DIVISION I.
In this chapter I have to commence our consideration of pottery, and
of hollow vessels especially; and this I do with considerable
pleasure, as works in pottery enjoy a longer existence, though through
the character of the material of which they are made they are more
fragile, than those formed of almost any other substance. Many works
of Greek pottery are known to us, and not a few such works by the
ancient Egyptians, and these are preserved not as fragments merely,
but as works in their entirety, and with the same beauty that they
possessed when first they left the hands of the workman.
Clay is a most desirable material with which to form works of utility
and of beauty, and this for many reasons. First, it is so inexpensive
as to be almost valueless; secondly, it is easily formed into vessels
of almost any required shape; thirdly, it is capable of being "worked"
into shapes of great beauty by a momentary exercise of skill;
fourthly, clay is naturally of many beautiful colours; fifthly, it is
capable of receiving by application to its surface any amount of
colour, and of preserving such colours as are applied to it in an
unimpaired state for ages; and sixthly, it is susceptible of the
highest art-finish, or the bold sketchy touch of the modeller's hand.
I say that clay is a very desirable material for formation into
vessels of various kinds, because of its inexpensive character. This
quality of cheapness gives to the material an advantage over many
other substances of a much more costly character, such as should not
be overlooked, for the long existence which so many works of
earthenware have had is mainly due to the worthlessness of the
material of which they are composed. In my first chapter I gave an
extract from the writings of Professor George Wilson, showing that
gold and silver, while beautiful in themselves, and worthy to be
fashioned into exquisite devices, are yet too tempting to the thief,
and to all who are pressed for means, to remain long in the form of
art-works. Families who have been reduced in circumstances, and have
thereby been constrained to part with their old plate, have melted it,
so as to hide their shame. To illustrate this, let me quote from the
"Handbook of the Arts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, as applied
to the Decoration of Furniture, Arms, Jewels, etc., translated from
the French of M. Jules Labarte, 1856." After giving the names of many
workers in the precious metals, the author says:--"We may form some
idea of what artists these Italian goldsmiths were of the fourteenth,
fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, and what admirable works they must
have produced. But, alas! these noble works have almost all perished;
their artistic worth proving no safeguard against cupidity or
necessity, the fear of pillage, or the love of change. But a very few
names even of those skilled artists have descended to us, and in
making known those preserved to us in the writings of Vasari,
Benvenuto, Cellini, and others, we can rarely point out any of their
works as being still in existence.
"Cellini tells us that while Pope Clement VII. was besieged in the
castle of St. Angelo, he received orders to unset all the precious
stones that were upon the tiaras, the sacred vessels, and the jewels
of the sovereign pontiff; and to melt down the gold, of which he
obtained 200 pounds. How many artistic treasures must have perished in
the crucible of Cellini." We now see clearly that while clay is a much
more fragile material than either silver or gold, its very
worthlessness, despite its fragility, gives to it length of years.
We have said that clay is easily formed into vessels of almost any
required shape. This is so within certain limits. Throughout these
chapters I have lost no opportunity of insisting upon the importance
of working every material in a befitting manner, and in the most
simple and easy way in which the material can be wrought. Almost every
material can be simply "worked" in some way, or while in some
particular condition.
Glass has a molten state in which it can be "blown" into the most
beautiful of shapes, and this process of blowing is the work of but a
few seconds. Glass has also a solid condition, yet as it can be formed
into works of great beauty by the exercise of momentary skill, it
would be extremely foolish to take a mass of the solid glass, and by
laborious grinding form it into a bottle or a bowl. It fortunately
happens that if a material is worked in its most simple and befitting
manner, the results obtained are more beautiful and satisfying than
those which are arrived at by any roundabout method of production.
Glass should be formed into hollow vessels only when in its plastic
condition, for it cannot be shaped into the form of such vessels as we
require when in its solid state without the expenditure of much
unnecessary, therefore wasteful, labour. But if a mass of crystal or
marble is required to assume the form of a bowl or font, then the
laborious process of grinding must be resorted to, for these
substances have no plastic state.
The potter's wheel has been known from the earliest historic time, and
this has at all times been the instrument with which the best earthen
vessels have been formed. A mass of clay of suitable size is placed on
a horizontal disc of wood, to which a rotary motion is imparted. The
operator presses his thumbs into the centre of the clay, and then, by
causing his fingers to approach his thumbs, manipulates the clay into
a cup, a bowl, a vase, an earthen bottle, or whatever form he may
please; and if skilful, the operator can form objects of marvellous
beauty with a rapidity that astonishes all who see for the first time
his mode of working.
If potters would but content themselves, in order to the production of
such articles as we require in common life, with the "potter's
wheel," we should be almost sure of a certain amount of beauty in
domestic earthenware, but such is not the case. They make fancy moulds
of plaster of Paris and of wire gauze, and roll out clay as the
pastrycook does dough, and manipulate it as so much pie-crust, instead
of applying to it simple skill. Neither a bowl nor a plate need have a
scalloped edge, indeed they are much better without it; and if
unnecessary, and even undesirable, absurdities were avoided, and a
simple and natural method of working each material alone employed, a
great improvement in art would speedily take place.
It is strange but true, that the worker in one material seems rarely
to be satisfied with making his works look as well and as consistent
as possible; he desires rather to form poor imitations of something
else. We have all seen earthen jugs made in imitation of wicker-work,
although to do so is obviously foolish, as no wicker vessel could hold
water, and the thing imitated is much less beautiful than a thousand
forms which clay is capable of assuming. Men's heads without brains
are, or were at least, favourite jugs. Well, that there are many
models for this idea in Nature, I doubt not; yet why we should copy
them by making a jug in the form of a hollow head, I know not. I have
in my possession a milk-jug, such as is common in the district of
Swansea in South Wales, in the likeness of a cow. The tail is twisted
into a handle; by a hole in the back the milk is admitted, and through
the mouth it is ejected. A more wretched and coarse idea it is
scarcely possible to conceive of, yet the vulgar admire this jug. Let
us work the material in a simple and befitting manner, and
satisfactory results are almost sure to accrue.
I have said that clay, as such, has many beautiful colours. Naturally
clay is black, grey-white, red, brown, and yellow, and it is capable
of assuming many desirable tints by the agency of chemical means. We
do not use coloured clays as we should do. We want so much
white--everything to look so clean. All ornamental ware, at least,
should be artistic, and the art-effect should supersede that cold
whiteness which the Dutch and the English mistake for cleanliness. A
clay of good natural colour is not a thing to be hidden, or ashamed
of.
Clay is capable, when glazed, of receiving any amount of colour, and
of preserving these colours in their beauty for almost any length of
time. These qualities are invaluable to the ornamentist. Colour is not
always at his disposal. The goldsmith has difficulty in getting it,
but to the potter it is very accessible. Colour is capable of giving
to objects a charm which they could not possibly have without it. Let
us use the power thus placed at our disposal rightly and well, and
then the enduring character of the colour-harmonies which we produce
may gladden posterity in ages yet to come.
Clay is susceptible of the highest art-finish, or of a bold sketchy
treatment. Finish is very desirable in some cases. The cup which my
lady uses in her boudoir should be delicate and fine, for what is
worthy to approach the sacred lips of the occupant of a fair apartment
but such a work as is tender and refined?
As a rule, however, we over-estimate the value of finish, and
under-value bold art-effects. Excessive finish often (but by no means
always) destroys art-effect. I have before me some specimens of
Japanese earthenware, which are formed of a coarse dark brown clay,
and are to a great extent without that finish which most Europeans
appear so much to value, yet these are artistic and beautiful. In the
case of cheap goods we spend time in getting smoothness of surface,
while the Japanese devote it to the production of an art-effect. We
get finish without art, they prefer art without finish.
[Illustration: Fig. 97.]
[Illustration: Fig. 98.]
[Illustration: Fig. 99.]
[Illustration: Fig. 100.]
We must now devote ourselves to a special consideration of the shapes
of earthen vessels, and to the manner in which ornament should be
applied to them.
In his primitive condition man appears to have used the shells of
certain fruits as drinking vessels and bottles; and to this day we
find many tribes of uncivilised or half-civilised men using the same
class of vessels. "Monkey-pots" (the hard shells of the _Lecythis
allaria_), the coverings of the Brazil nut (_Bertholetia excelsa_),
and especially the rinds of the calabash and many species of gourd
(Figs. 97 and 98), have been used in this way.[26] The first efforts
made at the production of earthen vessels were mere attempts at
copying in clay the forms of the fruit-shells which were in use as
drinking vessels. After a power of forming earthen vessels, having a
certain amount of perfection of manufacture, was gained, we still find
the origin of the potter's art manifested by certain works. Thus in
China, where the potter's art has so long been understood, we still
find vessels made in the form of the bottle-gourd, just as was their
custom in the days of their first manufacturing efforts (Fig. 99).
Before considering the shapes of vessels from a utilitarian point of
view, I should tell the student that certain shapes are characteristic
of different nations and of different periods of time.
[26] All who are interested in this subject are referred to a paper
published in the "Transactions of the Edinburgh Botanical Society,"
for 1859, by Professor George Wilson, on the "Fruits of the
Cucurbitaceae."
The Greek shapes, as we may call them--that is, the forms of those
vessels which the Greeks produced--are of a particular class, and the
vessels produced by the Egyptians are of a different type; while those
of the Chinese, Indians, Japanese, and Mexicans again differ from each
other, and from those of both the Greeks and the Egyptians. For grace
of form the vessels of the old Greeks stand pre-eminent (Figs. 101 and
102); for simple dignified severity, those of the Egyptians (Fig.
100); for quaintness, those of the Mexicans (Fig. 103); for a
combination of grace with dignity, those of the Chinese (Figs. 104 and
105); and for a combination of beauty with quaintness, those of the
Japanese (Fig. 106); while in many respects the Indian shapes (Figs.
107 and 108) resemble those of the Japanese. Fig. 109 is a water
vessel from Ha, and Figs. 110 and 111 are jugs from Morocco.
I cannot enter into any details respecting the characteristic forms of
vessels produced by these various nations, but must content myself by
giving a few illustrations of the various shapes, and leaving the
matter with the learner for study. The British Museum, the South
Kensington Museum, and the Indian Museum will aid him in his
researches.
It has been said that the character of a people can be told by their
water-vessels. As the consideration of this statement will lead us to
see how perfectly a domestic utensil may answer the end which it
should serve, I will extract from my "Art of Decorative Design" a few
remarks on this subject.
This statement can well "be illustrated by the Egyptian and Greek
water-vessels, the former of which has sides tapering to the top and
slanting inwards, a small orifice, and a rounded base, and the mouth
of the vessel bridged by an arched handle, the whole being constructed
of bronze (Fig. 112); the latter consists of an egg-shaped body (the
broad end being above) resting upon a secure foot, which is surmounted
by a large, divergent, funnel-shaped member (Fig. 113). It has no
handle over the orifice, but has one at either side.
"Not only do these vessels differ in form, but associated
circumstances differ also; and it is this variation in circumstances
which brought about the difference in form of the two water-vessels.
"The peculiarities of the Egyptian water-vessel are its formation of
bronze, the roundness of its base, which renders it unfitted for
standing, the narrowness of its mouth, and the handle arching the
orifice; and of the Greek, its being wrought in clay, the secure base,
the wide mouth, the contraction in the centre, and the handle at
either side. We should judge from these vessels that the Egyptians
drew water from a river, or some position which required that the
vessel be attached to a cord and cast into the source of supply, for
the roundness of the base at once points to this, it being a provision
for enabling the vessel to fill by turning upon its side (were its
base flat it would float on the water); it is also formed out of metal
so as to facilitate this end. The arched handle not only points to
the attachment of the vessel to a string in order that it be cast into
the water, but also to the carrying the vessel pendent from the hand
in the manner that pails are at present carried, and the contracted
mouth restrains the splashing over of the water: and what this simple
water-vessel points to we find to have been the case, for the
Egyptians derived water from the Nile in the very manner that the
vessel would indicate; but with the Greeks circumstances were
different, and the shape of the vessel varies accordingly. The base is
here flat, in order that the vessel may stand; the mouth is large, in
order to collect the water which fell from above,--from the
dripping-rocks and water-spouts. This being the manner in which water
was gathered, a vessel formed of heavy metal was unnecessary; the
contraction prevented the water from splashing over when carried, and
up to this point the vessel was filled, and no higher; and the handles
at the side show that it was carried on the head. But, in conjunction
with this mode of carrying, there is another consideration of
interest, which is, the centre of gravity is high. If we attempt to
balance a stick, having one enlarged end, on the finger, it will be
found necessary that the weight be at the top; and in balancing
anything, it will be found that the object, in order that it ride
steadily, have its point of greatest weight considerably elevated
above its base. In the Greek water-vessel, which was carried balanced
on the head, we find this condition fully complied with, the centre of
gravity occupying a high position, while in the Egyptian vessel the
centre of gravity was low; but where the vessel is to be carried
underhand, it is as great an advantage to have the centre of gravity
low as it is in the case of a coach, where security is thus gained
just as the centre of gravity is lowered. The Greek water-vessel,
then, consists of a cavity for holding water, a funnel to collect and
guide the water, a base for the vessel to rest upon, and handles to
enable it to be raised to the head, and the centre of gravity is high
in order that it be readily balanced; and we should judge from this
vessel that the Greeks procured water from dripping-rocks and
water-spouts, and this is exactly what did occur. These are the direct
teachings of the Egyptian and Greek water-vessels; yet how many
circumstances and incidents of common life can be conceived as
associated with these different forms of vessel. There is the gossip
round the well, and the lingering by the river-side where the image of
the date-palm is mirrored by the glassy surface of the waters. The
effect of the noise of the splashing water upon the mind in the one
case, combined with the comparatively loud and energetic speaking
which would be necessary in order that the voice be not drowned by the
noise, and of the calm tranquillity of the river-bank in the other,
where the limpid water is ever flowing on in silent majesty, must be
considerable. Then we have the potter's art essential to the
production of the vessel in the one case, and the metal-worker's in
the other--the digging of clay, the mining of metal, the kilns and
smelting furnaces. We will not continue this portion of the subject
further, and have brought forward this illustration in order to show
how well-considered objects reveal to us the habits and customs of the
peoples and nations in which they originated."
[Illustration: Fig. 101.]
[Illustration: Fig. 102.]
[Illustration: Fig. 103.]
[Illustration: Fig. 104.]
[Illustration: Fig. 105.]
[Illustration: Fig. 106.]
[Illustration: Fig. 107.]
[Illustration: Fig. 108.]
[Illustration: Fig. 109.]
[Illustration: Fig. 110.]
[Illustration: Fig. 111.]
[Illustration: Fig. 112.]
[Illustration: Fig. 113.]
It will now be apparent that even a common object may result from such
careful consideration that its form will at once suggest its use; but
the object will only reveal the purpose for which it was created with
definiteness of expression when it perfectly answers the end proposed
by its formation. The advice which I must give to every designer is to
study carefully exactly what is required, before he proceeds to form
his ideas of what the object proposed to be created should be like,
and then to diligently strive to arrange such a form for it as shall
cause it to be perfectly suited to the want which it is intended to
meet.
More will be said upon the subject of form when speaking of glass
vessels and of silversmiths' work; and when considering these subjects
we shall also give the law which governs the application of handles
and spouts to vessels; and it is of the utmost importance that they be
correctly placed in order that the vessel may be used with convenience
(see page 140). A word must now be said respecting the decoration of
earthen vessels, but on this subject our remarks must be brief.
[Illustration: Fig. 114.]
[Illustration: Fig. 115.]
[Illustration: Fig. 116.]
[Illustration: Fig. 117.]
The object to which the decoration is applied must determine the
nature of the ornament to be employed. In the case of a vessel which
is to be in part hidden when in use, great simplicity of treatment
should be adopted, and the ornament may with advantage consist of
repeated parts. In the case of a plate, little or no ornament should
be placed in the centre; but if there is a central ornament it should
be a small, regular, radiating figure, consisting of like parts (Figs.
114 and 115). The border should also consist of simple members
repeated, for it will then look well if portions are covered; and
these remarks will apply equally to all kinds of plates, whether
intended for use at dinner or dessert.
No plate should have a landscape painted upon it, nor a figure, nor a
group of flowers. Whatever has a right and wrong way upwards is
inappropriate in such a position, as whatever ornament a plate bears
should be in all positions as fully right way upwards to the beholder
as it can be. Besides, landscapes, groups of flowers, and figures are
spoiled if in part hidden, provided they are satisfactory when the
whole is seen.
[Illustration: Fig. 118.]
Plates may have a white ground, for it is desirable that those
articles on which food is presented should manifest the utmost
cleanliness, yet to a cream tint there can be no objection. I should,
however, prefer white plates, with a rather deep blue, Indian red,
maroon, or brown pattern upon them, and a pale buff table-cloth for
them to rest upon.
In the case of cups and saucers the treatment should be similar to
that of the plate. The saucer may have a simple border ornament,
consisting of parts repeated, and little or no ornament in the central
portion on which the cup rests. The cup may have an external border
ornament, and a double narrow line of colour around the upper portion
of the interior, but no other ornament is here required.
Whatever ornament is placed around a cup, or vase, or any tall object
must be such as will not suffer by perspective, for there is scarcely
any portion of the ornament that can be seen otherwise than
foreshortened (Figs. 103 and 111). Let simplicity be the ruling
principle in the decoration of all rounded objects, and ever remember
that a line which is straight on a flat surface becomes a curve on a
round surface (see page 110).
I have given what is a correct decoration for a plate and cup and
saucer, but there are other methods of treatment than those just
named. The Japanese are very fond of placing little circular groups of
flowers on plates, saucers, and bowls (Figs. 116 and 117). The Greeks
had various methods of enriching their tazzas and vases with
ornament, and the Egyptians were partial to the plan of rendering a
cup as a lotus-flower (Fig. 100). But when they formed a cup thus,
they were careful to draw the flower conventionally and ornamentally,
and never produced an imitative work (see page 24). The Chinese treat
the flower of the sacred bean in the same way (Fig. 118).
What I have said has been addressed to the student. The remarks,
however, made respecting the form chosen being that which is most
suitable to the end proposed, and the conditions to which I shall make
reference as governing the application of handle and spout to any
object, are binding upon all who would produce satisfactory works; but
to the genius who has power to produce beautiful and vigorous
ornament, and whose taste has, by years of study and cultivation,
become refined and judicious, I can give no rules, his own taste being
his best guide.
DIVISION II.
When speaking of earthenware, I insisted upon the desirability of
using every material in the easiest and most natural manner, and I
illustrated my meaning by saying that glass has a molten condition as
well as a solid state, and that while in the molten condition it can
be "blown" into forms of exquisite beauty. Glass-blowing is an
operation of skill, and an operation in which natural laws come to our
aid, and I cannot too strongly repeat my statement that every material
should be "worked" in the most simple and befitting manner; and I
think that our consideration of the formation of glass vessels will
render the reasonableness of my demand apparent.
Let a portion of molten glass be gathered upon the end of a metal
pipe, and blown into a bubble while the pipe drops vertically from the
mouth of the operator, and a flask is formed such as is used for the
conveyance of olive oil (Fig. 119); and what vessel could be more
beautiful than such a flask? Its grace of form is obvious; the
delicate curvature of its sides, the gentle swelling of the bulb, and
the exquisitely rounded base, all manifest beauty.
Here we get a vessel formed for us almost wholly by Nature. It is the
attraction of gravitation which converts what would be a mere bubble,
or hollow sphere of glass, into a gracefully elongated and
delicately-shaped flask. This may be taken as a principle, that
whenever a material is capable of being "worked" in a manner which
will so secure the operation of natural laws as to modify the shapes
of the objects into which it is formed, it is very desirable that we
avail ourselves of such a means of formation, for the operation of
gravitation and similar forces upon plastic matter is calculated to
give beauty of form.
When clay is worked upon the potter's wheel, it is shaped by the
operator's skill, and is sufficiently stiff to retain the shape given
to it to a very considerable extent; yet the operation of gravitation
upon it, so long as it has any plasticity whatever, is calculated to
secure delicacy of form. This rule should ever be remembered by the
art-student--that a curve is beautiful just as its origin is difficult
to detect (see Chap. I., page 23). In the formation of vases, bottles,
etc., knowledge of this law is very important, and the operation of
gravity upon hollow plastic vessels is calculated to give to their
curves subtlety (intricate beauty) of character. Having arranged that
the material shall be worked in the manner most befitting its nature,
we must next consider what purpose the object to be formed is intended
to serve.
Take a common hock-bottle (Fig. 120) and consider it. What is wanted
is a vessel such as will stand, in which wine can be stored. It must
have a strong neck, so that a cork may be driven in without splitting
it, and must be formed of a material that is not absorbent. Glass, as
a material, admirably answers the want, and this bottle is capable of
storing wine; it will stand, and has a rim around the neck such as
gives to it strength. But, besides serving the requirements named, it
is both easily formed and is beautiful. The designer must be a
utilitarian, but he must be an artist also. We must have useful
vessels, but the objects with which we are to surround ourselves must
likewise be beautiful; and unless they are beautiful, our delicacy of
feeling and power to appreciate Nature, which is full of beauties,
will be impaired. A hock-bottle is a mere elongated bubble, with the
bottom portion pressed in so that it may stand, and the neck thickened
by a rim of glass being placed around it.
[Illustration: Fig. 119.]
[Illustration: Fig. 120.]
Here we have a bottle shaped by natural agency; it is formed of heavy
glass, and the bubble was thick at its lower part, hence its elongated
form; but if length is required in any bubble, and the glass is even
light, it can always be given by swinging the bubble round from the
centre, so that centrifugal force may be brought into play in the
direction of its length; or if it has to be widened, this can as
easily be done by giving to it a rotatory motion, whereby the
centrifugal force is caused to act from the axis of the vessel
outwards, and not from the apex to the base, as in the former
instance. In either case a certain amount of beauty would appear in
the shape produced, for Nature here works for us. (Compare the short,
dumpy, yet beautiful bottle, in which we receive curacao, with the
hock-bottle, when the two natural modes of forming bottles will be
illustrated.) Our wine-bottles are moulded, hence their ugliness. We
work without Nature's assistance, and we reap ugliness as the reward.
Let us now consider what a decanter should be. In many respects, the
wants which a decanter is intended to meet are similar to those which
are met by the bottle, as just enumerated, but here is a great
difference--a bottle is only _intended_ to be filled once, whereas a
decanter will have to be filled many times; and a bottle is made so
that it can travel, while a decanter is not meant to be the subject of
long journeys. It is true that a bottle may be refilled many times,
but it is not intended that it should, as the fact that we use a
funnel when we wish to fill it clearly shows, and without a funnel the
vessel is not complete. All objects which are meant to be refilled
many times should have a funnel-shaped mouth (see my remarks on the
Greek water-vessel, page 121), but if a bottle had a distended orifice
it would not be well adapted for transport. A decanter should have
capacity for containing liquid; it should stand securely, and have a
double funnel--a funnel to collect the fluid and conduct it into the
bottle, and a funnel to collect it and conduct it out of the bottle.
It must also be convenient to use and hold, and the upper funnel
should be of such a character that it will guide the liquid in a
proper direction when poured from the decanter.
[Illustration: Fig. 121.]
[Illustration: Fig. 122.]
[Illustration: Fig. 123.]
If we take a flask and flatten its base, and extend the upper portion
of the neck slightly into the form of a funnel, we have all that is
required of a decanter, with the exception of a permanent cork, which
is a stopper (Fig. 121).
But as most decanters are intended to hold wine, the brilliancy of
which is not readily apparent when that portion of the vessel which
contains the liquid rests immediately upon the table, it is desirable
to give to the vessel a foot, or, in other words, raise the body of
the decanter so that light may surround it as fully as possible (Figs.
122 and 123).
In Figs. 124 to 135 I give a number of shapes of decanters and jugs,
such as may be seen in our best shop-windows, and such as I consider
desirable forms for such vessels; and in considering-the shape of such
vessels, the character of the upper portion of the neck (the lip) must
be regarded, as well as that of the body and base. Notice also whether
the centre of gravity is high or low, and the position and character
of the handle; but respecting the application of handles to vessels I
will speak when considering silversmiths' work (see page 140).
[Illustration: Fig. 124.]
[Illustration: Fig. 125.]
[Illustration: Fig. 126.]
[Illustration: Fig. 127.]
[Illustration: Fig. 128.]
[Illustration: Fig. 129.]
[Illustration: Fig. 130.]
[Illustration: Fig. 131.]
[Illustration: Fig. 132.]
[Illustration: Fig. 133.]
[Illustration: Fig. 134.]
[Illustration: Fig. 135.]
Besides decanters and bottles, glass is formed into tumblers,
wine-glasses, flower-holders, and many other things; but the
principles which we have already laid down will apply equally to all,
for if the objects formed result from the easiest mode of working the
material, and are such as perfectly answer the end proposed by their
formation, and are beautiful, nothing more can be expected of them.
Many objects of fancy shape have been produced as mere feats of
glass-blowing, and with some of these efforts I sympathise. Wherever
the work produced is truly adapted to use, or where an artistic effect
is achieved, the glass-blower has my warm sympathy; but if the effort
is made at the production of novelty merely, the result gained is sure
to be unsatisfactory. Much of the Venetian glass will illustrate these
last remarks.
Fig. 136 is a very excellent and picturesque spirit-bottle; it is easy
to hold, and quaint in appearance.[27] Figs. 137, 138, and 139 are
Venetian glass vessels, wrought entirely at the furnace-mouth, and
neither cut nor engraved--they are artistic, and of interesting
appearance; while Fig. 140 is a work of Roman glass, in which the
upper distension is useful if the liquid contains a sediment which it
is not desirable to pour out with the liquid.
[27] In order that the nature of this bottle be better understood, I
give a section of it at A as seen when cut through the central part.
[Illustration: Fig. 136.]
[Illustration: Section of Fig. 136 at A.]
[Illustration: Fig. 137.]
[Illustration: Fig. 138.]
[Illustration: Fig. 139.]
[Illustration: Fig. 140.]
There is one thing pertaining to table-glass that we do not now
sufficiently consider, which is its capacity for colour. Our one idea
in the formation of glass vessels is the imitation of crystal, unless
we happen to produce a vessel of the strongest tint. With the
exception of hock-glasses, which are generally either ruby-colour,
dark green, or intense yellow-green, we rarely employ tinted glass on
our tables. These three colours, which we usually employ in
hock-glasses, are all too strong in tint for ordinary purposes, and
they are coarse and vulgar. It is curious that we should confine
ourselves to these colours when glass is capable of assuming the most
delicate of shades, of appearing as a soft, subtle, golden hue of the
most beautiful light tertiary green, lilac, and blue, and, indeed, of
almost any colour.
Why, then, should we employ only two or three colours, and those of
the most crude character? If the Roman and Greek glass of the British
Museum be inspected, it will be seen that the Romans employed various
soft and delicate tints, and why we should not do so I cannot see. For
many reasons the colours of our hock-glasses are highly objectionable,
but especially for two. First, as already stated, the colour is so
strong that they appear as mere dark spots on the cloth, and
altogether fail in imparting to the table a pleasant colour-effect;
and, secondly, they utterly destroy the beauty of appearance which the
wine would otherwise present.
[Illustration: Fig. 141.]
[Illustration: Fig. 142.]
No glass which is to contain a liquid of pleasant colour should be so
strong in tint as to mar the beauty of the contained fluid, and
especially is this true when the colour of the glass is of an opposite
character to that of the liquid: thus a red liquid placed in a
strongly-coloured green glass becomes highly offensive in appearance,
and yet we often see claret served in green hock-glasses. A
dinner-table requires colour. Let the cloth be pale buff, or
cream-colour, instead of white; and the glass water-vessels of very
pale, but refined and various, tints; and the salt-cellars, if of
glass, also coloured, in a tender and befitting manner, and a most
harmonious effect will be produced. The flowers with which the table
is adorned would then harmonise with the other things, and much beauty
might be produced.
Respecting the ornamentation of glass, two methods of treatment are
resorted to, which are "cutting" and "engraving." Both modes deal with
glass as a hard, crystal-like substance; and consist in grinding the
surface, and either leaving it "dead" or repolishing it. In the case
of "cutting" a considerable portion of the substance of the glass is
generally removed, and the surface is repolished; but in the case of
"engraving" little more than the surface is generally acted upon, and
the engraved portion remains dead.
Cutting may be employed in bringing about ornamental effects in glass,
but it is rarely to be commended when so lavishly used as to be the
chief means of giving form to the vessel; indeed, cutting should be
sparingly and judiciously used. A vessel formed of glass should never
be wholly shaped by cutting, as though it were a work of stone. If the
neck of a decanter can be made more convenient by being slightly
cut--if it can be so treated that it can be held more securely--then
let it be cut; but in all cases avoid falling into the error of too
much cutting which causes the work to appear laboured, for any work
which presents the appearance of having been the result of much labour
is as unpleasant to look upon as that work is pleasing which results
from the exercise of momentary skill. There is a great art-principle
manifested in the expression "Let there be light, and there was
light."
[Illustration: Fig. 143.]
[Illustration: Fig. 144.]
Engraving is also laborious, and while it is capable of yielding most
delicate and beautiful effects, it should yet be somewhat sparingly
used, for extravagance in labour is never desirable, and there is such
a thing as extravagance of beauty.
However delicate ornament may be, and however well composed, yet if it
covers the whole of the walls of an apartment and of the objects which
it contains, it fails to please. There must be the contrast of plain
surfaces with ornamented--plain for the eye to rest upon, ornament for
the mind to enjoy. In the enrichment of glass these remarks fully
apply. Let there be plain surfaces as well as ornamented parts, and
the effect will be more satisfying than if all be covered with
ornament.
All that I said respecting the decoration of damask table-linen will
apply equally to glass, considering only the different way in which
the effect is produced (see Chap. VI., page 108). Thus we have
ornament produced only by a variation of surface. Such simple means of
producing an art-effect are capable of rendering in a satisfactory
manner simple treatments only, but simple patterns are capable of
yielding the highest pleasure, and such patterns can be almost
perfectly rendered by engraving, as shown in Figs. 141, 142, 143.[28]
[28] Fig. 143 represents a decanter made for the Prince of Wales by
Messrs. Pellatt and Co., which is in good taste. Fig. 141 is a goblet
from Austria: it was shown in the International Exhibition of Paris in
1867.
Somewhat elaborate effects can be rendered in glass by very laborious
engraving, whereby different depths of cutting are attained; but such
work is the result of great labour, and rarely produces an effect
proportionate to the toil expended upon it; and if a bottle so
engraved is filled with a coloured wine, the entire beauty of its
engraving is destroyed. Fig. 144 is a drawing of a most elaborately
engraved bottle, which was shown in the Exhibition of 1862. It
represents, to a great extent, wasted labour.
[Illustration: Fig. 145.]
It must be borne in mind that any ornament placed on a decanter,
wine-glass, or tumbler, is to be seen almost wholly in perspective;
and the remarks made respecting the effects of folded or waved
surfaces on ornament (Chap. VI., page 110), and those made in
reference to the application of ornament to earthen vases (Chap. VII.,
page 126), apply equally here.
It is not my province to enter into the various methods of
manipulating glass, nor into all the classes of art-effect which glass
is capable of yielding: I can only call attention to general
principles, and leave the art-student to think for himself what should
be the treatment of any particular object. There is a sort of crackle
glass which has come into use during the last few years, and is an
imitation of old Venetian work; this is in some respects pleasant in
appearance, but it is somewhat uncomfortable to handle, and difficult
to keep clean; its use must therefore be limited. The Romans were in
the habit of forming glass which was opaque, dark, and of many
colours. Fig. 145 is an illustration of this kind of glass, the
pattern being formed by portions of various coloured glass being
imbedded in the substance of the vessel.
In another chapter I shall have a few remarks to make upon stained
glass; but as our present remarks pertain to hollow vessels chiefly,
and as general principles regulate the formation of all such, whether
they are formed of earthenware, glass, or metal, I think it better to
proceed to the consideration of silversmiths' ware, and thus continue
a notice of hollow vessels, than to pass to glass windows, although
they are formed of the material now under review. What we are
specially considering at present are vessels of capacity, or hollow
wares.
[Illustration: Fig. 146.]
[Illustration: Fig. 147.]
DIVISION III.
Continuing our remarks upon hollow vessels, we have now to notice
silversmiths' work, and here we may observe that while the material
with which we have now to deal differs in character widely from that
of which those vessels already noticed have been formed, yet that many
principles which have been enunciated are equally applicable to the
objects now under consideration. Silver objects, like those formed of
clay or glass, should perfectly serve the end for which they have been
formed; also, the fact that ornament applied to rounded surfaces
should be adapted for being viewed in perspective remains as binding
on us as before; but herein the works of the silversmith differ from
those already discussed--they are formed of a material of intrinsic
value, which is not the case with articles of earthenware or glass.
Silver and gold being materials of considerable worth, it is necessary
that the utmost economy be observed in using them, and in order to
effect this a special mode of construction must be resorted to. If we
propose to ourselves the formation of a sugar-basin of semi-circular
shape, of what thickness must the metal be in order that it may not
bend when lifted? It is obvious that the vessel must not yield its
shape to ordinary pressure, nor be subject to alterations of form when
in ordinary use; but if it is to be formed throughout of metal of such
thickness as will secure its retaining its shape, it will be costly
and heavy, and an amount of metal will be used in its formation
sufficient for the manufacture of two or three such articles.
Instead of forming the vessel throughout of thick metal, we may
construct it from a thin sheet of silver; but in order that it possess
sufficient strength we must indent one or more beads in its side (see
Fig. 146); or we can form an angle by having a rim projecting into the
basin (Fig. 147), or extending from it, and thus give strength; but
the two beads are the more desirable, as the one gives strength at the
top and the other at a lower portion of the vessel.
Modes of economising material, when we are forming vessels of costly
substances, are of the utmost importance, and should be carefully
thought out. If the designer forms works which are expensive, he
places them beyond the reach of those who might otherwise enjoy them,
and if heavy they appear clumsy in the hands of those accustomed to
delicate and light objects.
Besides this, works in silver and in gold are always in danger of
being destroyed, owing to the intrinsic value of these metals; for if
stolen, the theft is promptly hidden in the melting-pot. Now if we
form the vessels of thin metal, we render the money value of the
material less, and thus our works are to a smaller degree tempting to
the avaricious, and their chance of long existence is greater. The
precious metals are at all times perilous materials for the formation
of works of art; but while we use them, let us take care so to employ
them as to give to our works every possible opportunity for long
existence. If a work is to be so formed that it may exist for many
years, it becomes of the highest importance that those objects which
we create be well considered as to their utility, and at the same time
be beautiful in form. Long existence is an evil in the case of an ugly
object, or an ill-considered vessel; that which is not refining in its
influence is better blotted out. Let that man who will not seek to
embody beauty in his works make them heavy with metal, so that they
may tempt the thief, and thus sooner blot out his works from
existence, as they tend only to debase and degrade; but he who loves
refinement, and seeks to give chasteness of character to the objects
which he creates, may well strive to secure to them length of
duration.
There are various modes of working metal. It may be cast, hammered,
cut, engraved, and manipulated in various ways.
Little that is satisfactory can result from casting. Casting is a
rough means of producing a result, and at best achieves the formation
of a mass which may be less troublesome to cut into shape than a more
solid piece of metal; but casting without the application of other
means of working-metal achieves little of an art nature.
Some of the fine iron castings of Berlin are wonderfully good in their
way, and are to an extent artistic; and certainly they contrast
strangely with the cast handles and knobs which we often see applied
to vegetable-dishes, and similar silver objects here in England; yet
even these will not compare with works wrought by the hammer and the
chisel. Thin metal hammered into form, and touched where necessary
with the chisel, the graver, and the chasing-tool, is capable of the
very finest effects which can be achieved in metal-work. Let the
reader consider the beautiful vessels with which Arabian metal-work
presents us: these are all formed by the hammer and chisel, with the
assistance of the graver and chasing-tool, and how marvellously
delicate and beautiful are the results! We have in these vessels
beauty and dignity of form, richness of design, great intricacy and
delicacy of detail, and altogether a refinement of effect which may
long be considered and repeatedly enjoyed (Fig. 148).
[Illustration: Fig. 148.]
Several, I may almost say many, of these beautiful objects are to be
found in the South Kensington Museum, and it should be generally known
that fac-similes of these lovely works, in the form of electrotype
copies, have been prepared by Messrs. Elkington and Co., under the
sanction of the authorities of the Department of Science and Art, and
that these are procurable at small cost. For purposes of study these
copies are of almost equal value with the originals, and for the
adornment of a sideboard they are hardly inferior. I strongly advise
those who can afford to purchase these beautiful copies to garnish
their sideboards with plate of this description, rather than with the
meretricious electro-plate which we often see in our shop-windows.
Having determined on the best mode of working the material, consider
carefully the requirements which the work to be produced is intended
to meet, and then strive to form the object so that it may perfectly
answer the end proposed by its creation.
Let us take a sugar-basin. What form should it have? After much
consideration, I have arrived at the conclusion that the two shapes
engraved in Figs. 149 and 150 are those which best fulfil the
requirements of such a vessel, for in them the sugar is always
collected together, and the dust sugar separates itself from the
lumps.
The handles of a sugar-basin are often so small as to be partially or
wholly useless. It not unfrequently happens that only one or two
fingers can rest on the handle, owing to its smallness, while the
thumb has to be placed within the orifice of the basin when it is
desired to move it. This should not be so; if a handle is to exist at
all, it should be so formed as to be useful, and afford a means of
moving the object with ease and comfort.
To form a handle as a mere ornament is an absurdity, for the handle is
part of the vessel structurally, while the ornamentation is an after
and separate consideration. In order to its existence a vessel must be
constructed, but when formed it need not of necessity be ornamented;
ornamentation must ever be regarded as separate from construction.
Such a sugar-basin as I have suggested would not stand without legs:
it must therefore have them; but I see no reason why the legs and
handles should not be combined; hence I propose three feet so formed
as to serve as handles throughout their upper parts (Figs. 149, 150),
they being convenient to hold.
Modern European silversmiths have fallen into the error (an error now
prevailing wherever art can be applied to any object) of making their
works of a pictorial, rather than an ornamental, character--an error
which the Arabians, Indians, and Japanese never perpetrate, whose
works in metal are unsurpassed by any, and equalled by indeed few. It
is a mistake to cover an entire vase with figures in high relief; but
wherever anything of the kind is attempted, care must be exercised in
causing the groups to follow the line of the vase, and not to appear
as irregular projections from it. As to the modes of decorating works
in silver and in gold, they are many; of ornamentation by _repousse_
work we have already spoken, and of chasing and engraving. But besides
these there are other methods, and some of great interest, for there
is damascene work, or inlaying; and applying colour, or enamelling;
and niello work; jewels may also be added.
Damascene work is of great interest. Metal of one colour is inlaid
into metal of another colour. India produces, perhaps, the rarest
examples of this kind of work, the Indians being experts at this
manufacture; but the Indian work consists chiefly of silver inlaid in
iron. This mode of work seems to be capable of producing many
beautiful effects, as all who have examined the large inlaid hookahs
of India will admit.
Having chosen a form for a vessel, the next question with which we
have to deal is, will it require a handle and spout? It is curious
that while the position of a spout and handle in relation to a vessel
is governed by a simple natural law, we yet rarely find them placed as
they should be. This is the more curious, as a vessel may become
practically of great weight, owing to the handle being misplaced.
[Illustration: Fig. 149.]
[Illustration: Fig. 150.]
A pound weight is easily lifted, but when applied to the shorter end
of the steel-yard it will balance a hundredweight. If this principle
is applied to a tea-pot which actually weighs but little, it may yet
be very heavy to lift. In nineteen cases out of twenty, handles are so
placed on tea-pots and similar vessels that they are in use lifted
only by a force capable of raising two or three such vessels, if the
principle of the steel-yard was not acting against the person who uses
the vessel. Take our ordinary forms of tea-pot, and see how far the
centre of the weight (the centre of gravity) is from the handle in a
horizontal direction, and you will be able to judge of the leverage
acting disadvantageously to the person who may pour tea from such
pots. Now if the part which is grasped is to the right or left of a
right line passing through the centre of gravity of any vessel, there
is leverage acting to the disadvantage of the person desiring to pour
from that vessel, and this leverage increases just as the point held
is removed from the central line spoken of.
Fig. 151 would pour when in the position shown in Fig. 152, but see
how far the hand that holds it would be to the right of the centre of
gravity (_a_), which distance is of great disadvantage, as it causes
the vessel to appear much heavier than it actually is, and requires a
much greater expenditure of force in order that the tea-pot be put to
its use than is necessary were it properly formed.
[Illustration: Fig. 151.]
[Illustration: Fig. 152.]
[Illustration: Fig. 153.]
[Illustration: Fig. 154.]
[Illustration: Fig. 155.]
The law governing the application of handle and spout to vessels is
this, and the same principle applies whether the vessel be formed of
metal, glass, or earthenware:--Find the centre of gravity of the
vessel, which can easily be done by letting a vertical line drop over
it when placed in two different positions, as in Figs. 153, 154, and
where the two vertical lines intersect, as in _a_ in Fig. 155, is the
centre of gravity. The position of the handle being fixed on, draw a
line through the centre of the handle, and continue it through the
centre of gravity of the vessel. The spout must now be at right angles
to this line. If this be the case the vessel will pour freely while
the handle is just hung upon the thumb or finger of the person
desiring to pour from it, as may be seen from Figs. 156, 157, in which
the straight line A, passing through the centre of gravity _a_, is at
right angles, as it should be, with the straight line passing through
the spout.
This law, if obeyed, will always enable liquid to be poured from a
vessel without its appearing heavier than it actually is, but it will
be seen that the shape of the vessel must be considered so that the
spout and handle can bear this relation to each other, as in Figs.
156, 157, 158, 159, and 160. Some shapes will not admit of it, so they
must be avoided, as may be seen by examining Figs. 151 and 152, which
show a tea-pot of faulty shape in this respect.
[Illustration: Fig. 156.]
[Illustration: Fig. 157.]
[Illustration: Fig. 158.]
[Illustration: Fig. 159.]
A consideration of this law shows that the handles of jugs--those
formed of silver, of glass, and of earthenware alike--are usually
placed too high; but in this respect things are much better than they
were a few years back. Now we somewhat frequently see a jug with the
handle in the right place, while some years back we never did. Silver
jugs are now the most generally faulty in this respect, and such
mistakes as the wrong placing of the handle or spout of a vessel
result only from ignorance, for no man knowing the law would violate
it. Fig. 161 shows a common form of jug with its handle, but the
handle is too high; the position which it should occupy is shown by
the dotted line. A very excellent handle is applied to many of the
French water-pots, as shown in Fig. 162.
It is unnecessary that I say more respecting the shape and general
construction of silver and gold vessels, except to remark that if
figures or other ornaments are beaten up on their surfaces, they must
not destroy or mar their general contour.
Iron is not used with us as it should be. Not only is the effect
produced when it is inlaid with silver and other metals excellent, but
by this mode of work our art-creations are greatly preserved, for the
iron is valueless, and the labour of removing the small quantity of
precious metal inlaid would be so great as to render the gain
inadequate remuneration for the time consumed in collecting it.
[Illustration: Fig. 160.]
[Illustration: Fig. 161.]
[Illustration: Fig. 162.]
M. Christophle, of Paris, and also M. Barbedien in a lesser degree,
have commenced to inlay copper vessels with silver, and some of their
works are very beautiful. The Japanese have from an early time inlaid
silver in bronze. This inlaying of silver into copper is a step in the
right direction, and should be encouraged by all lovers of art. The
Indians not only inlay silver in iron, but also gold in silver and in
iron; and the Italians and other peoples have inlaid metals in a
similar way; and the firmness and intricacy of some specimens of this
inlaying are truly marvellous.
By the process of enamelling, colour can be applied to metal, and of
all arts this art of enamelling produces works which are most lovely;
at least, if the best works of enamel do not surpass those produced by
any other manufacture, they are equal in beauty to the works of the
highest excellence. Transparent enamels are in some cases very
beautiful, but they do not generally compare with the opaque enamels,
such as were largely used by the Chinese about a hundred and fifty
years back, and by the Japanese, or those now so skilfully produced by
Barbedien, the Algerian Onyx Company, and Christophle, all of Paris.
Chinese _cloisonne_ enamel vases may be seen at the South Kensington
Museum, and here you may also find one or two small pieces of Japanese
enamel, as well as one or two grand specimens by Barbedien, of Paris.
The Chinese enamels have most frequently a light blue (sort of
turquoise) ground, but they occur with both red, white, green, and
yellow grounds; while the ornament is of mixed colours, but generally
with light yellow-green, deeper blue-green, or dark blue prevailing in
it.
The Japanese enamels have a lower tone of colour-effect than the
Chinese, and the work is finer and the colours more mingled, while the
modern French enamels are full in colour, and are yet rich and subdued
in general effect--some of them, indeed, are most beautiful works.
The Elkingtons, of Birmingham and London, have also produced some
beautiful things in this way, but not in the quantities that Barbedien
has. I most strongly advise the art-student to study these works in
enamel.
Niello-work is a form of enrichment applied to metal, but is not in
general use; it is a difficult process. Silver snuff-boxes and
pendants for watch-chains with a niello pattern upon them are not
uncommon, however, in Belgium and Russia, the niello pattern appearing
as dark lead-pencil work upon the silver. Some niello-work is very
quiet and beautiful, but much need not be said respecting it.
Jewels may be inserted in metal, but if this is done they should be
somewhat sparingly used, even in the most costly of works, for if they
are abundant they produce mere glitter, and the aim of the ornamentist
must in all cases be the production of repose.