hinge,
which was a series of spirals springing from the straight bar or strap,
the spiral being welded or fastened with collars; these spirals were
enriched with the three-lobed foliage or trefoil, typical of the Early
Gothic period; fine examples of this hinge occur on the west door of
Notre Dame, Paris, where this typical spiral has the trefoil leaf, with
birds, dragons and small rosettes in stamped iron. This stamped
characteristic may be seen, but in a less degree, in the fine hinges of
Leighton Buzzard Church, Eaton Bray Church, Bedfordshire, and the
Eleanor grill in Westminster Abbey, by Thomas de Leghton, in 1294. In
the 14th and 15th centuries, when panelled doors took the place of the
earlier doors, this Early Gothic style of hinge was not needed (fig. 5)
so that we find no trace of it in that period, but the art of wrought
iron was continued with the hammered and chiselled hinges and lock
plates of the most varied and delicate workmanship, which enriched the
beautiful Gothic chests of the 14th and 15th centuries. The simple
wrought screen, which was so largely used in the 13th century was now
elaborated, especially in Italy, and fine examples of quatre-foil
grilles with massive wrought framing and a rich frieze of foliage,
cupids and animals in pierced and hammered iron are to be seen at the
cathedrals of Orvieto, Prato and Siena, dating from about 1337 to 1350,
and at Santa Croce, Florence, 1371; but it was in Spain and France that
the screen reached its culmination. The Spanish screens or “Réjas” in
the cathedrals of Seville, Toledo and Granada have a fine range of
turned and chiselled vertical bars some 30 to 50 feet high, with an
elaborate frieze and cresting.
Beautiful wrought and chiselled gates were erected in France about 1658,
for the Louvre and the Royal Chateaux of Anet and Econeu. There are some
fine wrought gates at Hampton Court by Jean Tijon, who published some
drawings of them in 1693, and many good simple gates of the last century
are still in position in many parts of the country.
The wrought iron gate piers in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, with their
architectural treatment of open panelling, cresting, and massive
buttresses, in filed, bolted and riveted, are splendid examples of
Flemish workmanship, and are probably by Quintin Matsys (1450-1529).
FURNITURE.
The adaptability and universality of wood for domestic and public
purposes, its susceptibility to carving and enrichment, its beautiful
texture, grain and colour, have made it one of the most useful of
materials in the constructive and decorative arts.
The many chairs, tables and chests of ancient times, and the beautiful
choir stalls, cabinets and screens of the middle ages are a tribute to
the vitality, inventiveness and artistic perception of the old
craftsman.
[Illustration]
The universality of the chair has tended to preserve the form through
many centuries. The chair has undergone various modifications, from the
ornate Egyptian one to the Assyrian example with the supports of
fir-cones. In the Greek example, the beauty and simplicity of profile is
remarkable, while the Chair of St. Peter, 1st century A.D., is purely
architectonic with enrichments of gold and ivory.
[Illustration]
The Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, of the time of Edward I., is
one of the earliest in England, offering a strong contrast to the chairs
of the 18th century by Chippendale and Sheraton.
[Illustration]
A Venetian chair of the 16th century shows a skilful but inappropriate
treatment.
The Arabians at Cairo, in the 15th century, produced some beautiful
geometrical wood panelling, frequently inlaid with ebony and ivory, and
having a marvellous intricacy of line and detail.
In Italy, during the 16th century, many beautifully carved cassone or
chests, in walnut, enriched with gilding, were produced, similar to the
one here figured from South Kensington Museum.
In Italy the beautiful carved choir stalls of the 16th century were
frequently enriched with INTARSIA, a light wood inlay upon a dark
ground, this intarsia being afterwards slightly etched and black rubbed
in, or scorched with hot sand or irons. The choir stalls at St. Organo,
Verona, and the Certosa, at Pavia, are fine examples of Intarsia.
[Illustration: CASSONE OR CHEST S K M ITALIAN 16^{TH} CENTURY]
In the Renascence of France we meet with many examples of beautiful
furniture, great skill, taste and ingenuity being brought to bear upon
this work. Jean Goujon, Bachelier and Philibert de l’Orme were famed for
their wood carvings in the 16th century.
In 1642, André Charles Boule introduced a veneered work composed of thin
tortoise-shell and brass, frequently chased or engraved; this is now
termed BOULE work. In some of the later work the shell is laid on a
vermilion or gold ground, which greatly enhances its effect. In the 18th
century, Boule work was still made in France, but new methods and new
men came to the front, amongst others were Riesener and David Roentgen,
who produced splendid MARQUETRY of flowers, festoons and diaper patterns
inlaid in various coloured woods. Both these men worked in mahogany and
ebony, and their lighter marquetry was frequently shaded by scorching
with hot sand. These pieces of furniture were usually enriched with
gilt, bronze or metal mountings by Gouthière, a contemporary craftsman.
A beautiful mode of enriching woodwork was introduced by Vernis Martin,
1706-70; this was the use of a gold and green lac, which was transparent
and brilliant, and similar to the beautiful lac work of Japan.
[Illustration]
Of English men of this period, Thomas Chippendale produced some good
furniture and published a book of designs in 1764, which undoubtedly
influenced much of the furniture of that period; Mathias Lock was
another noted cabinet maker. In 1789, A. Hepplewhite published a book on
furniture, and, in 1795, Thomas Sheraton published a work on the same
subject.
[Illustration: OAK SCREEN. 16^{TH} CENTURY. FRENCH SOUTH KENSINGTON
MUSEUM]
The beautiful panelling and carved mantels of the many fine halls of the
time of Elizabeth and James are characteristic of English work.
Contemporary with this are the beautiful English panelled chests with
quaint imagery and enrichments, and the curious Jacobean bed-foot with
its pierced pedestal and baluster pillar.
With Grinling Gibbons, who died in 1721, wood carving reached its
culmination for delicacy and skilful craftsmanship.
[Illustration:
TEXTILE FABRICS. Plate 35.
]
TEXTILES.
The utility, universality, construction, texture, ornamentation and
colour of textile fabrics are full of interest and suggestiveness, for
in the remarkable development of textile fabrics we may trace the
continuity of style and tradition, the intermingling of races and
customs, and the grafting of religious ideas with the wealth and
luxuriance of the past.
All fabrics wrought in the loom are called textiles. They are broadly
divided into three classes: 1st, plain fabrics in which the warp and
weft alternate equally; 2nd, those fabrics in which a pattern is
produced by the warp and weft intermingling in different proportions or
colours, figured cloths and tapestries being included in this class;
3rd, those fabrics in which the plain textile NO. 1 is enriched with the
needle or by printing, termed embroideries or printed fabrics.
Owing to their perishable nature few remains of ancient textile fabrics
are in existence. The oldest examples are found in the tombs of Egypt,
where, owing to the dryness of the climate, some fabrics of the early
dynasties still remain. They are usually of fine linen and without
enrichment, yet upon the same tombs are many painted patterns that
undoubtedly show a woven origin. The oldest figured fabrics found in
Egypt are of the 6th century A.D., and they show a remarkable similarity
to the early patterns of Persia and Byzantium, for it was in India,
Persia and Arabia that textiles reached their perfection of workmanship
and their wealth of material. This splendid tradition was carried from
Persia and India to Byzantium in the 5th century, and in the 8th century
the Arabians absorbed and assimilated the arts of Persia, India, Egypt
and Spain and brought the art of weaving to its culmination during the
14th and 15th centuries.
The ornamental designs of textile fabrics of different nations and
periods are characterised by well-defined forms, differentiated by
racial influence, climatic conditions and the myths and traditions of
the people. Yet the traditional Eastern origin may be traced through
many textile designs, for there is no doubt that India, Persia and
Arabia influenced the designs of textile fabrics more than any other
nations. This was due no doubt partly to the Eastern weavers carrying
their art and traditions with them to various parts of Europe, and also
to the exportation of their splendid fabrics, but principally to the
beautiful and interesting designs which were perfectly adapted to the
process of weaving. It is due no doubt to this frank adaptation of
natural forms and their appropriateness to the technical necessities of
woven fabrics, that has rendered this Eastern influence so persistent
through many centuries in different parts of Europe. It is remarkable
that even in Italy during the whole of the Renascence period, with the
characteristic scroll forms and acanthus foliation of its architecture
and decorative arts, the textiles are quite distinct in style, having
the characteristics of the Sicilian, Persian and Indian ornament.
Among the earliest figured fabrics must be placed those of Assyria, of
which representations may be seen in Layard’s Book on Nineveh. The
patterns consisted of symmetrically placed winged figures with the Hom
or Tree of Life and the rosette, which was used as a symbol by Zoraster.
It is probable that many of these patterns were embroidered, as the
Babylonians were reported to be skilful in the art of embroidery, but it
is also certain that some of the patterns were woven. The figured
fabrics found in Egypt only date from the 5th and 6th centuries A.D.,
and show a marked Byzantine and Persian influence (figs. 1-7, plate 35).
Characteristic Byzantine examples have medallions and symmetrically
placed figures and ornament of the “Hom.” At Alexandria and Antioch,
many fine green and gold silk fabrics with ornament in brown outline
were produced from the 6th to the 10th centuries.
Under the Saracens, textile fabrics reached their highest development;
splendour of colour, beauty and perfection of material and the
singularly interesting beauty of the designs being the chief
characteristics.
The conquest of Persia, in 632 A.D., by Abu Bekr, the successor of
Mahomet, the establishment of Bagdad in 762 as the capital of the
Arabian Khalifs, and the invasion of India, in 711, gave a remarkable
impetus to the decorative arts, more especially the arts of dyeing,
weaving and embroidery. These arts culminated in the splendid period of
the Fatimy Khalifs, 909-1171 A.D. Though Mahomet forbade his followers
to wear silk, it was largely used by the Saracens and, to evade the
injunction, cotton was frequently interwoven with it, and, in India
especially, the fabrics often have a cotton warp as a foundation for the
weft patterns of coloured silks and gold thread. Many fine examples of
Saracenic fabrics of the 11th to the 15th centuries are now in our
national museums. The larger portion are from Sicily, and are termed
Sicilian or Siculo-Saracenic. They have bands of birds, animals, foliage
and inscriptions in blue, green and gold on a red ground. If wholly of
silk the fabric was termed _Holosericum_, and if of silk and gold,
_Chrysoclavum fundatum_. Drawn gold thread was not used in early
fabrics, but gold leaf laid on paper or skin and then rolled round a
fine thread of silk was largely used by the Saracenic weavers. The
patterns in some of the later Sicilian fabrics of the 13th and 14th
centuries have a purple ground in twilled silk, with birds and foliage
formed by a weft of gold thread. These patterns were usually symmetrical
in arrangement, no doubt partly due to the traditional art of Assyria,
but also to the simple necessities of weaving, for in the early looms
the turnover of the pattern was frequently used. The Saracenic fabrics
produced in Spain are called Hispano-Moresque and are distinguished by
splendid crimson or dark blue conventional patterns of silk upon a
yellow ground of a fine quality, and a frequent use of strips of gilded
parchment in place of the rolled gilt thread. In this period, many fine
velvets raised on a satin ground with gold
[Illustration:
Plate 36.
SICILIAN FABRIC IN GOLD THREAD ON PURPLE GROUND. 13^{TH} CENTURY. BOCK
COLLECTION. MANCHESTER]
[Illustration:
Plate 37.
PRINTED COTTON. INDIAN 18^{TH} CENT. S.K.M.]
and silver threads, were made. In the 12th century, Roger II., the
Norman King of Northern Sicily, took Corinth and Argos, and carried many
weavers and embroiderers from Greece to Sicily, and established them at
Palermo, where they quickly assimilated the Sicilian style and produced
many fine fabrics during the 13th and 14th centuries.
The crusades now began to influence the arts; in 1098, Antioch was taken
and the spoil distributed through Europe; in 1204, Constantinople was
taken by Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and the Venetian Doge, Dandolo, and
the vast spoil of textiles distributed. It was doubtless under the
influence of the crusades that the Sicilian weavers of the 13th and 14th
centuries produced the many beautiful fabrics enriched with winged
lions, foliated crosses and crowns, rayed stars, harts and birds linked
together, and with the introduction of armorial bearings. Early in the
14th century, this splendid tradition was introduced into Italy, and at
Lucca many beautiful fabrics were produced, having the same
characteristics and technique as the Sicilian fabrics.
The cloak upon the recumbent bronze figure of Richard II. in Westminster
Abbey has a pattern of foliage with couchant harts and rayed stars, and
was most probably copied from the original silk made for Richard at
Lucca or Palermo.
The beautiful materials and designs of Indian textile fabrics are
indicative of the love of nature and the splendour of colour of a remote
antiquity. Though influenced at various times by Greek, Persian and
Arabian traditions, India still preserved an indigenous ornamental art
of remarkable freshness and vitality, the designers choosing their own
flora and fauna with rare selective power and adaptive qualities. With
an instinctive feeling for ornamental art, aided by the splendid
colourings of the native dyes, they produced textile fabrics of silks,
brocades, and gold and silver lace remarkable for richness and
perfection of material, beauty of design and harmony of colour. The
Indian pine is a familiar form of enrichment differentiated from the
cypress of Persia (fig. 1, plate 22), by the spiral at the apex. This
typical pine is treated with a wonderful diversity of detail (figs. 4, 5
and 6, plate 23). The splendid carpets of India were doubtless
influenced by the Persian tradition and they follow the same methods and
ornamental arrangements, adapting, conventionalizing and emphasising
plants, flowers and seeds, and rendering them with a fine feeling for
form and colour. Block printing was largely used for silks and cottons,
and many splendid examples are now treasured in our museums; an
illustration of a printed cotton Palampore from South Kensington is
given here, showing the beautiful floral treatment, diversity of detail,
and contrast of line and mass. The gold and silver Brocades or “Kincobs”
of Ahmedabad and Benares, with patterns of animals, flowers and foliage
richly spangled; the delicate muslins of Dacca, the gold and silver
primed muslins of Jaipur, and the woollen
[Illustration:
Plate 38.
PERSIAN CARPET. 16^{TH} CENTURY. S.K.M]
shawls of Kashmir, with the well-known pine pattern, are splendid
examples of richness of material, delicacy and skilfulness of technic,
and beauty and appropriateness of ornamentation.
The Pile carpets of Persia, especially those of Kurdistan, Khorassan,
Kirman, and Ferahan, are the finest in the world, being magnificent in
colour and having bold conventional patterns of their beautiful flora,
with birds and animals interspersed with the ornament, giving a
largeness of mass and interest and vitality of detail. The illustration
on the opposite page is from a fine 16th century Persian carpet, and is
a good example of their methods and traditions. The hyacinth, tulip,
iris and the pink, are frequently introduced, together with the hom or
tree of life. An illustration is given (fig. 2, plate 22) of a Genoa
fabric but of Persian design, showing the typical “pink” with its
simplicity and beauty of line. This traditional art of Persia had a most
marked influence upon the textile fabrics of Europe from the 12th to the
17th centuries. This was no doubt due to many causes, but the perfect
adaptability to the process of weaving, the interest, inventiveness and
beauty of the ornament, and the singular frank treatment of form and
colour, doubtless appealed to the craftsmen of Europe, and hence we find
many Persian designs produced in Sicily, Spain, Italy, France and
Flanders.
[Illustration: DOUBLE MULLION PATTERN, ITALIAN.]
The finest silk velvets and damasks produced from the looms of Florence
show a distinct Persian influence in their bold artichoke and
pomegranate patterns of the 16th and 17th centuries. In Genoa, similar
patterns in many coloured velvets were produced, and it is singular how
largely this persistency of type prevails in all countries.
[Illustration: SILK ITALIAN 16th CENTURY]
In 1480, Louis XI. introduced the art into France, when looms were
established at Tours, and in 1520 they were established at Lyons by
Francis I., and the art of weaving rapidly spread. The earliest fabrics
of these looms have patterns similar to the Persian and Italian fabrics;
but soon the vase pattern, which no doubt had its origin in Byzantine
textiles and which had been used by the Persians and Italians, began to
influence French designs. However, this rapidly gave place towards the
middle of the 17th century to the imitations of ribbons and laces in
textile fabrics, together with a more naturalistic treatment of floral
forms, and the beauty, suggestiveness and interest of the early patterns
now gave way to prettiness, affectation and a naturalistic treatment
which culminated in the period of Madame Pompadour.