METAL -WORK 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 DEDICATED, BY EXPRESS PEKMISSION, TO THE RIGHT HON. HENRY EABODCHERE. 
 
 By M. DIGBY WYATT, Ahchitect, 
 
 Author ov the Ixullstriai. Arts of the Nineteenth Centukv ; SrE(MMENs of the (.TEnsiETRu-Ai, Mosaics of the Middle Aues; 
 
 A RF.rTIKT ON THE ELEVENTH FltENCH EXPOSITION OF THE PkODUCTS OF INDUSTRY, ET(.'. ETC. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED IN COLOURS, AND PUBLISHED BY DAY & SON, LITHOGRAPHERS TO THE QUEEN, 
 
 17 GATE STREET. LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, 
 
TO 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. HENRY LABOUCHERE. 
 
 SiH, 
 
 That distinguished Ministerial position, which constituted you 
 chief officer of the Government Schools of Design, and especially con- 
 nected you with the progress of British manufactures and commerce, 
 coupled with your personal accomplishments as a deep student and 
 sincere lover of Art, assure me that you will regard with interest the 
 present attempt to contribute to the advancement of one of the most 
 important branches of national industry. 
 
 From the kindness it has been my privilege to experience at 
 your hands, I feel confident that you will make full allowance for the 
 many imperfections which it is but reasonable to anticipate in a work, 
 the materials of which have been collected and wrought mto their 
 present form under the constant pressure of arduous and distracting 
 engagements. 
 
 Fully relying on the interest of my subject, but mistrusting my 
 ability to treat it worthily, I venture to dedicate the present volume 
 to you, 
 
 And have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 
 Your obliged and most obedient Servant, 
 
 M. DIGBY WYATT. 
 
 77 dreat Russell Street, 
 July 7, 1852. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A PERUSAL of the admirable, though too brief, remarks upon the subject of 
 metal-work contained in Mr. Pugin's " True Principles of Christian Architecture," first 
 suggested to the Author of the present work how essential it was for the progress of the 
 industrial arts that the unsatisfactory system of industrial design, which obtained universally 
 in this country at the epoch of the publication of that work, should be greatly modified, 
 if not entirely remodelled. In acknowledging the correctness of the undeniable 
 proposition, that every material, insomuch as it differs in organic constitution, should 
 vary correspondingly in the form and proportion into which it should be wrought, an 
 admission was made, that the ordinary system of copying in metal forms proper for 
 stone, and in stone forms proper lor metal, wood, &c., was as contrary to the true 
 canons of good taste, as it was subversive of any prospect of consistent originality. 
 In order to succeed in any divination into the course most advantageous to pursue 
 in the Future, it was first necessary to realise the successive steps by which various 
 degrees of excellence had been attained in the Past. In entering on the threshold 
 even of such a course oi' inquiry, the paucity of materials for the study ol the art 
 of design in metal -work presented itself With the exception of Mr. Shaw's 
 engravings, which comprise a series of objects, many of which exhibit most contra- 
 dictory theories of composition ; with the exception, of Mr. Pugin's own designs ; — of a 
 few scattered notices in the " Gentleman's Magazine," and the " Archajologia," and of 
 two or three plates (of the Lynn Cup, William of Wykeham's crozier, &c.) in Carter's 
 works, there may really be said to have existed no English authorities for reference 
 on the subject. Social and religious troubles and political revolutions had contributed 
 to destroy the majority of those treasures of gold, silver, and iron, which ancient 
 records prove to have formerly abounded in this country ; while a general ignorance 
 
ii PREFACE. 
 
 of their value, and apathy to their beauty or utihty, combined to conceal the exist- 
 ence of the few which happy accident, rather than design, had preserved to modern 
 times. It is only of recent years that the energies of Mr. Henry Shaw, Mr. Albert 
 Way, Mr. C. J. Richardson, Mr. Delamotte, and of the various Archaeological and 
 other Societies, have succeeded in bringing to light many treasures of art which had 
 long lurked in obscurity and unappreciated. From the plate-chests of the various 
 City Companies and municipalities throughout the kingdom, from the recesses of old 
 family chests and corner cupboards, and from the more jealous custody of College 
 dignitaries, rich harvests have already been gathered in. Although through the 
 labours of those to whom allusion has been made many interesting objects have been 
 brought to liglit, figured, and described, the collection, could it but be brought 
 together, would be found to consist of a series of objects precious to the antiquarian 
 rather than to the artist, to the illustrator of obsolete customs and usages rather 
 than to the student of the history and theory, or the practical designer, of metal- 
 work. When, in the year 1844, the Author left this country with the object of 
 extending his professional studies on the Continent, those investigations were yet but 
 little advanced, and a few only of those illustrations had appeared which have since 
 made the aspect of the primteval and mediaeval vessels and objects manufactured in 
 this country in gold and silver familiar to the eye. The apparent dearth of interesting 
 materials from which any generalisation as to appropriate processes, forms, and orna- 
 ment, might be extracted, served to stimulate the exertions of the Author. He was 
 thus induced, during his residence abroad, to obtain access to, and to make drawings 
 of, many objects, the peculiar types of which appeared valuable as suggestive of the 
 principles which, combined, might be regarded as forming the grammar of metal- 
 work, considered as a subsidiary branch of the Fine Arts. 
 
 During the course of these studies, some particulars were collected throwing 
 light upon the practices of past ages and of those periods when the various styles 
 of design and manipulation were at their highest point of perfection. On the Author's 
 return to England, he found, that although during his absence from this country 
 much had been done, there was still ample scope, and indeed great need, for some 
 more copious illustration of the subject. He was hence induced to take counsel 
 with many kind friends, interested both in antiquarian and in technical pursuits, and the 
 result was, that he became intimately connected with the Archseological Institute and 
 the Society of Arts. To both bodies he feels grateful for the kind encouragement 
 he received in his labours, — to the former, for much sympathy and assistance in the 
 
PREFACE. iii 
 
 collection of materials, — to the latter, for the favour with which they received the 
 papers on enamelling, and on other more or less dormant processes of the gold- 
 smith's art, which he at various times contributed to their Proceedings. Thus encou- 
 raged, the Author determined to enlarge his stock of illustrations, and to arrange the 
 information he had brought together into a form which might supply to others the 
 knowledge it had cost him much labour to collect, and the conclusions at which he 
 had arrived upon the subject. 
 
 In carrying out this object grave difficulties have presented themselves. Imper- 
 fect literary preparation, the necessity of preventing the study of one object from 
 encroaching on that of others of at least equal importance, and continued occu- 
 pation of an exciting and laborious kind, have all combined to render the task an 
 arduous one, and the performance of it far from what it might have been in abler 
 hands and under more favourable circumstances. In one particular, however, he feels 
 himself to have been especially favoured. From many learned and artistic friends, 
 by whom he was surrounded, he received the kindliest sympathy, and much valuable 
 assistance. To his pupil, Mr. William Surges, whose deep study of the mediaeval 
 arts rendered his services peculiarly valuable, the Author is indebted for many literary 
 and pictorial contributions. To Mr. Edward Falkener, whose profound researches into 
 classical antiquity have not prevented his accumulating inestimable material for the 
 illustration of Christian art, the work is indebted for subjects introduced into no less 
 than six plates, viz. Nos. XV., XXVII., XXIX., XXX., XXXIL, XLII. From the 
 portfolios of Messrs. F. C. Penrose, E. Willson, J. Gibson, C. Barry, jun., E. Barry, 
 J. Johnson, E. A. Spurr, and Roberts Gowan, many valuable subjects have been 
 most liberally contributed ; and the Author takes the present occasion to express his 
 thanks and acknowledge his obligations to those gentlemen. From Mr. Albert Way, 
 the extent of whose researches into the technicalities of the manipulative processes 
 of metal-working in the middle ages, has been testified by numerous admirable essays, 
 printed in the " Archseologia " and in the " Journal of the Archaeological Institute," 
 much information and sympathy were derived ; and it is probable that but for the 
 kind encouragement of that gentleman the present work would never have been laid 
 before the public. 
 
 In Messrs. Day and Sons the Author has met with publishers from whom he 
 has received the most considerate treatment, and who have spared neither cost nor 
 pains to reproduce the original drawings with the utmost perfection of chromo- 
 lithography. With one or two exceptions, the whole of the engravings have been 
 
LIST OF THE PLATES. 
 
 I. The Frontispiece : being a Design for a precious Book-cover, introducing ninny of tlie most ehiborate prncjsscs of 
 Metal Working. 
 
 II. Iron Screen, from tlic Church of Santa Croce, Florence. 
 
 III. Bronze Candelabrum, in the possession of Lewis Wyatt, Escj. 
 
 IV, Italian Fnamellcd CImlices and Ciboria. 
 
 V. Iron Grilles from Venice, Verona, Florence, and Sienna. 
 
 VI. English and German Door-handles, and Lock-escntclieons. 
 
 VII. Venetian and Bolognese Knockers, in Bronze. 
 
 VIII. Reliquaries and Thurible, from near Diisscldorf. 
 
 IX. Hinges from Frankfort-on -Maine and Leightoii Buzzard. 
 
 X. Locks and Keys, from the Hutcl de Cluny, Paris, and in jji'ivate possession. 
 
 XL Bronze Figurea, from the Gates of the Baptistery at Florence. 
 
 XII. Chalice, brought from La Marca, in the possession of the Marquis of ])ougliis. 
 
 XIII. Hinges, — Enghsli, French, and Flemish. 
 
 XIV. Burettes and Thuribles, from the Louvre and Hotel de Cluny, Paris. 
 XV. Bronze Door-handle, from the Rath-haus, at Lubcck. 
 
 XVI. Processional Cross, from the Museum of Economic Geology, London. 
 
 XVII. German and Italian Bracket-lamps. 
 
 XVIII. Bronze Figures, from the Font at Sienna and Shrine of San Zenobio, at Florence. 
 
 XIX. English and German Locks and Keys. 
 
 XX. Pastoral Staff of San Ccrboni, preserved in the Cathedral at Sienna, 
 
 XXI. Italian Chalice and Ciljorlum, ivith German Monstrances. 
 
 XXn. Pendant Lamps, from Venice, Rome, Perugia, and Nuremberg. 
 
 XXIIL German and Flemish Hinges and Door-latches. 
 
 XXIV. Double Reliquary, from the Treasury of St. Mark's at Venice. 
 
 XXV. A Group of Enamelled Objects exhibited at the Salisbury Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of (!ieat Britain 
 and Ireland, held in 1S49. 
 
 XXVI. Bronze Ornaments, from the Gates of the Baptistery, Florence, and from a Candelabrum (I'Albe 
 Cathedral. 
 
 XXVII. Pendant and Processional Lamps, from the Cathedral of Lubeck. 
 
 XXVIII. Silver-gilt Reliquary, from the Cathedral of Pistoia, 
 
 XXIX. Details of Door-Furniture from St. Georg<'.'s Chapel, Windsor. 
 
 XXX. Chalice and Paten, from Randazzo, in Sicily. 
 
 .)) in Milan 
 
viii 
 
 LIST OF TirK PLA'i'KS. 
 
 XXXI. English and German Door-handles. 
 XXXII. A Group of Chalices and Patens, from Randazzo, in Sicily. 
 
 XXXIII. Wrought-Iron Grilles, from Rome and Venice. 
 
 XXXIV. Hinges, and Details of Iron-work, from Oxford. 
 XXXV. Lectern in Brass, from the Cathedral at Messina. 
 
 XXXVI. A Group of Flemish Drinking-Cups ; Wiederkoms and . 
 XXXVII. Lock-plate and Key, formerly belonging to an old house at Wilton, in Wiltshire. 
 XXXVIII. Portions of the Screen surrounding Edward IV.'s Tomb, in St. George's Chapei, Windsor. 
 XXXIX. Specimens of Jewellery, executed by Froment Meurice, of Paris. 
 
 XL. Chalice, brought from La Marca, in the possession of the Marquis of Douglas. 
 XLI. Wrought-Iroii Gates of the Clarendon Printing-Olfice, Oxford. 
 XLII. Sicilian Clialice and Venetian Drinking-Cup. 
 XLIII. Locks, from Nuremberg. 
 
 XLIV. Italian Reliquaries, Pix and Crystal Vase, mounted in gold. 
 
 XLV. Itahan Silver Dagger, and Coins by Cellini ; and Bronze Ornament, from the Church of La Madeleine, Paris. 
 XLVI. Chalice, from the Treasury of the Cathedra! at Pistoia. 
 
 XLVII. Filagree Enamel Brooch, German Jewellery, and Enamels from the Altar Frontal of San Giacomo, Pistoia. 
 XLVIII. Italian, German, and Flemish Door-handles, Finials, and Crockets, all in Wrought-iron. 
 XLIX. A Group of Objects, the principal being the Enamelled Chahce and Patea, from Mayence Cathedral. 
 L. AVrought-Iron Doors, from the Cathedrals of Rouen and Ely. 
 
ANALYSIS OF THE SUBJECTS OF THE PLATES. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 Ironwork 
 
 in Gates and Grilles, 
 in Door Handles. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 .XXXI. 3, 4 
 XXIX. - 
 
 in Locks and Escutcheons. 
 
 X.XXVII 
 
 in Keys, 
 in H inches. 
 
 Metal- Work generally. 
 
 The pniicipa! p\i~tinL' roiiii 
 elalioratioo uf tli- I'^i ■ ■ i.i- 
 and so adminil l '. i " .i 
 figured also m ;i i, 
 Charles Jamrs ■ 
 by Mr. Lionel Williain- i 
 others, it has buoii (ici-i . 
 refer to tht'ir and nilu-r \m i 
 rather than to re-eugrave il 
 
 XXIX. 
 XIX. 
 XXXVII. 
 
 XIX. 2, 3, 6, 7 
 X. 1, 3 
 XXXIV. 1—3 
 sni. 1,4, 5,7 
 
 IX. 1 
 
 nc'lisli skill, in the 
 . ■ iii j lieeu BO lately 
 I ■ ■ -liaw. and being 
 
 I ' I. iirter. by Mr. 
 - -I ..it Newcastle. 
 
 I I I itilamotte. and 
 ■ !!■ necessary, to 
 
 ■I K- liir illustration. 
 
 FRENCH 
 
 1 Hinges. 
 
 ITALIAN AND SICILIAN— coH^i^werf. 
 Metal- Work generally, 
 
 rintes. 
 
 IV. 1, 2 
 
 in Patens. 
 
 in Crucifixes and Crosses. 
 
 in Pastoral Staves, 
 in Reliquaries. 
 
 XII. 
 XXI. 
 XXX. 
 XXXII. 
 XL. 
 XLII. 
 XLVl. 
 
 XXX. 
 XXXII. 
 
 XVI. 
 XLIX. 
 
 iu Paxes, 
 in Fixes, 
 in Precious Book Covers. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 xxvni. 
 
 XLIV. 
 XLIV. 
 IV. 
 XXI. 
 XXXII. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 1, 3 
 3, 4 
 
 in Gates. 
 
 
 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 4 
 
 
 L. 
 
 1 
 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 
 in Locks. 
 
 
 
 in Dnnking Cups. 
 
 
 
 
 X. 
 
 2, 9 
 
 
 XLII. 
 
 3 
 
 in Keys. 
 
 
 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 4 
 
 X.4 
 
 —8,10 
 
 in Daggers, &c. 
 
 
 
 Bronze 
 
 
 
 XLV. 
 
 
 ornament from La Madeleine. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Metal- Work generally, 
 
 XLV. 
 
 
 GERMAN AND FLEMISH 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ironwork 
 
 
 
 in Thuribles. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 
 in Door Handles. 
 
 
 
 
 XIV. 
 
 4 
 
 
 Plates. 
 
 Figs, 
 
 in ChriBmatories. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 
 
 XLVIII. 
 XXXI. 
 
 1, 3 
 1, 3 
 
 in Tazze. 
 
 XXV. 
 XIV. 
 
 5 
 
 in Finials and Crockets 
 
 VI. 
 
 
 in Monstrances. 
 
 
 
 
 XLvni. 2,4,5,0,8 
 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 
 in Hinges. 
 
 
 
 in Burettes. 
 
 
 
 
 XXII 1. 
 
 1-0 
 
 
 XIV. 
 
 1, 2 
 
 
 XIII. 
 
 2, 3 
 
 in Coffrets de Limoges. 
 
 
 
 IX. 
 
 2 
 
 XXV. 
 
 
 in Locks and Escutcheons- 
 
 
 in Jewellery. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 
 
 XLIII. 
 XIX. 
 VI. 
 
 1—4 
 
 1, 5, 8 
 
 ITALIAN AND SICILIAN 
 
 
 
 Bronze and Brass 
 
 
 
 Ironwork 
 
 Plates. 
 
 Figs. 
 
 in Lamps. 
 
 XXVI I. 
 XX. 
 
 1—4 
 1 
 
 in Grilles. 
 
 V, 
 
 1—11 
 
 1—9 
 
 in Door Handles. 
 
 xvii. 
 
 3, 4 
 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 1—4 
 
 
 XV. 
 
 
 iu Door Handles. 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 
 Metal- Work generally, 
 
 
 
 Bronze and Brass 
 
 7—9 
 
 in Chalices. 
 
 
 
 in Knockers. 
 
 
 
 in Patens 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 
 in Figures. 
 
 VII. 
 
 1—4 
 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 
 
 
 in Crosses. 
 
 
 
 
 XI. 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 VIII. 
 
 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 1—4 
 
 in Thuribles. 
 
 
 
 in Ornaments. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 1—4 
 
 in Monstrances. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 
 in Lamps and Candelab 
 
 ra. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 nr. 
 
 2—4 
 
 in Jewellery. 
 
 XXI. 
 VIII. 
 
 
 in Lecterns. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 2, 4 
 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 1, 3 
 
 
 1—5 
 
 in Drinking Cups, &c. 
 
 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 
THEORY. 
 
 GENEIUr. PRINCIPLES. 
 
 It has been well remarked, by no less a man than the immortal Locke, " that the mechanism of the 
 arts contains more true philosophy than the systems of philosophers;" and in that observation he has perhaps 
 only echoed the great dogma of Lord Bacon, "that the history of the mechanical arts is the most important 
 branch of trne philosophy." These two splendid apophthegms, pregnant as they are with meaning, have been 
 adopted with remarkable felicity by the French Encyclopedists, as mottoes to that portion of their great work 
 which treats of the industrial arts. The English are indebted for the proud position they at present occupy 
 in the world of manufacture, and the reputation they have gained for the intrinsic excellence of their productions, 
 to their deep and persevering recognition of the absolute utilitarian importance of the studies recommended 
 by these and other great economists ; it is, however, only very recently that they have commenced the 
 endeavour to superadd to their technical perfection some little of the refining influence of grace, and to inves- 
 tigate, in an earnest spirit, those fundamental principles which should govern and modify the specific nature 
 and form of the desired alliance of use and beauty. One of the most important of those general laws which 
 have been given to us, as the result of such inquiries, is that of the imperative necessity of adopting, as the 
 basis of the design of objects executed in any material which nature offers to our use, a system of ornamentation 
 strictly in harmony with the structure, chemical and mechanical, of the finished article — with the value of the 
 materials of which it is composed — an association of idea connected with them, and with its purpose and probable 
 destination. The systems of decorative treatment of two materials, similar in some essential qualities, but 
 diverse in others, should differ in the exact ratio of those discrepancies, and from the continual and thoughtful 
 observance of these objective conditions of nature, a scale of appropriate common-sense design would be in 
 time established, within the limits of which the artist might exercise his suijeclive power without fear of 
 extravagance. 
 
 Thus in the manufacture of metals any attempt at novelty, to be satisfactory to the cultivated taste, must 
 be executed in subservience to at least a threefold influence : firstly, to that imposed by the elementary structure 
 of the metal, whether gold, silver, iron, or bronze; secondly, to that deducible from all the processes of 
 manufacture human ingenuity can devise, which must be conducted in obedience to the peculiar properties of 
 each metal; and thirdly, to the condition of emotions dependent on a legitimate and sensible association of 
 idea, founded upon a study of all that has been done in the best ages of the past. Bearing in mind the 
 nature of these three dominant influences, w^e have, therefore, arranged our remarks under three corresponding 
 divisions : — Theory, Practice, and History. 
 
 Gold, silver, bronze (a compound of copper, tin, and other alloys), and iron, are the principal metals 
 pressed into the service of the arts, and the respective characteristics of design which best harmonise with 
 their primary conditions of structui-e may be thus broadly indicated. Gold is the most valuable of all metallic 
 substances, with the exception of platinum ; it is the most malleable and ductile, the most beautiful in colour 
 and brilliancy of surface, and it is the least susceptible of oxidation. From the possession of these quahties 
 we may assume that it is most fitly destined for employment, in a massive form, in small objects only, on 
 account of its rarity ; in sheet, filagree, and wire, of the most exquisite tenuity, on account of its mallea- 
 bility and ductility ; in the highest decoration, extended superficially, on account of its colour and beauty 
 of surface ; and as a covering, reivtement, or protection to other metals more easily injured by exposure to the 
 air, on account of its extraordinary powej- of non-oxidation. 
 
THEORY. 
 
 Silver is next in value, ductility, and malleability to gold; and though liahle to tarnish, is easily cleaned 
 by friction. It seems, therefore, naturally adapted to be worked with the hammer in plates, and beaten to its 
 requisite degree of high or low relief, to be used in the massive form in larger objects than gold, not to be 
 so susceptible of extension over large surfaces, but admirably adapted to protect and ornament the baser metals, 
 in all household vessels and implements which require frequent rubbing to keep them tit for use. 
 
 Bronze, from its intractability and brittleness, excessive hardness of surface and facility of fusion, seems to 
 demand for itself a completely different line of treatment from silver. Casting and chasing appear its proper 
 and legitimate province, and it lends itself with singular felicity to the reproduction of the highest order of 
 sculpture. Its compact texture, evidenced by its peculiar sonorous properties, dictates a system of hollow casting, 
 and it is only in the most barbarous ages that it has ever been used in the massive form. 
 
 The twofold nature of the properties of Iron, in its cast and in its wrought state, are so well kno^vn that it 
 is scarcely necessary to dwell upon them ; but we may be content with remarking, that as the usual office 
 of iron is essentially to strengthen and construct, it is most consistently employed, excepting where it serves 
 as a support, in the massive form of solid casting ; or when bent and wrought in simple forms upon the anvil, 
 filed to regularity of surface and angle, and punched into open work plates by intense force ; and thus elaborated, 
 it should be strictly appropriated to utilitarian services. 
 
 Copper, from its malleability and toughness, is peculiarly adapted to the formation of domestic vessels 
 by hammering and stamping. 
 
 The general scheme of manufacture thus dictated by nature, it has been the happy prerogative of man, 
 during almost the whole period of his history, to adopt and perfect, with all the energy and skill with which he 
 has been mercifully endowed by that Providence which has ordained that " by the sweat of his brow he shall live." 
 
 Sculpture in metal, partly on account of the much greater ductility and tenacity of the material, and 
 partly on account of its peculiar colour and power of reflecting light, can rarely, however high its deo-ree of 
 finish may be carried, be mistaken for that which it professes to imitate. Hence it arises that elaborate 
 execution of details may, and indeed should, be earned in metal to the most minute perfection. Works in 
 gold or silver should, as a general rule (except in instances where an ovei-powering display of wealth is intended, 
 ni which case art does not much signify), be confined to small dimensions, and those relatively correspondent 
 to the associations of idea connected with the rarity and value of each. It was from inattention to these 
 conditions that many of the largest pieces of plate in the Great Exhibition of 1851 failed to excite a proportionate 
 amount of interest, and that the eye dwelt with much greater complacency upon the smaller than upon the 
 larger objects. 
 
 It has been ably remarked by a writer in the "Journal of Design" (vol. i. p. ,3.5),— if we are not mistaken, 
 by the eminent sculptor, Mr. .lohn Bell,— that " the superior strength and compactness of metal over other 
 materials, afford the opportunity also for superior fineness of parts in ornaments. Those piercings which would 
 be inconsistent with firmness in wood or porcelain, are yet durable in metal; for convenience also and utility 
 its weight necessitates, in many cases, a thinness and lightness of treatment. In many instances, such as in 
 the use of the precious metals, to save cost in material, it is advisable to obtain thinness ; most of our articles 
 of silver being thus made of plates beaten up into the required form, the ornament being added afterwards. 
 This has to he done carefully, or holes are apt to occur, injuring or spoiling the article ; but if well done, 
 the process of hammering necessary to bring them to the required form produces a superior firmness of 
 substance. 
 
 " Lightness in the casting, also, of all metals, is considered a beauty. In the old bronze of Cellini's time 
 the greatest care seems to have been taken to cast the work of an even thinness, and great attention accord- 
 ingly had to be paid to the cwin; or core, of the mould, so as to leave in all parts an even space between 
 that and the mould of the surface (for the melted metal to run into) to produce the desired effect. That 
 most useful of all metals, iron, is no exception to this rule. No doubt in some cases, where it is put to 
 purely utilitarian purposes, such as girders to support great weights, railway engines, tubular bridges, &c., the - 
 lightness that is sometimes introduced can hardly be said to be directly that of ornament; yet, in some cases 
 of utility, its natural adaptation produces the most pleasing appearances. How almost fairy-like (although the 
 eye has now become accustomed to it) is the effect of a suspension-bridge! And this is a good case in point; 
 for here the employment of iron for a strictly utilitarian purpose presents a pendant fabric, at a distance 
 especially, apparently of an almost web-like tenuity, and of infinitely greater lightness in effect than would 
 
THEORY. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 have arisen from the employment of wood, stone, or hrick. Considering this metal more strictly in an 
 ornamental view, we may almost lay it down as a canon that the lightest article will, ccsteris parlhiis, be the 
 best in effect. In lamps, candelabra, and even grates, fenders, and fire-irons, if we meet with a pattern that 
 is agreeable, it will almost always be found to be fine and delicate, comparatively ; and this observation will 
 apply to all works in metal. From the tea-urn to the bronze statue, lightness of effect is desirable. In 
 statues, which are indeed but the highest kind of ornament in form, how much more adapted to the nature 
 and colour of the material, and therefore how much better in effect, is the well-known Mercury of John 
 of Bologna, with the turn of each limb displayed against the sky, than the heavy massive works we sometimes 
 observe, where heavy folds of drapery shroud the figure, and where scarcely any outline is relieved save that 
 of the cloak that envelopes it.' 
 
 " We are too apt, in endeavouring to overcome the mechanical difficulties of working inherent in any 
 substance, to ' overleap the mark, and fall on the other side.' Thus, in bronze and brass work, we rush into a 
 frittery, flimsy imitation of fluttering draperies, &c., in order to exhibit our perfect mastery over the difficulties 
 of complicated casting. Now, by another and simpler mode of treatment, the effect produced might have been 
 infinitely better. We might at once acknowledge the grandeur and propriety of a majestic colossal sphynx 
 in granite or porphyry, but let Dorothea or Una, or any other popular piece of elegance, be worked out in 
 one of the same materials, and our only feeling will be, how very much better it would have been in marble, 
 alabaster, or biscuit. It is ten chances to one, too, if, in this attempt to display our manual dexterity, we 
 do not altogether lose sight of propi'iety of form and adaptation of line to the direction of support, &c. 
 Thus in some of those trebly- twisted scrolls, bent in all kinds of ways, and surmounted by all sorts of fruits, 
 flowers, dolphins, cupids, monsters, &c., we are annoyed with a mechanical facility which, more moderately 
 exhibited, might have pleased as much as it frequently disgusts." 
 
 It may appear scarcely necessary now to reiterate the dogma, that not only should designs for metal differ 
 from those adapted for execution in wood or stone, but that designs for any one metal should be made 
 different in style from those suited for any other. All the world will doubtless agree in the justice of the 
 proposition, but how few there are who act upon it ! 
 
 One of the main reasons for this neglect consists in the fact, that until very recently the study of the 
 theory of design has never been made specific. The one heau ideal has been regarded as lovely in any form; 
 and so long as curves were graceful, and limbs and features nicely turned, it was considered to make but little 
 difference whether they were adapted for execution on a great scale in cast-iron or in stone ; or whether 
 they shrank into miniature monuments, in silver testimonials, or Dresden or French biscuit. 
 
 Our present endeavours being to realise a few of the special conditions of metal-work, we shall proceed 
 to an examination of those directly affecting iron, bronze, gold, and silver, commencing with 
 
 IRON-WORK, AND THE PUINCIPLES OF ITS TREATMENT.* 
 
 As in philosophy we find a certain number of the thinking world unwilling to concede value to anything 
 the utility of which they cannot clearly pei'ceive, so, among those practically engaged in the great work of 
 manufacturing production, a large body of individuals may be found who yield a title to merit, only in proportion 
 to the degree of utilitarian contrivance manifested by the designer of any of the staple articles of commerce. 
 It is to the class of men in the iron trade who hold such tenets that we are mainly indebted alike for 
 wonderfully- ingenious and delicately-adjusted beams, girders, machines, roofs, &c. ; and for the particularly 
 ugly forms in which, until within a very recent period, these objects have been habitually designed. There 
 are, again, others in philosophy who do not allow that any narrow scale of human wants and necessities can 
 correctly determine intrinsic value in art or science ; while, in the province of manufacture and its design, 
 many may be met with who, dwelling on the existence of an inherent grace in form and proportion, attach 
 a secondary value to the utilitarian portion of every object, — men who, in the speciality of iron-work, would 
 determine the merit of a pump or a lamp-post by the possession of certain picturesque or graceful charac- 
 teristics, rather than by the quantity of water raised by the one, or the facilities for the distribution of light 
 afforded by the other. 
 
 * Many of these remarks originally !i]i]K'nrctl in a paper written by tlic autl.or for tin- "Journal of Design." 
 
THKORY. 
 
 To the first class of bigots (the Utihtarian), we may fancy, bdong the careful cast-iron Constructionists, who 
 efuerally build railway sheds ad infinitum, and bridges ad nauseam, with more skill than taste; to the second 
 (the Idealist), the poetical and sometimes tumble-down genii, who raise imaginary towers on "the baseless 
 fabric of a vision," cover dog-kennels with crockets and finials, turn stoves and clocks into cathedral fa9ades, 
 make brid<>-es w^here w^ater flows not, and too often sacrifice comfort and convenience to ornament and effect. 
 
 In cases wlierc the diversities of opinion on matters of design to which we have referred exist, the 
 differers beim^ intelligent, we usually meet with a degree of mutual tolerance; while, in the present day, the 
 system of the division of labour so circumscribes even such men's opportunities of study, that they are generally 
 content to acquiesce in the opinion of any one who may expressly devote himself to a specialty which they 
 may not have leisure to analyse properly, although their own experiences, as incidentally affecting the subject, 
 may lead them to other and conflicting conclusions. 
 
 The results of the system of proceeding generally adopted in the iron trade (at any rate until very 
 recently) singularly illustrate the enfeebling action of this excessive division of labour, combined with this 
 easy-going tolerance. An industnous unit of our utilitarian class, absorbed in ingenious contrivances for the 
 economy of production and developement of strength, fibre, clean- casting, &c. of the metal, instead of troubling 
 his head with the study of such general principles of composition as would lead him to combine and 
 refine successfully upon the elements it is his specialty to deal with, sends straightway for one of our ideal 
 class, and confides to him the charge of making what is called a design; believing that the artist, from his 
 professing art, nmst of necessity be able to do it; and receiving as gospel anything that may be prettily 
 sketched or prettily asserted concerning the specific ornamental form which may be superadded to make 
 his simple objects look anything but what he originally intended them for. Not troubling his head much 
 about this, he hugs himself in the consciousness that his part of the business is very well executed, and 
 that as he has " got the oniameut done" by a crack, or at any rate glib artist, it is no doubt likely to 
 do him great credit. Now, what, under the most favourable circumstances, is likely to be the result? The 
 ideahst, overflowing with associations of beauty in marble or stone, in painting or in architecture, will be 
 found to have lavished his pretty fancies just in the wrong place, and in a form often so unsnited for 
 manufacture as to entail an utter sacrifice of what he relied on for effect before his design can be embodied iu 
 practical form. Sometimes, alas ! he breaks down from being set to speak a language, with the grammar 
 and component elements of which he is utterly unacquainted, and so falls back upon the dreary precedent 
 of what somebody else has just been doing, or copies and fits in a bit of Jupiter Stator scroll, Louis 
 Quatorze shell-work, or Gothic panelling, thinking that that will be quite safe. Had our ideahst but shaken 
 off' the trammels of his lot in the division of labour, and dared to enter into the charmed circle in which 
 he believes the utilitarian to be necessarily the sole potent enchanter, the spell that bound his energies might 
 have been broken, and he, too, might have successfully aided in subduing all sorts of lucky sprites to work 
 out successfully his own and his co-magician's will and bidding, and together and of one mind they might 
 have wrought marvels. 
 
 The lesson such experiences should teach is fit to be assumed as a corollary of the first importance, and 
 is simply to the following effect : — No successful results can be attained in the production of beautiful iron- 
 work, or beautiful anything else, mitU one of three things takes place, — either, first, until the manufacturer and 
 designer are one individual doubly gifted ; or, secondly, until the manufacturer takes the pains to investigate and 
 master so much of the elements of design as shall at least enable him to judiciously control the artist; or, 
 thirdly, until the artist, by a careful study of the material and its manufacture, shall elaborate and employ a 
 system of design in harmony with, and special to the peculiarities so evolved. 
 
 It is quite true that the greatest w-orks in iron which have been executed of late years have been worked 
 out by civil-engineers, and the minor, Init most fanciful ones, by architects ; but it is so difficult to define 
 where civil-engineering ends and architecture begins, that in the few remarks we are about to make we shall 
 employ the latter term to represent, in addition to its ordinary meaning, so mucli of the science of civil- 
 engineering as is essential to general construction, or amenable to the terms of existing styles. 
 
 Modern science having suggested iron as admirably adapted by its strength, elasticity, toughness, and 
 durability for the purposes of construction, its introduction obviating many difficulties almost insuperable with- 
 out it, and our necessity imperatively urging the adoption of a material possessing such qualities, uncongenial 
 as it may appear to our previous notions of architectural taste, we have been compelled to place it on the 
 
THKORY. 
 
 XV 
 
 list of available building materials. It is due to the exertions, and to the necessity which stimulates the 
 endeavours, of that class of architects which we have denominated the Utilitarian, to acknowledge that at the 
 present time the science of the employment of iron In construction has reached a high degree of perfection ; 
 — that not only have its toughness, elasticity, specific gravity, capabilities of compression, and almost every 
 possible contingency of its use, been nicely calculated and recorded, but that modei'n science has even laid 
 down, and invariably provides for, the proportions of its expansion and contraction, and devised and ex- 
 perimentally proved the forms in which, with the minimum of metal, the maximum of strength is to be 
 obtained. 
 
 When, on the other hand, we enter upon an examination of what the influence of taste has effected, 
 in overcoming the several difficulties pecuhar to the material, and to the natural disincUnation of the eye to 
 appreciate change in what it has been accustomed to admire, — when we look at the monstrosities of form 
 in every style of design issuing from the foundries, — not to be once used and then perhaps lost sight of in 
 
 obscurity, but multiplied and perpetuated through the medium of casting, — thrust forward on all occasions as 
 
 if in vain-glorious consciousness of their superlative violation of the laws of harmony and proportion, — we 
 cannot but feel conscious that the steady course of utility has, at least in this instance, outstripped its 
 more poetical associates, inventive genius and good taste. 
 
 We have glanced at the difficulties of system that must be overcome before iron can be rendered a 
 pleasing object to the eye of taste, but it is only by a rigid examination of these points of difficulty, in 
 relation to the several existing styles of architecture, that we can hope to estimate them rightly, since, so long 
 as the association of ideas prevents a sudden revolution in matters depending on " the education of the eye," 
 it is in the orbit of those styles that our ideas will perpetually revolve. Our chmate, religion, and habits, are 
 so utterly opposed to the introduction of either of the Egyptian or Indian styles, that they have merged 
 rather into topics of curious inquiry for the antiquary than into subjects of important consideration to the 
 practical architect. At this moment we are not enabled to remember more than two or three specimens of 
 the former in the metropolis, — the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly ; a house and shop-front in Welbeck Street ; and 
 the entrance to the Abney Park Cemetery. Among the building designs in the Exhibition of Industry were 
 two or three magnificent sarcophagi. In connexion with one of such buildings only have we seen iron introduced ; 
 and there, in nice keeping with glazed sash-frames and hrown-hoUand blinds, have we seen a remarkably neat 
 cast-iron railing, neatly painted, connecting the main masses of the "])ropylon." Such anomaUes must ever result 
 when lightness, the peculiar characteristic of the employment of iron, is placed in juxtaposition to the grand 
 solidity that characterises these styles, 
 
 We now proceed to the pure, the chaste, the beautiful Greek ; and first, we would notice the extreme 
 dependence of the classical styles upon association for effect. In the graceful combination of strength and 
 ornament in Grecian architecture do we not strive to reahse to ourselves that union of mental vigour and 
 elegant taste for art that so splendidly elevated Grecian intellectual power ? Do we not look upon the 
 ruins of their temples as hallow'ed relics of the purest art? Do we not study and re-study their orders 
 and proportions but to catch one spark of the genius that fired them i 
 
 What, then, must be the feehngs of the enthusiast for Grecian architecture, when he sees (as here, 
 and now, he could not fail to do) a cast-iron girder thrown across an opening, a Grecian entablature and 
 Grecian ornament stuck upon its face, and not a semblance of a column in the whole composition — when 
 he sees a cast-iron post, with a Greek anti-cap stuck upon its head, about twenty diameters high, and no 
 entablature, supporting a massive pediment — when he sees (as he must in almost every street) the graceful 
 honeysuckle of the Erechtheion, shrunk in the atrophy of cast-iron, decorating the areas and balconies of 
 houses and buildings of every description of purpose and every gradation of ugliness — when he recognises 
 the simply beautiful variations of the lotus ornament expanded into lamp-posts, here the unfitting decoration 
 of a Christian church, there flaunting on the lamps, area- gratings, and bar-columns of a gin-shop? 
 
 It would be diverging too much fi-om our course now to enter on the question of the propriety of the 
 introduction of Grecian architecture to this country, but we cannot refrain from noting the fact, that, within 
 the last few years, the popular enthusiasm for that style of art, kindled by the labours of Stuart, Revett, 
 Major, and the Dilettanti Society, sustained by the energy of Wilkins, Cockerell, Donaldson. Angell, Leake, 
 &c., has materially declined. We would account for this, very mainly, by the obtrusive dragging forward and 
 
XVI 
 
 'IMTEORY. 
 
 multiplication of its most beautiful ornaments by means of cast-iron and cement. Whatever abstract beauty 
 has existed, still exists in these decorations : yet as the most charming airs lose much of their once-stimulating 
 effect when thrust upon the ear, out of all time and out of all place, through the medium of incessant 
 street-organs, bands, and butcher-boys, so do these lovely ornaments lose their effect upon the eye when 
 thrust forward and maltreated by cement, and doubly thrust forward and maltreated by cast-iron. 
 
 Many of our remarks concerning the moulding of iron into the forms, proportion, and details of Grecian 
 architecture, will apply in an almost equal sense to the peculiarities of the Roman style, regarded from a 
 similar point of view ; with this exception, that in the general principles of design far greater latitude is 
 allowable in this style than in the Grecian, and that in this, therefore, the judicious architect will meet with 
 many more loopholes at which, with due judgment, his iron may be introduced, but subject always to at least these 
 few points of caution, namely: — Never to imitate in iron ornament peculiarly identified with stone or marble; 
 never to let his use of iron, either in girders, columns, bressumers, or roofs, interfere with the vital proportions 
 of the order, its intercolumniation, or the pitch of the pediments ; never to construct in iron what may be 
 better executed in any other material ; to recollect that a needless display of strength is just as weak as an 
 appearance of deficiency, and that both excesses are to the educated eye almost equally objectionable ; and 
 above all, never to make his iron-work obtrusive, or to use any ornament to repletion. 
 
 " Within these limits there is 8])ace enough." 
 
 It is a great mistake to imagine that a so-called "rich" cast-railing — a thing all spike, flower, standard, 
 scroll, and dog-rail — will make a poor building, or one destitute of ornament, look handsomer ; like the 
 beggar's cloak, it only draws attention the more readily to the poverty it almost invariably fails to conceal. 
 
 Another fertile source of unpleasing effect is the habit of taking away an essential component part of 
 any order, and using it in a situation in which it does not fulfil the purpose for which it was originally 
 intended ; — such, for instance, as the introduction on the face of an iron bressumer of the entablature of one 
 of the orders, without a symptom of the columns, its legitimate, invariable companions ; the use of a shaft 
 for a lamp-post, with as few symptoms of an entablature; or the bringing down of the dignified Greek 
 Doric column to the situation of cast^ron baluster to a staircase or balcony — vide the British Museum, and 
 London, passim. 
 
 Sufficient instances of the various ''perils that environ the men who meddle with cold iron" have now, 
 we imagine, even in these two styles, been brought forward to develope the truth of our assertion, that the 
 present state of design, as applied to iron, in connexion with existing styles, is in a low condition, and 
 apparently not conducted upon right, or, indeed, upon any fixed principles ; and if, moreover, on a careful 
 comparison of them with our own individual experiences, it should be found that improvement in the artistic 
 treatment of the material within the last few years has been by no means adequate to the increase in its 
 consumption, a more extended apphcation of such material cannot, unless a radical change take place, but 
 prove detrimental to the general progress and improvement of design in other substances. 
 
 In approaching the subject of iron-work in connexion with Pointed architecture, we feel so strongly the 
 excellence of Mr. Pugiu's observations, in the " True Principles of Christian Architecture," that wc do not 
 hesitate to reproduce them, as expressing the soundest possible judgment and criticism : — 
 
 " We now come," observes Mr. Pugin, " to the consideration of works in metal ; and I shall be able to 
 show that the same principles of suiting the design to the material, and decorating construction, were 
 strictly adhered to by the artists of the middle ages in all their productions in metal, whether precious 
 or common. 
 
 " In the first place, hinges, locks, bolts, nails. Sec, which are always concealed in modern designs, 
 were rendered in Pointed architecture rich and beautiful decorations ; and this not only in the doors and 
 fittings of buildings, but in cabinets and small articles of furniture. 
 
 " The early hinges covered the whole face of the doors with varied and flowing scroll-w^ork. Of this 
 description are those of Notre Dame at Paris, St. Elizabeth's Church at Marburg, the western doors of 
 Lichfield Cathedral, the Chapter House at York, and hundreds of other churches, both in England and 
 on the Continent. Hinges of this kind are not only beautiful in design, but they are practically good. 
 We all know that, on the principle of a lever, a door may be easily torn off its modern hinges by a 
 
THEORY, 
 
 strain applied at its outward edge. This could not be the case with the ancient hinges, which extended 
 the whole width of the door, and were bolted through in various places. In barn-doors and gates these 
 hinges are still used, although devoid of any elegance of form ; but they have been most religiously 
 banished from public edifices as unsightly, merely on account of our present race of artists not exercising 
 the same ingenuity as those of ancient times, in rendermg the useful a vehicle for the beautiful. The 
 same remarks will apply to locks that are now concealed and let into the styles of doors, which are often 
 more than half cut away to receive them. A lock was a subject on which the ancient smiths delighted to 
 exercise the utmost resources of their art. The locks of chests were generally of a most elaborate and beautifiil 
 description. A splendid example of an old lock still remains at Beddington Manor House, Surrey, and is 
 engraved in ' Pugin's Examples.' In churches we not unfrequently find locks adorned with sacred subjects 
 chased on them, with the most ingenious mechanical contrivances for concealing the key-hole. Keys were also 
 highly ornamented with appropriate decorations referring to the locks to w^hich they belonged; and even the 
 wards turned into beautiful devices and initial letters. 
 
 " In all the ancient ornamental iron-work we may discern a peculiar manner of execution, admirably suited 
 to the material, and quite distinct from that of stone or wood. For instance, tracery was produced by different 
 thicknesses of pierced plates laid over each other. Leaves and crockets were not carved or modelled and 
 then cast, but cut out of thin metal plate and twisted up with pUers, and the lines or stems either engraved 
 or soldered on. By these simple means all the lightness, ease, and sharpness of real vegetation is produced at a 
 much less cost than the heavy fiat foliage usually cast and chased up. It is likewise to be remarked, that 
 the necessary fastenings for iron-work were always shown and ornamented. Bolts, nails, and rivets, so far 
 from being unsightly, are beautiful studs and busy enrichments if properly treated. Large tracery was either 
 formed of round iron, like a stem twisted into intersections, or of fiat iron bars of different thicknesses 
 riveted together, and the edges chamfered by filing. Railings were not casts of meagre stone tracery, but 
 elegant combinations of metal bars, adjusted with due regard to strength and resistance. The fire-dogs, or 
 andirons, as they were called, which supported either the fuel-logs where wood was burnt, or grates for coal, 
 were frequently of splendid design. The ornaments were generally heraldic, and it was not unusual to work 
 the finer parts in brass for relief of colour and richness of effect. These form a striking contrast with the 
 inconsistencies of modern grates, which are not unfrequently made to represent diminutive fronts of castellated 
 or ecclesiastical buildings, with turrets, loopholes, windows, and doorways, — all in a space of forty inches. 
 The fender is a sort of embattled parapet, with a lodge - gate at each end ; the end of the poker is a 
 sharp-pointed finial, and at the summit of the tongs is a saint. It is impossible to enumerate half the 
 absurdities of modern metal-workers ; but all these proceed from the false notion of disguising, instead of 
 beautifying, articles of utility. How many objects of ordinary use are rendered monstrous and ridiculous, 
 simply because the artist, instead of seeking the most convenient form, and then decorating it, has embodied 
 some extravagance to conceal the real purpose for which the article has been made. If a clock is required, 
 it is not unusual to cast a Roman warrior in a flying chariot, round one of the wheels of which, on close 
 inspection, the hours may be descried ; or the whole front of a cathedral church reduced to a few inches 
 in height, with the clock-face occupying the position of a magnificent rose window. Surely the inventor of 
 this patent clock-face could never have reflected that, according to the scale on which the edifice was reduced, 
 his clock would be about 200 feet in circumference, and that such a monster of a dial would crush the 
 proportions of almost any building that could be raised. But this is nothing when compared to what we 
 see continually produced from those inexhaustible mines of bad taste, Birmingham and Sheffield. Staircase 
 turrets for inkstands, monumental crosses for light-shades, gable-ends hung on handles for door-porters, and 
 four doorways and a cluster of pillars to support a French lamp ; while a pair of pinnacles supporting an 
 arch is called a Gothic -pattern scraper, and a wiry compound of quatrefoils and fan-tracery an abbey garden- 
 seat. Neither relative scale, form, purpose, nor unity of style, is ever considered by those who design these 
 abominations ; if they only introduce a quatrefoil or an acute arch, be the outline and style of the article 
 ever so modern and debased, it is at once denominated and sold as Gothic." 
 
 Any observations we could offer upon our subject in connexion with Gothic architecture, would but be 
 superfluous ; yet we cannot refi-ain fi'om bearing a humble tribute to the truth and justice of many of Mr. 
 Pugin's propositions. The other day, in one of the modern churches, our eye was arrested and our attention 
 
TIJKORY. 
 
 distracted bj noticing the substitution of iron for stone piers to divide the nave and aisles ; they were, of 
 course, kept thin to faciUtate the view of the preacher and east end; their effect, consequently, to the eye 
 of any person accustomed to the ordinary rules of ancient proportion, would be that of inadequacy to support 
 the superincumbent weight; strongly reminding one of spindle-shanks, — mightily suggestive of Gothic in a 
 consumption ! 
 
 It is the more melancholy that such defects should commonly exist in modern attempts to connect 
 iron-work with Pointed architecture, since it is in the medieval examples of processes and handicraft that we 
 meet with the highest triumphs of the smith's art. In such compositions as the well at Antwerp, the 
 enclosures of Henry VII. 's, Edward IV. 's and Queen Eleanor's tombs, the beautiful doorways of Ely and 
 Rouen Cathedrals, the hinges of Lincoln Cathedral, St. George's Chapel, Merton College, Sec, we meet with 
 specimens easily referred to, and which, if rightly studied, should convey to us tacit lessons, which, con- 
 scientiously acted up to, would lead with certainty to the legitimate treatment of Gothic iron-work at once 
 in point of general form, and in all the refined detail of fabrication. 
 
 Among the happiest specimens we have seen of revived medieval iron-work of a simple kind, is the railing 
 surrounding a tomb which has lately been erected in Rochester Cathedral. In the smaller objects of eccle- 
 siastical use, Mr. Potter, the protege of the Cambridge Camden Society, has produced some creditable works ; 
 but in that particular branch, as in many others, Mr. Hardman of Birmingham reigns supreme — facile 
 princpps. 
 
 As the styles of national architecture approach our own time more nearly, inconsistencies in the 
 employment of iron become less apparent ; and although in connexion with the classically Italian styles of 
 Palladio and his contemporaries, the architect is in danger of some of the stumbling-blocks we have connected 
 with Grecian and Roman art, yet in the style of the period when Italian forms and details were engrafted 
 upon our habitual domestic modes of construction, we have more nearly approached success than in most of 
 our other endeavours to wed the dtdce with the utile. 
 
 Specimens of the happiest treatment and execution of iron grilles and gates may be met with in the rich 
 and flowing lines of scrolls and flowers worked in wrought-iron, decorating the entrances to many buildings 
 of the days of Queen Anne and the two first Georges, — evincing no ambitious assumption of the main 
 features of the style it decorated; — not stealing here a moulding from stone, and there an ornament from 
 wood, all bedaubed with a green and copper imitation of bronze, but exhibiting the proper and distinctive 
 treatment of a subservient material ornamenting buildings, with the architectural character of which it 
 assimilates, yet does not interfere. Many specimens of this elegant style of railing, &c., about the odd 
 and quaint habitations of our old English gentlemen, and more especially at Hampton Court, Oxford, 
 and Hampstead, still attest the surprising dexterity of the smiths they must have employed. With some 
 modifications this style may be said to have predominated from the reign of Elizabeth to the end of that 
 of George II. 
 
 From considering our progress in aping effete conventionalities let us turn to the origination wc may 
 be said to have given to the developenient of new styles dependent on the imperative requirements and giant 
 mould of modern civil engineering. We shall there find the " Lamp of Power " shining over all, while 
 the "Lamp of Beauty" occasionally lends its purer, happier ray, at least partially, to illumhiate the objects 
 with which it is brought into contact. 
 
 In those wonders of the world, the Menai and Conway Bridges, the simple and severe fines of the archi- 
 tecture happily accord with the lofty simplicity of thought, which would have evaporated had the frivolities 
 of ornament been applied to it. In the High Level Bridge, at Newcastle, Mr. Stephenson has succeeded in 
 uniting grandeur of line with absolute perfection of scientific contrivances and economy of material. In tlie 
 Hungerford Suspension Bridge, and in many of his other works, Mr. Brunei has shown that Ms inde- 
 pendence of meretricious and adventitious ornament is as great, and as above prejudice, as his engineering 
 works are daring in conception and masterly in execution. From such beginnings as these and the Crystal 
 Palace, with its revival at Sydenham, what future glories may be in reserve,— when England shall have 
 systematised a scale of form and proportion— a vocabulary of its own in which to speak to the world the 
 language of its power, and its freedom of thought and feeling— we may trust ourselves to dream, but we 
 dare not predict. Whatever the result may be, it is impossible to disregard the fact that the building for the 
 
THEORY. 
 
 XIX 
 
 Exhibition of 1851 is liliely to accelerate tlie "consummation so devoutly to be wished," and that the novelty 
 of its forms and details will be likely to exercise a powerful influence upon national taste. 
 
 In the design of the thousand-and-one miscellaneous objects which may be included in the term "fancy 
 castings," the English have made considerable progress of late years; and we trust that as the practice of 
 ornamental modelling becomes more universal among the workmen, they may soon rival the delicate foliage 
 and handling of ornament which have rendered the French masters so celebrated. 
 
 In the railing executed for Mr. Hope's mansion in Piccadilly the English manufacturer has an opportunity, 
 without going far from home, of realising to himself the peculiar excellencies to which we allude. In it 
 he will also recognise, if we mistake not, a superiority rather of hand than of head, a fertility of fancy 
 rather than a refined perception of combination of line, or purity of form, an illustration of the practice of 
 scribbling in the ornament without the revision necessary to bring the lines and proportions into proper 
 harmony. The somewhat bungling stilting of the capital will suffice to illustrate our meaning It is, 
 however, a specimen, the beauties of which are far more conspicuous than the faults, and it would be well 
 if there were many such in London to criticise. 
 
 To tlie exertions made by the Coalbrookdale Company to elevate the character of the design of fancy 
 castings too much praise cannot be given. The efforts they have made to elevate iron into a material for 
 e.vpressing the loftiest order of fine art, and the spirit with which they have enlisted the highest sculpturesque 
 abihty redound to their credit. 
 
 No reflecting person can give a thought to the subject without perceiving that English formative art 
 is changing in its conditions almost from hour to hour, that there is a spirit of impulse abroad striving to 
 effect reform, without revolution, in the science of design as in politics, and that an evil instead of a " good 
 time is coming" for those who may choose to long "stare super antiquas vias." What may he the ultimatum 
 reached by iron, and how far its treatment may achieve approximate perfection in our time, is a problem 
 none can solve. Schools of design may certainly do something, commercial spirit and energy much more, 
 cultivation on the part of the public the most; how these have been acting lately the Exhibition of 1851 
 has shown. We can only now express a hope that men of genius will throw off their apathy, will con- 
 descend to give their best attention to that which sooner or later must become an all-important bianch 
 of the profession of design, and so elevate their treatment of this material, that our grandchildren and 
 great-grandchildren may not look back upon us, their progenitors, as unworthy sons of this most essentially 
 fetrea tetas. 
 
 We shall proceed to offer a few remarks on, — 
 
 BRONZE -WORK, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF ITS TREATMENT. 
 
 From the earliest ages of the formation of the alloy bronze has been constantly adopted as the material 
 best suited to convey severe sculpturesque expression. It is from a careful examination of the works of the 
 ancients that the student is best enabled to recognise the principles upon which compositions intended for 
 reproduction in this material should be based. He will at once find that striking differences of proportion 
 manifest themselves between statues executed in marble and those of which bronze forms the material. In 
 consequence of the dark colour of the latter, every portion of the form, in order to be clearly defined, 
 requires a certain amount of conventional treatment ; so to increase the sharpness and precision of the several 
 forms and markings, as to enable the spectator to appreciate them at that point of view, from which he may 
 likewise take in the general outline, upon which the effect of the whole figure depends. 
 
 A comparison of the Greek specimens of bronze-work with those of Verrocchio and Donatello, will at 
 once illustrate the precise pohits of exaggeration, by means of which great solidity of shadow was invariably 
 attained. The light being supposed in every case to descend from above, the under surface of eveiy projection 
 intended to throw a shadow upon the surface beneath, was always hollowed upwards, and brought to a fine 
 edge only at its extremity. Thus the eyebrow was marked as a sharp line, and the eyes sunk, as it were, in 
 hollow sockets ; increasing the depth of the tint of shadow cast by the eyebrow, by turning away from it 
 those surfaces likely to receive the light reflected from the cheek, nose, or other adjacent illuminated portions 
 
XX 
 
 THEORY. 
 
 of the head. The nostrils were likewise brought to sharp edges ; the mouth, at the junction of the lips, was 
 cut upwards into curious cavities ; and a close examination of the w hole form of the head would serve to 
 show that, in every part, the artist was guided in his modelling by a consummate knowledge of the means 
 necessary to compensate for and overcome the optical difficulties attaching to the material in which he worked. 
 
 One important element in determining the precise form of a bronze statue will be found to be a consideration 
 of the background against which it must be relieved. Where that is light, as when the statue is brought 
 against the sky, greater fulness must be given to the proportions of the limbs ; since, from its superior power, 
 the light is apt apparently to invade, and, consequently, diminish the silhouette. Where, on the other hand, 
 the figure is thrown up from a niche, or from a dark background, a contrary system of proportion should 
 be adopted, to restrain the lighter-coloured substance of the statue from appearing to swell on to its darker 
 ground. 
 
 Another very important consideration in designing works of art of a higli class in bronze is that of the 
 varying points of view from which the object may be examined ; for, as the effect of any statue in so dark- 
 coloured a material must mainly depend upon its contour, care must be taken that that contour be clearly 
 marked, and not liable to confusion, from such an arrangement of the parts of the figure as would permit any 
 one of them to be awkwardly lost or merged in another. Hence those attitudes in which the figure approaches 
 the condition generally known to heralds as " displayed," are best adapted for execution in this material. The 
 celebrated Mercury of John of Bologna, to which we have already referred, is, perhaps, the happiest existing 
 instance of such a mode of treatment. In important equestrian figures we too frequently have occasion to 
 regret that a style of costume is adopted which, when the statue is viewed from such a distance that the 
 spectator cannot appreciate its precise form, tends to convey the uncomfortable impression that the body 
 which it serves to clothe has swollen to the dimensions of the flowing garments. In sculpture it is no doubt 
 an extremely difficult task to provide, in all cases, against the risk of this confusion of parts ; but if attention 
 to this point is important in works executed in a material like marble, the pure colour of which shows, at a 
 great distance, the minutest variations and sinuosities of form and plane, how much more so must it be 
 when a material like bronze is used ; in which the eye is misled, not only by its want of power to distinguish 
 forms in a material of so deep a colour, but by the varying lights and uncertain reflexes of its metallic 
 surface. 
 
 It may be assumed, therefore, that in all large w^orks in bronze extreme simplicity is an indispensable 
 requisite. When, however, the skill of the artist is exercised upon objects of a small scale, this attention 
 to simplicity is no longer so cogent a necessity. In cabinet specimens, destined for close inspection, the 
 workers in bronze should take advantage of every refinement of execution calculated to heighten the eff'ect 
 and texture of the object he is called upon to produce. For this purpose he will do well to examine with 
 attention the respective styles of the two great Italian schools of bronze-work, — the earlier, or soft style, 
 represented by the works of Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, and Sansovino ; and the later, or bold style, by 
 those of Donatello, Verrocchio, and PoUaiuolo, and ultimately of the great Michael himself. In the former 
 of these styles he will find an attempt to express, by comparatively direct imitation, every variation of form 
 existing in nature. The exact quality of the object intended to be imitated is recalled to mind by an abundant 
 use of the graver and chasing-tool, and by a sedulous endeavour to vary the texture and roundness of every 
 portion of the flesh or drapery. This style of positive imitation, it will be found, is redeemed from frivolity 
 and feebleness by an intense appreciation of beauty of line on the part of those who practised it. The 
 artificial nature of the composition redeems the too natural style of the treatment; and the power of the 
 artist is revealed in his exquisite appreciation of grace and beauty. 
 
 In examining the works of the latter school the student will perceive, on the other hand, that the aim 
 of the sculptor was rather to convey a vigorous general expression, — some strong and palpal)le emotion. 
 With this end in view, he has avoided dallying with the graces of the several parts of his composition, and 
 has sought only to combine them into one forcible whole. Hence, in the details of the treatment, the graver, 
 chasing-tool, burnisher and point, are no longer used to indicate each particular hair, and every minutia of 
 form ; but punches, files, hammers, and pi iers, have conduced to the production of forms, which, aUhough they 
 seem rude and careless on a close inspection, fall at once into their appropriate places -when examined from 
 the proper point of view, and fitly contribute to the general effect of the work. 
 
 It would be unjust to extol either of these schools to the disparagement of the other : it would be alike 
 
THEORY. 
 
 XXI 
 
 unwise to recommentl to the student ton great a reverence for Donatello, or too great a love for Ghiberti. 
 "We would rather have him take into consideration, without prejudice, how far a leaning to either style of 
 execution may best accord with the nature of the subject upon which his own ability is to be exercised. The 
 rude vigour of PoUaiuolo would as little comport with the treatment of a Venus, a Psyche, or a Seraph, on a 
 small scale, as would the softness of Ghiberti with the awful grandeur of a colossal Jove or an enraged Achilles. 
 
 It has been justly remarked, both by M. Quatremere de Quincy and by Sir Charles Eastlake, that, in the 
 execution of sculpture, care must be particularly taken that those portions of the work which represent objects 
 in reality of the same material as that in which they are represented, should be treated in a manner so 
 obviously conventional as at once to undeceive the spectator as to the possibility of their actually being what 
 they represent, instead of mere imitations. This rule is particularly to be observed in the imitation of metal- 
 work. The details of armour and harness are frequently dwelt upon with such a degree of elaboration, as to 
 make us regret that the sculptor had not obtained, from a better manufacturer, an actual suit of the former, 
 or set of the latter. 
 
 The just principles of designing small works in bronze have been peculiarly studied by our French con- 
 temporaries, and have been carried by them in many instances to a very high pitch of perfection. Few have 
 done more in France, of late years, in contributing to a recognition of the dignity of the material, than Henri 
 de Triqueti, whose elaborate gates to the Madeleine are among tlie finest bronze works which have been ever 
 executed. It is much to be regretted that in England few living artists have specially devoted themselves 
 either to the practice of the mechanical process of bronze-founding, or to the study of the best conditions of 
 its design. It is true that, from time to time, very many large and important works are modelled and cast with 
 considerable ability in foundries in various parts of the kingdom ; but it would be diificult to believe that 
 any of them have been expressly intended for execution in metal. We have, at all events, been unable to trace 
 in them any distinction between the conventionalities employed, and those which the same artists would pro- 
 bably have used in the execution of the same subjects in stone or marble. We firmly believe that the ancient 
 sculptors adopted a completely different system of modelling for each of these materials, and regarded their 
 respective capabilities in a just and proper light ; never executing in bronze subjects better adapted for marble, 
 nor in marble those better suited for bronze. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield has recently done much to improve the manipulation of the art of bronze-casting and 
 colouring; and it is to be hoped that, at no distant day, we may be fortunate enough to create a national 
 manufacture of objects in this beautiful material. So soon as a taste for bronze statuettes shall become at 
 all general in this country, the public will at once perceive the nature of the conventionalities necessary to 
 be resorted to in such compositions, and their awakened taste will so far react upon artistic education as to 
 lead to efforts which, if not more vigorous, may at least be more loftily directed. 
 
 GOLD-WORK, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF ITS TREATMENT. 
 
 We can imaghie few lessons which would prove of greater advantage to the jeweller of the present day 
 than a careful study of the exquisite specimens of ancient art, which are preserved in the Etruscan Museums 
 of Pope Gregory XVI. and the Cavaliere Campana of Rome. In those collections he would find works 
 adapted for personal decoration, of the most exquisite design, and executed by the simplest processes. Ih 
 some of the beautiful golden garlands, which the ladies of Etruria were wont to bind around their brows, he 
 would at once perceive how s kilfull y an idea borrowed directly from nature — that of entwining together a 
 simple group of leaves and flowers — may be carried out, witliout in any degree infi-inging upon the conven- 
 tionalities proper to the material employed. He would see collars, upon portions of which the most exquisite 
 patterns are defined by filagree, disposed in graceful curves and scrolls, and soldered to the sheets of gold 
 forming the substance of the work. The edges he would find bound witli a twisted wire, to give strength 
 to the whole, and enriched with small and beautiful pendants, hanging fi-om them like a precious fringe. 
 
 If it were possible to place by the side of such specimens some of those heavy bracelets, simulating 
 uncomfortable snakes or ponderous fetters, and earrings decorated with unmeaning shellwork, which abound in 
 the shops of the modern jeweller, it would be impossible to avoid the conclusion that if the mechanical 
 facihfies of production are perfectly comprehended in the present day, an almost total ignorance of the just 
 
xxii 
 
 TIIIiORY. 
 
 principles of special design is no less genei'ally prevalent. Wlien we reflect on the extreme beauty of gold, 
 on its great value, and on its association in our ideas with all that is most rich and brilliant, it is the more 
 to be regretted that art is so rarely allied to manufacture in its elaboration. It appears as if the old ideas 
 of barbaric magnificence still cling to its use — that while in bronze and in the baser metals the artist feels 
 
 deeply (or, at least, acknowledges) the responsibilities of his profession, in gold any style of form is admissible, 
 
 and that a multitude of sins are covered by the brilliancy of sparkling jewels and the value of the metal which 
 surrounds them. It is most remarkable that while sums of almost any amount, determined only by the caprice 
 or fashion of the day, are constantly given for diamonds and other precious stones, the nature of their setting 
 should receive so small an amount of attention. It would indeed be a triumph of art so to elaborate the 
 precious metal surrounding the diamond as to make the frame more beautiful than the picture it contains. 
 
 .But whilst we urge this deficiency in much of the modern design apphed to jewellery, let it not be 
 imagined that we could regard as any improvement a reduction of the large designs which find iitting expression 
 in marble or in bronze, to the miniature proportions in which gold must generally be worked. It is ever to 
 be remembered that jewellery, after all, is but a personal adornment, and that if, by imitative art, any animated 
 objects are represented in it, they shoidd take the form rather of concetti than of serious compositions. The 
 world-wide celebrity of the Italian school of goldsmiths is due to the taste with which Cellini, Caradosso, and 
 other masters, enriched the jewels of the Cinque-cento age with the most exquisite lamri tli mhmteria. Un- 
 fortunately, too few relics of that school exist, and it is rather by tradition than by actual evidence that we 
 can fully appreciate all its beauties. The study, however, of such works as time has spared, and of such 
 drawings or designs as are still in existence, has unquestionably stimulated the French jewellers of the 
 present day in the production of many very beantifnl modifications of the media>val and Cinque-cento styles. 
 MM. Froment-Meurice, Rudolphi, and Morel, have in this way produced many works which deserve the 
 highest commendation; and it was gratifying to observe in the specimens contributed to the Great Exhibition 
 by Messrs. Garrard, and Hunt and Roskell, that their attention had been directed to similar sources of design. 
 A careful examination of the elaborate paintings of our ancestors, by Sir Antonio More, Zucchero, Holbein, 
 and even Vandyck, will afford many illustrations of the beauty of design of much of the ancient jewellery of 
 this country. It is too much to be feared that, in the productions of modern portrait-painters, our descendants 
 may seek in vain for any equivalent to the beautiful goldsmith's work of former days. 
 
 The very limited use of enamel in connexion with jewellery is greatly to be regretted; since the elegant 
 works of Cellini, and indeed of every great master of the goldsmith's art, have been greatly indebted to that 
 substance for pleasing and appropriate decoration. We venture to hope that the details, which it is our 
 intention to give in subsequent pages, of the processes employed in the several varieties of ancient enamel, may 
 tend in some degree to a recognition of the importance of this elegant adjunct to the splendour of rich 
 metal-work. The unwillingness of modern artists to regard enamel otherwise than as a vehicle for pictorial 
 representation, is perhaps in some degree to be ascribed to the extent to which the system of the division 
 of labour has been carried in this economic age. Had the labours of our enamel-painters been associated 
 with those of practical manufacturers, there can be no doubt that the specimens of EngUsh jewellery, in the 
 Great Exhibition of 1851, would have occupied a yet higher position than they did on that occasion. Much 
 as we must admire the works of such artists as Mr. Bone and Mr. Essex, we cannot but regret that their 
 attention has not been directed to the union of their beautiful art with that of the goldsmith. Their style, 
 based on the practice of their great predecessors, Petitot, BortUer, Zinck, Hance, Gueraier, Moser, Meyer, &c., is 
 confined to painting only, and not extended to manufacture. Could we but see a little of their accomplished 
 abUity brought to bear vipon the revival of some of the ancient systems, such as the " grisaille " of Limoges, 
 a portion of their grace imparted to the handicraft of the common workman, we might then have great 
 hopes, that while novelty was sure to arise it would not be vulgarised by betraying the want of education of 
 Its origmators, and that while the intelhgence and intellectuahty of the workman would be stimulated, the 
 public would ultimately gather "a ripe and golden harvest." As the Abbe Texier tells us, in a passage of 
 extreme eloquence, "in the middle ages, art and manufactures were blended and identified; art gained by 
 this affinity great practical facility, and manufacture much original beauty." 
 
THEORY. 
 
 SILVER -WOKK, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF ITS TREATMENT. 
 
 There are few subjects on which we entertain more sanguine hopes than that the beneficial effects of the 
 Great Exhibition will be very speedily manifested in the improvement of the ordinary forms and types of 
 modern English works in silver. In those important pieces of plate on which such large sums of money are 
 annually expended, we have been too long accustomed to content ourselves with reducing, to some foot or 
 two in height, a great allegorical monument, such as those which desecrate, rather than decorate, the sacred 
 fanes of Westminister Abbey and St. Paul's. In silver, as in marble, we have been too long satisfied with 
 personations of Virtues and Graces, Arts and Sciences, disposed around a statue of the individual to whom 
 the so-called " testimonial" is presented. Fortunately, we are now beginning to perceive that something 
 better may be done, and that at the additional expense only of a little more thought and study. 
 
 It is justly remarked by Mr. Redgrave in his " Report on Design," appended to the General Reports 
 of the Juries of the Great Exhibition,* that " if we contemplate some of the inventions of the artists, and some of 
 the thoughts which they have wrought out, we shall be indeed surprised that such puerilities could be dwelt on long 
 enough to execute them as works of art, and still more that manufacturers, so shrewd as they generally are, should 
 be found to engage in their production, were it not sufficiently evident that there is a large and wealthy public 
 whose taste does not rise above such art, proved by its becoming patrons and purchasers. What can justify the 
 employment of the precious metals, and what ought to be the more precious labours of artists, upon huntsmen and 
 ploughboys, to render them with all the coarseness of their garments and the texture of their hose ? or who 
 but the givers of a testimonial, relying on the known taste of its receiver, would require art to be degraded 
 into the mere imitation of a hedge-row occurrence on a hunting-day when the sport was successful ; knee- 
 breeches and top-boots being as important items in the groups as the hounds, horses, and the portraits of 
 the individuals whose good fellowship it commemorates ? It is such art in the more precious metals, employed 
 on such thoughts, that leads, in the imitative manufactures, to the many paltry inventions which are found to 
 prevail therein. Rachel at a well in a rock, under an imitative palm-tree, draws — not water, but ink : Burns' 
 shepherdess would find the same black fluid in the formless well by her side ; a grotto of oyster-shells with 
 children beside it, contains, not a light, but an ink-vessel; the milk-pail on a maiden's head contains, not 
 goat's milk, as the animal by her side would lead you to suppose, but a taper. Such works are akin to 
 epergnes with the hippopotamus and his keeper ; or Paul and Virginia under a palm-tree that upholds the 
 glass for flowers on its top ; or Apollo dancing, supporting at the same time a glass cpergne twice his own 
 size ; and inventions of equal or greater novelty wrought out with great waste of skill and labour. Even 
 when we arrive at really artistic works in this style, of which happily there are many, it is more than doubtful 
 whether the omamentist would not be more suitably employed upon them, and an ornamental and architectural 
 construction first obtained, before art w^as called in to aid in their completion. It is not pleasant to add, that 
 the above strictures more especially refer to English productions. It is true that such works have often a 
 local significance or an individual importance, causing their exhibition here, and making it less likely such 
 should be exhibited by the foreigner than plate of a specific use, or ornamental works whose characteristics 
 are more general ; but it is impossible to deny that the taste of the class who purchase or commission these 
 works abroad must be higher than our own. 
 
 *' In France, for instance, we find testimonials and prizes taking the shape of art rather than of massive metal. 
 The President of the Republic, in contributing a prize to the winner of the Chantilly races, presents a shield, 
 on which are four reliefs, illustrating racing in various ages of the world ; and when the worJcmeit of Montlucon 
 and the inhabitants of Lot desire severally to present testimonials to Generals Changarnier and Cavaignac, the 
 weight of silver is of far less importance in their eyes than the rare beauty of the art- workmanship. These 
 works are exhibited by M. Froment-Meurice ; and the tw^o latter — two beautiful swords — are choice examples 
 of design and chasing. Moreover, it is worthy of notice that in such works the artist does not consider his 
 vocation a separate one, but regards the utility while he perfects the art. In both the above sword-hilts, 
 the ornament (a group of figures) has been so thoroughly adapted and composed for its purpose as a handle, 
 that it is perfectly accommodated to the grasp ; which is the case also with a beautiful short sword, ornamented 
 
 * Page 737. 
 
xxiv THEORY. 
 
 with the history of St. Hubert, executed by M. Marcel, and exhibited Ity Marrel Brothers (France, 331) in 
 the same department." 
 
 When we recollect the pecuhar properties of the precious metals — their strength and ductility — it must 
 be at onee apparent that details of execution can be rendered in them, which could never be expressed in 
 materials such as marble or wood. Hence, when we seek to elevate, to its highest perfection, technical 
 execution in gold and silver, we must at once perceive that a new field is opened for the sculptor's art. By 
 means of sft^vers and chasing-tools; and, by the process of repousse, which admits of a constant variation of 
 relief, and the correction of redundant form, an amount of finish can be given to subjects of an eminently 
 sculpturesque character, such as could not be imparted to tliem when executed by any other method. In 
 the best ages of the goldsmith's art, this minute execution was carried to great perfection. By the Greeks, 
 by the Italians of the Cinque-cento age, by the modern French; and especially by that exquisite artist, 
 M. Vechte, refinements of texture and manipulation have been practised, which confer on objects executed 
 in silver an eminently peculiar and distinctive cliaractei". 
 
 It is one of tlie agreeable features of this process that the metal can be used in the greatest degree of 
 tenuity. While its effect in that state is even better than it could have been had the metal been more 
 substantial, and while the art is more excellent, the cost of the whole is so far reduced that it becomes a 
 question, the solution of which scarcely admits of a doubt, whether the nature of the material should not be 
 entirely disregarded, and the whole value of the object made to depend upon the art which may be lavished 
 upon it. 
 
 One cause of the defects in our productions in the precious metals may probably be the reluctance of our 
 artists to study practically as workmen. Too many of those employed to design for silversmiths accept the 
 commission only as a means of pecuniary support ; firmly believing that such employment is, in some degree, 
 a derogation from that abstract condition to which, from want of education, or capacity to apply art rightly, 
 they would seek to reduce it. 
 
 Mr. Redgrave wisely remarks, " The truth seems to be, that in England one artist designs, and perhaps 
 makes the model, whilst another is employed to produce it in the metal. Thus we find works designed with 
 great ability, and modelled with much knowledge, and evidently by artists of great professional excellence, yet 
 these works are completed in the metal with every possible littleness of imitation, serving only to degrade and 
 vulgarise the art it is employed upon ; and this frequently is caused by the surface treatment and the mode 
 of execution, wherein imitation has taken the place of art. Thus the true artist does not produce the texture 
 of the fur of animals hair by hair, but gives its general expression by some conventional rendering, by the 
 indications at the parts where the skin folds, or by tooling to emulate the lustre of its gloss. In the same 
 way true art does not imitate the materials of our dress by the threads of its manufacture, but indicates 
 them rather by the shape and contour of the foldings. Yet in the works under examination, the surface is 
 often subjected by the workman to a most laboured treatment, labour without knowledge, which dwells more 
 upon hairs and threads, upon details and buttons, than on the form of a joint, or the bones of an extremity : 
 the one is a labour that requires no exercise of thought, nothing but mere dexterity ; the other requires a 
 workman not only educated into a knowledge of the parts, but who can enter into the feeling and intentions 
 of the designer. This dwelling with complacency on mere labour, and evident satisfaction with its tedious 
 felicities, can only arise from tlie habit of giving the models of tlie superior artist into less skilful hands, 
 to be completed in metal." 
 
 One of the most fertile sources of the disagreeable effect in many compositions of the silversmith's art is 
 to be found in a neglect of the consistent arrangement of the structural lines, which form, as it were, the 
 building up of the design. By a perversion of that beautiful quality of strength in tentiity peculiar to metal, 
 we too often find the stalk of a flower, or some such feeble object, called upon to do duty as a support to a 
 vase, or other heavy object, beneath which, if real, it would inevitably break down. A combination of vine- 
 leaves, with no trellis to sustain them, serves to sustain a ponderous wine-cooler ; and thus neither is the 
 strength of the metal fitly represented, nor is any association of idea connected with the character of the 
 ornament imitated in any way preserved. 
 
 In a paper read to the Society of Arts, being " An Attempt to define the Principles which should determine 
 Foi 'm in the Decorative Arts," we have entered at some length into the general principles of imitation and 
 its restriction, upon which the special laws of design (in silver as in other objects) are dependent : it will not, 
 
THEORY. 
 
 XXV 
 
 therefore, be necessary to enter in this place into a minute examination of the limits to which imitation 
 may be carried in that material. We may, however, draw attention to two or three hidispensable requisites 
 to a good design for silversmith's work. In the first place, the object must be so formed as to fulfil the 
 purpose for which it is intended; — that object must in no way be disguised, but, on the contrary, should 
 be apparent on the first cursory inspection ; — the general outline should be symmetrical, and the disposition 
 of the various parts so proportioned as to appear strong, and equal to the constructive duties they may be 
 called upon to perform;— the amount of ornament should be proportioned to the purpose of the object, and 
 the means and condition of its proprietor; — there should be no direct imitation of Nature, and yet no perversion 
 of her forms ; and lastly, it "would be well if a system of judicious contrast of plane surfaces and enrichment were 
 carried throughout such works, and each ornament applied only to those points where the general form 
 appears to demand accentuation. 
 
 In productions in silver, as in every other material, there are a certain series of conventionalities to be 
 observed and general conditions to be attended to, -which cannot be conveyed within the limits of a treatise 
 like the present, but which must rather be acquired by long, laborious, and persevering investigation, by the 
 repeated experiments, and frequent disappointments, of the student. It is only by the accumulation of the 
 observations of tbose who have thus become masters of their art, by the record of their varied practice, and 
 by an analysis of their system of treatment, that a grammar of the special design, proper and appropriate to 
 metal-work, can ever be arrived at. At present we are ourselves rather in the position of a fellow-student 
 inviting to learn, than a professor engaging to teach. Let it ever be remembered by the practical artist 
 that, while it is impossible too highly to sublimate the ideal portion of his art, it is through material form 
 alone that he can convey to his fellow-men the glowing creations of his imagination. Thus he has a double 
 end to perform: to be at once subject ^to the conditions of the materials in which he works, and master of 
 the art of struggling with their difficulties, and enhancing their beauties, so far as to dignify at once 
 the material and the immaterial portions of his labour. To fitly carry out this object, his studies and his 
 powers should be alike extended and yet concentrated. 
 
 "When we bend our thoughts to a contemplation of the genius, taste, and delicate refinement of Visscher, 
 Celhni, D'Arphes, Sansovino, Ghiberti, and many other artists, — when we realize to ourselves their industry 
 and patience as mechanics, and their judgment, experience, knowledge, and energy as artists, we cannot but 
 feel that to produce works approaching, far more excelling, those which have been executed in the past, 
 quaUties of the most varied kind must be united. Let the student of design but make the endeavour to 
 combine these in his own person— let him but struggle to add to a refined appreciation of the highest objects 
 of his art a thorough mastery over the immediate processes of manufacture, and the joint production of his 
 hand, eye, mind, and soul, will then bear the true and nnmistakeable mint-mark of pure and beautiful 
 individuality. 
 
 On the extreme value to the artist of earnest inquiry into the intellectual and mechanical conditions of 
 the objects on the proper design of which he would exercise the godlike gift of genius, there can be only 
 one opinion : and we cannot do better than conclude our remarks in the words of Lord Bacon, who points, 
 as the true source of novelty, to the fact, that " from the knowdedge of physical causes there cannot fail to 
 follow many indications and designations of new particulars, if men in their speculation will keep one eye upon 
 use and practice." 
 
PRACTICE. 
 
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 The uictallurgic art commences with the extraction from the ores of those precious substances which, as metals, have played 
 so important a pait in the civilisation of the world; but as the artist's connexion with them commences only when they are 
 delivered to him in a state fit for working, we shall not enter into the details of any of the methods employed to free them from 
 impm'ities, or, in other words, to bring them into the condition in which he receives them. We shall, therefore, assume the iron- 
 worker to be supplied with either pig or bar-iron, in bulk, sheet, or wire ; and the gold or silversmith to be equally well provided 
 with materials. The student who desires information on these preliminary processes may very readily obtain it from numerous 
 authors, who have given special attention to the scientific aspect of the subject. 
 
 The first class of processes must obviously be the Foumative, — those by which the raw material is converted into the object 
 proposed ; and the second the Decorative, or those by means of which surface enrichment may be added. In oft'ering the 
 following notices upon both groups of processes, wc must be understood as purposely avoiding mechanical or economical considerations, 
 and noticing only such leading principles of either actual, extinct, or dormant practice, as may seem most likely to conduce to an 
 elevation of the treatment of the metals, and a knowledge of which may assist the designer, by giving him command over the 
 means through which his conceptions can best and most readily be carried out, and tlu'ough a subordination to which they can 
 alone be made practical. 
 
 Almost infinitely as the working details may be varied, the Formative processes in all metal-working depend only upon 
 five systems, — Casting, beadnff cold, healing hot, electrotijpiiig , and cutting away hg abrasive tools. The degree in which these 
 various systems should preponderate in the treatment of each metal must, of course, depend upon its nature and properties. All 
 may be wrought by casting, but iron, bronze, and brass most successfully. Gold and silver, from theii- superior ductility, may 
 be most readily fashioned in sheets by heating cold; iron by beating hot; electrofgping affects the pure metals; and all, pure 
 or alloyed, reqnii'e in their finishing more or less cutting away of parts by abrasive tools. 
 
 Of these four systems, in the present day, castinri is, perhaps, the most common and best understood ; and as many very 
 excellent accounts of the ordinary processes of sand-casting, more particularly of iron, have been already published, we have 
 devoted but few lines to that portion of the subject.* We have, however, treated more copiously those less-known variations in 
 the practice of casting, by means of which works of art of the highest class have been, and are now, constantly executed. With 
 regard to the system of heating cold, by means of which the finest works which have been wrought in silver have been produced 
 en repousse, \ve have collected numerous illustrations of the practice of tlie best periods ; and from having enjoyed opportunities 
 of seeing the greatest technic artist of the present day, M. Vechte, work, we know that the traditions of Cellini are not effete, 
 and that the modem art-workman has nothing to do but to follow his precepts and succeed. With regard to the system of beating 
 hot — the province more especially of the blacksmith — we have said but little, as the art is one principally involving manual dexterity, 
 and because the principles of its practice are so generally apprehended, and have been recently so well described in detad by 
 Mr. Holtzappfel. So many excellent manuals have been published on the subject of electrotyping, that we have given only the 
 skeleton, as it were, of the process. With regard to cutting away by abrasive tools it will be unnecessary to say much, as everything 
 must depend upon the well-trained haud of the artificer, working in obedience to a knowledge of art, and a fine appreciation of 
 the exact effects attainable by a graduated manipulation of the respective metals. Thus the skilful chaser inay perceive that 
 precise degree of refinement which might be admissible in silver, but which would be a petilesse in bronze ; but it \\ ould be 
 difficult for language to define tools and handling which should vary with every respective occasion. 
 
 It is to be regretted, that in the present day the Decorative processes of metal-working should be so much neglected in 
 this country. Of the series we have enumerated scarcely one is now used ; and we have, therefore, endeavoured to be more 
 explicit in our descriptions of them, — hoping that thereby some of the great manufactm'ers may he led to inquire for themselves, 
 and ultimately to avail themselves commercially of the experiences recorded in those palmy days, wlicn exquisite metal-work, 
 enamelled, parcel-gilt, or damascened, was looked upon as no less essential to the furnishing of a church or palace than the 
 beautiful carving of the masonry, or the most elaborate interior decorations. 
 
 In our remarks on these Decorative Arts we have translated freely from CeUini, whose exquisite works form the best possible 
 testimonial to the inestimable value of his precepts ;+ and, as a general principle, have endeavoured to go into detail upon the 
 least-known points of the subject, abridging to the narrowest limits our notices of processes for the examination of which the student 
 is surrounded by opportunities on every side. 
 
 • For a brief but moat lucid description of the nceeaaary arrangcmeMta of iron-casting, we would especially refer the reader to Mr. Holtzappfel'a excellent work on 
 " Turning and Mechanical Manipulation," ^'ol. I. 
 
 ■f We have even followed Cellini in hia numerous digiesaions, since they are not only eminently characteristic of the man, but, in many ca.se3, they help to 
 elucidate the effects produced by the processea he describes. 
 
FORMATIVE PEOCESSES. 
 
 I.— IRON-WORKING. 
 
 Iron is usually worked into form by two operatious ; 1, by casting, — tliat is, rediu-ing the metal to a fluid state by means 
 of lieat, and then pouring it into moulds, the cavities of which it fills, so as to constitute the couuterpart of the model by which 
 the form of the cavities has been determined ; and, 2, by softening the metal by heat, and then beating it with hammers or 
 punches into the requisite shape. In finishing up either cast or wrought-iron, files, chisels, gravers, and other cutting or abrasive 
 tools, may, of course, be used. 
 
 The most convenient mode of making moulds for uon. casting, and that now universally employed, consists in selecting 
 materials, the particles of which possess sufficient cohesion to retain their form, and which yet preserve, at the same time, sufficient 
 openness of texture to allow of the free escape of the heated vapours and gases generated at the moment when the liquid metal 
 comes in contact with the mould into which it is poured. Certain varieties of sand are found to best supply the requisites above 
 indicated ; as they vary, however, in different eases, the qualities of the sand may be considerably modified by the addition of 
 materials possessing more or less cohesive power, such as loam, horse-dung, brick-dnst, plaster, charcoal, &c. The simplest opemtion 
 in the foundry consists in making up a bed of sand; pressing a wooden or metal pattern into it; removing the pattern, leaving 
 an imprint of it in tlie sand; and running into the imprint hquid metal, which, on cooling, hardens, and retains the form of 
 the pattern. In order to prevent the weight of the liquid metal displacing the bank of sand, it is necessary to confine the latter 
 in a box. It must be obvious, that where one such box alone is employed the upper face of the casting can only be the level 
 assumed by the liquid metal on running into the open moidd. Where, therefore, the casting requires to have a precise form 
 given it on both sides, two sncli boxes nmst be employed, the cavities in the one being secured over, and opposite to, those in the 
 other, an aperture being made, so as to allow of pouring the metal in to flU up the hollow formed between them. The 
 ordinary bullet-mould afibrds an illustration of the simplest form of ramdding in two parts. Where the form of the pattern is 
 complex several other boxes are frequently added, and the whole being securely bound together, the metal fills up the cavities 
 formed by the impression of the pattern at then planes of contact. The adhesion of these jjlanes is prevented by powdering 
 them over with fine dry brickdust. 
 
 The notes on this subject contained in Mr. Holtzappfel's admirable work, "Turning and Mechanical Manipulation," Vol. I., 
 
 are so perfectly clear, that we have ventured on a somewhat long quotation i 
 
 " The perfection of castings depends much on the skifi of the pattern-maker, who should thoroughly understand the practice 
 of the moulder, or he is liable to make the patterns in such a manner that they cannot be used, or, at any rate, be well used. 
 
 " Straight-grained deal, pine, and mahogany, are the best woods for making patterns, as they stand the best : screws should 
 be used in preference to nails, as alterations are then more easily made in the models ; and glue joints, such as dovetails, tenons, 
 and dowels, are also good, ns regards the after use of the saw and plane for corrections and alterations. 
 
 " Foundry patterns should be always made a little taper in the parts which enter most deeply into the sand, in order to 
 assist their removal from the same, when their purposes will not be materially interfered with by such tapering. The pattern- 
 maker, therefore, works most of the thicknesses, and the sides or edges, both internol and external, a little out of parallel or square, 
 
 perhaps as much as about one-sLxteenth to one-eighth of an inch in the foot, sometimes much more. 
 
 " When foundry patterns are e.\actly parallel, the friction of the sand ag,ainst their sides is so great, when they penetrate 
 deeply, that it requh-cs considerable force to extract them, which violence tears down the sand, unless the patterns are much 
 knocked about in the mould to enlarge the space around them. This rough usage frequently injures the patterns, and causes the 
 castings to become irregularly larger than intended, and also defective in point of shape, from the mischief sustauied by the moulds, 
 all which evils are much lessened when the patterns are made consistently taper and very smooth. 
 
 "It must be distinctly and constantly borne in mind, that although patterns require all the methods, care, and skill of good 
 joinery or cabinet-making, they must not, like such works, be made quite square and parallel, for the reasons stated. Sharp 
 internal angles should, in general, be also avoided, as they leave a sharp edge or ams in the sand, which is liable to be broken 
 down in the removal of the pattern, or to be washed down on the entry of the metal into the mould. Either the angle of the 
 model should be filled with wood, wax, or putty, or the sharp edges of the sand should be chamfered off with the knife or 
 trowel. Sharp internol angles are very injudicious in respect also to the strength of castings, as they seem to denote where they 
 will be hkely to break, and more resemble carpentry than good metallic construction. 
 
 " Before the patterns reach the founders' hands, all the glue that may have been used in their construction should be 
 carefully scraped off, or it will adhere to and puU down the sand. The best way is to paint or varnish wooden patterns, so as 
 to prevent them from absorbing moisture, as they will then hang to the sand much less, and will retain their forms much 
 better. Whether painted or not. they deliver more freely fi'om the mould when they are well brushed with black-lead, like a stove. 
 
 " In patterns made in the lathe exactly the same conditions ore required : the parts which enter deeply into the sand 
 should be neither exactly cylindrical nor plane surfaces, but either a little coned or rounded, as the ease may be; and the 
 internal angles should not be turned exactly to their ultimate form, but rather filed in, or rounded, to save the breakin., down 
 of the sharp edges of the mould. 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 xxix 
 
 " Foundiy patterns are also made in metal : these arc very excellent, as they are permanent ; and, when very small, are less 
 apt to be bloM'n away by the bellows used for removing the loose sand and dust from the moulds. To preserve iron patterns 
 from rusting, and to make them deliver more easily, they should be allowed to get slightly rusty, by lying one night on the 
 damp sand ; next they should be warmed sufficiently to melt bees'-wax, which is then rubbed all over them, and in great 
 part removed, and then polished with a hard brush when cold. Wax is also used by the founder for stopping up any httle 
 holes in the wooden patterns : whitening is likemse employed, as a quicker, but l(;ss carcfu! expedient ; and very rough patterns 
 are scared with a hot iron. The good workman, however, leaves no necessity for these corrections ; and the perfection of the 
 pattern is wvU repaid by the superior character of the castings. 
 
 " Metal patterns frequently require to have holes tapped into them for receiving screwed wires, by way of handles, for lifting 
 them out of the sand ; and, in like manner, large wooden patterns should have screwed metal plates let hito them for the same 
 purpose, or the founder is compelled to drive pointed wires into them to serve as handles, which is an injurious practice. 
 
 " It is invariably necessary to work patterns in some degi-ee larger than the intended iron castings, to allow for the contraction 
 in cooling, which equals from about the ninety-fifth to the ninety-eighth part of their length, or nearly one per cent. This 
 allowance is very easily and correctly managed by the employment of a contraction-rule, which is made like a surveyor's rod, but 
 one-eighth of an inch longer in every foot than ordinary standard measure. By the employment of such contraction-rulea every 
 portion of the pattern is made proportionably larger without any trouble of calculation. 
 
 " When a wood pattern is made from which an iron pattern is to be cast, the latter being intended to serve as the per- 
 manent foundry pattern, as there are two shrinkages to allow for, a double contraction-rule is employed, or one the length of which 
 is one quarter of an inch in excess in every foot. These rules are particularly important in setting out alterations in or additions 
 to existing machinery; the latter is measured with the common rule, and the new patterns are set out to the same nominal 
 measures with a single or double contraction-rule, as the case may be, the three being made in some respects dissimilar to avoid 
 confusion in their use. The entire neglect of contraction-rules incurs additional trouble and uncertainty." 
 
 When the pattern is laid in the "flask," or sand-box, the sand should be beaten in around it, so as to increase the cohesion 
 of the mould, and to admit of its being moved about, reversed, and otherwise arranged, preparatory to the securing together of 
 the boxes, and the admission of the metal between them. 
 
 Those only who are technically acquainted ■with the extreme difficulty attendant on the conditions of sand-casting, can realise 
 the care and labour necessary to the production of any work of an elaborate chaj-acter, since the slightest under-cutting of the 
 pattern entails a great amount of labour in the preparation of what are called loose cores ; that is to say, such portions of sand 
 as woidd be pidled away in extracting an under-cut pattern ffoin the box in which it had been laid to form an imprint. These are 
 moulded in sand, and require to be adjusted with extreme delicacy, so as to allow the molten metal to run in, in order to 
 produce exactly the requisite form. In large castings the various parts frequently have to be made separately, and adjusted to- 
 gether. The skill acquired by the fitters in concealing these junctions is very great; and it requires a practised eye to detect the 
 existence of a well-finished joint. Considerable experience is required on the part of the designer, suice provision must be made by 
 him to ensiu-e that the contraction of the metal while cooling shall proceed uniformly over the whole of the casting ; since other- 
 wise the portions which retain their heat longest would tear away from those which had set most quickly, and thus the work would 
 be spoUt. 
 
 With regard to icrou^ht-iron, a description of the ordinary processes of the blacksmith's art could but little interest or assist 
 the artist, and the practice of rolling iron in various sections appertains rather to the civil-engineer than to the metal-worker. The 
 subject, however, is so large in its application to architecture, and to stmctural purposes generally, and so novel and scarcely yet 
 fidly worked out in many of its bearings, that justice could not be done to it by a hasty notice. Wc, tlierefore, consider it wiser 
 to refer the reader to specific treatises on the subject, such as that of Mr. Holtzappfel, rather than to afford imperfect information. 
 
 We have ah'eady rcl'crrcd to some peculiarities in the execution of ancient blacksmiths' work, and piu'pose explaining 
 some of its further varieties in our description of the plates. 
 
 II.— CASTING IN BRONZE, AS PRACTISED IN THE PRESENT DAY. 
 
 The necessity in canyiug on this art of a considerable capital, under the fonn of furnaces, apparatus, material, &c., as well as 
 large accommodation in prenjiscs, has caused the practice of it to be transferred from the hands of artists (who formerly conducted 
 the casting of their own works) into those of regular trade founders. These, from confming themselves altogether to the study 
 of the economy of moulding and melting, have much improved upon the old system of working; but, unfortunately, their efforts 
 to ally their excellent manipulation with the amount of artistic excellence required to bring their productions within the category 
 of works of high art, have in too many cases been unattended with success. When a statue has to be cast by these founders 
 it is moulded in the usual manner adopted for very large plain iron castings, sand and loam being used for the purpose ; these 
 answer well enough for all castings which are to be afterwards wrought by machinery, and in which soundness of texture is the 
 greatest essential. In a work of art, however, perfection in the mould is the chief object, and is of the greatest importance, 
 as after-cooling is never advantageous if carried beyond the mere necessities, which of coiu"se must always arise when objects are 
 cast in numerous pieces. When, therefore, sand and loam are used in large works of art, from theii' not being fine enough to 
 produce the requisite sharpness, nor sufficiently strong to bear without injury the building up of the core and the running of 
 the metal, it becomes necessary for the moulder to make repairs, whicli are but too liable to destroy the form of the model, and 
 necessitate a good deal of tooling, by which much of the precise form of the original is destroyed. 
 
 In making the moulds of the several pieces (for rarely can a statue be cast in one) much care is required in the arrangement 
 of the ingates, or ducts, for the admission of the liquid metal, and the vents for the air thereby displaced. The practice is to 
 introduce the metal into the lowest part of the mould by pouring it down from the upper part through ingates worked in the 
 joints. The liquid metal thus gradually rising drives out the air from the mould through the vents provided for this purpose, and 
 worked in the same manner us the ingates. Thus the space between the core and the mould, when the latter is removed, is 
 exactly equivalent to the original model on which the mould had been previously made. 
 
XXX 
 
 FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 The use of tilt core is to avoid tliu cxcussivi; consumption of metal which would take phice if it were allowed to fill the 
 whole of the mould, aud the mauuer of constructing it is as follows : — When the mould has been made, a layer of clay of the 
 prescribed thickness of the metal is laid on the inside of it, and the remainder of the space filled up with the same material as 
 tlie mould had been composed of; the mould having been taken to pieces, the clay removed, pieces of bronze inserted to keep 
 the core in its place, and the mould again fitted up, a space is left which will eventually be occupied by the metal, provided 
 the ingates and vents work properly. Should, however, the latter not convey away the displaced air, explosions will take place, 
 by which not only will the cast and mould be spoilt, but serious and fatal accidents may probably take place. 
 
 The composition of the material of which the moulds and cores are constructed is of considerable importance, as it must not 
 only be capable of retaining the impressions imparted to it, but must be able to resist the heat of the molten metal, and also to 
 allow of tlie escape of the gas, which, being genera£ed between the metal and the mould, would, if it could not pass through 
 the latter, hinder the metal from lying close to its surfaces. The sand generally used answers perfectly well in the two last- 
 named points, but its tenacity is not sufficiently great to enable it to hold together in moulding a statue. A composition iias, 
 therefore, been sought for, and that which is usually employed is a compound of equal portions of plaster-of-paris and brick-dnst, 
 worked together to the consistence of clay. In the use of the former tenacity is obtained, while the heat of the metal has no 
 efi'ect on the latter, nor do cither of them impede the required passage of gas. 
 
 To allow the moving about of these moulds, it is customary to erect thciu on iron bases, and to place u-ons within them 
 for the purpose of counteracting the fragihty of the composition. When finished, iron hoops are placed about them, and they are 
 moved by means of cranes into ovens, and there left for five or six weeks, accf)rding to their size, for the purpose of thoroughly 
 drying them. Any damp would have the effect of impeding the running of the metal, through the bubbles which would arise 
 on the contact of the hot metal with the moisture. Previously to the casting, it is necessary to sink the mould below the ground, 
 pugging it hi well with sand, and placing weights on its top to prevent any part being lifted up on the pouring in of the metal. 
 All measures which will prevent expansion are resorted to, and lastly channels of sand are made from the mouth of the furnace, 
 which, when all is ready, is tapped. The glowing metal flows rapidly out, finding its way through the channel and ingates 
 into the mould; and when it appears again through the vents a good cast is presumed to have taken place: should, however, a 
 burst of flame arise from the moiUd, it may be assumed to import that some failure has taken place : the metal is thrown in all 
 directions to the danger of those in its vicinity; the cast, when examined, will be found to have a honey-combed appearance, and 
 all the work will have to be recommenced, as the same mould will never serve again after such an occurrence. When a foundry 
 is well supplied with all necessary conveniences, and due care is observed, these failures rarely occur : they arc usually tlie result 
 either of negligence or inadequate means. 
 
 Various are the formula; for the compositions of bronze. The late Mr. Maudslay, who was a competent authority, stated that, 
 for the casting of figures, no better proportion could be used than 91 of copper to 9 of tin; an opinion which subsequent trials 
 have fully substantiated. Zinc is often added to the alloy when in a molten state, as it has the effect of rendering the flow of 
 the metal more free. More than 1^ per cent, however, must not be employed, as, being subject to the action of acids, the surface of 
 the figure would be liable to suffer in its durability. When the cast comes from the mould, or rather when the mould is removed 
 from the cast, as the former as well as the core are reduced in the casting to a state of dust, projections will appear where the 
 metal has run into the ingates and vents ; these runners, as they are called, and also the projections residting from the junctions 
 of the mould, must be cut off, and the chashig tools employed to correct any imperfections which may have occurred. When 
 there is a green coating on the metal it is considered the sign of a good surface beneath ; to arrive at this, emery and water 
 must be employed, which wUl have the effect of removmg the green scurf. The figm-e, having been cast in pieces, it now only 
 remains to fit them together; they are first joined to each other with bolts, and then the joints are filled with molten metal, 
 the parts having been previously embedded in sand, leaving merely the joint exposed. Six or seven inches only are thus soldered 
 at a time, and the thin lines of metal resulting from this operation are removed as before. This process having been properly 
 completed throughout all the junctions, the figure will be rendered as solid as though cast all in one piece, nor will the junctions 
 be visible. 
 
 An artificial colour is occasionally given to the bronze by subjecting it to the action of acids ; but if it be erected in its 
 natuj'nl colour tlic weather will soon produce that appearance which is sought to be effected by such artificial means, 
 
 III.— CASTING IN BRONZE, AS PRACTISED IN THE TIME OF CELLINI. 
 (SIXTEENTH CENTURY,) 
 
 "Wlien we inquire into the processes by which the fine bronze statues of the Cinque-cento period were produced we naturally 
 recur to Cefiini, who has left us such admirable descriptions of his practice. He tells us, that a model of the intended figure, 
 prepai'ed in brick-dust and plaster, mixed to the consistence of clay, of dimensions a little smaller than the real size, is placed 
 on a grating in a deep pit, and thoroughly dried by lighting a fire beneath it. It is then covered over with sheets of modelling 
 wax, of the exact substance which it is intended that the cast bronze shall exhibit, and perfectly finished up with modelling tools to 
 the exact surface of the contemplated bronze statue. To this coating a number of sticks of wax are attached, all turning upwards, 
 in order to serve as vents for the escape of the air, which must be forced out of the lower cavities of the figure on the admission 
 of the metal to the mould ; and which, if not allowed to escape, would obviously prevent the perfect filling up of the extremities. 
 Another series of wax pipes is also arranged, attached to different parts of the figure, and also to the main channel along which 
 the molten metal is destined to pass, the object of which is to facihtate the speedy transmission of the bronze to all parts of 
 the figure. According to the difficulty of the subject, a greater or less number of rods and pegs of bronze are then driven 
 through the wax into the core, and are allowed to project sufficiently to tail into the outer mould, and thus serve, when the wax 
 shall be withdrawn, to steady everything. The whole of the waxwork is then brushed over with a mixture of clay and old white 
 crucibles, mixed to a state of cream, and is gradually coated over to some thickness ; to this succeed layers of earth, clay, aud 
 different mgiedients, the last coating being bound round with u-on tics, &c,, in order to make the mould sufficiently strong to 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 coMtiiin aiul support tlic great extra weight of the molten metal. Tiie monhl is then dried, and fire beini^ iiiiide undorneatli and 
 aroiuit! it, the whole is baked together ; the wax is of course liquefied by the heat, and is allowed to run oft' through channels 
 made for its escape, leaving, therefore, a vacant space between the outer and inner moulds. The channels being filled up with 
 fire-clay, the bronze is melted in a furnace, the bottom of which is slightly higher than the top of the statue; and when the bronze 
 is perfectly liquefied it is " tapped," — that is, allowed to run into the conduit which conveys it to the figure. From hence it 
 rushes into the space formerly occupied by the wax, driving the air and gases evolved up the funnels provided for their escape. 
 After the mould is perfectly filled it is allowed to cool, and tlien the onter casing is broken up, the core, as far as 
 possible, removed, any imperfections in the casting repaired, and all the delicate details worked up, chased, matted, punched, or 
 burnished, at tlie discretion of the artist. In very large works a different process is adopted : what is called a piece-mould, or 
 moveable mould,— « ho7i creiur, as the French term it, is formed on the finished clay or plaster statue; each piece of this mould 
 is then lined with sheet-clay, and put together; it is then filled up with coring stuff, from which, as soon as it is sufficiently 
 set, the external mould is taken away bit by bit. The sheet-clay is then removed from each piece separately, and the mould 
 a don creux is built up over the core, leaving, of eoiu-se, an interstice between the inner and outer moulds, equal to the thickness 
 of the sheet-clay. Provision being made for the admission of the metal, for the escape of the air and gases, and for the stability 
 of both the moulds, by passing iron rods and ties in all directions, the casting is effected in an exactly similar mode to tliat already 
 described. It is usual, in all small objects, to give a factitious colour to the bronze, by first heating and then immersing it in 
 different liquids, teclmically termed pickles. 
 
 IV.^ ORNAMENTAL BRASS -WORK. 
 
 On iTiquiring into the processes by which objects of this description are produced, we find that when the design is drawn a 
 model is made in Avax ; from which, when coated with lac-varnish, to harden its surface and prevent the adhesion of the sand of 
 which the mould is made, a cast is taken in lead. The imperfections common to eai'ly impressions having been removed by the 
 " repairer" with his small gravers and chisels, a cast is taken in brass, which the " chaser," with his " mats," " punches," " stipple- 
 tools," and "riffies," speedily corrects and reduces to a perfect representation of what is required, and this completes the permanent 
 " model" or " pattern," from which thousands of fac-similes may be made. Simple forms are easily moulded, and leave the sand 
 freely; but where concavities, or under-cuttings, are introduced, much skUI and patience are needed. To copy a purely spherical 
 model, the mould requires to be of two halves only, but in complex designs the mould is composed of many parts, and the time 
 expended in making it occupies several days. Jt is in the judicious discrimination as to the fewest number of pieces and the 
 arrangement of the several "hanging cores," that the evidence of ability on the part of the moulder is chiefly shown. To 
 make the sand which forms the mould more adhesive, it is pounded in a mortar, and its facilities for receiving the 
 impression of minute details are increased by dusting over the surface with powdered loam and ground charcoal. In order to 
 withdraw the original pattern the several parts of the sand-mould are lifted out, by means of small points of wire, and after their 
 removal the pattern is taken out and the cores are replaced; provision being made, by what are termed " ingates," for the intro- 
 duction of the fluid metal, which is melted in Stourbridge-clay crucibles, in an air-furnace, with a clear coke fire. The moulds 
 being closed and held together by wood clamps, the crucible and its contents are removed from the furnace, and the metal poured 
 into the "ingate" or aperture of the mould, in order to fill up the space left by the withdi'awal of the pattern, and to produce 
 an accurate copy of the original model. 
 
 The surface of a brass casting just removed from its matrix presents an appearance and colour closely resembling copper, 
 whilst any roughness or superfluous metal indicates imperfection in the mould, to remove which, when the forms are simple, the file 
 and turning-lathe will generally suflrce. When a careful degree of flnish is needed the work requires to be "chased" up. When 
 the surface to be cleansed is of a "matted" kind, the aid of acid is called in, by immersion in which a uniform brilliant or a 
 dead-gold appearance is secm'cd. It is in this particular that modern brass-foundry differs from that executed by the skilful 
 artisans of the middle ages, who produced a finished surface by friction or by gilding, through the medium of the mercurial 
 amalgam. In acid finish, attention must be paid to the entire removal of grease, and a preliminary cleansing is absolutely 
 necessary. For the final operation, the acid requires to be completely neutralised, otherwise the action will continue and the 
 surface be destroyed, The dead-gold appearance of much of the modern brass-work was the result of a discovery, which arose 
 out of the accidental circumstance of a piece of work having been left in the acid during the uight. This hint was adopted, 
 acted on, and successfully produced the desired effect. 
 
 The majority of the brass-work produced on the Continent is still gilt, but the gilding can be closely imitated if some little 
 care is taken in the composition of the metal, and if friction with a "scratch-brush" be applied after dipping. The burnished 
 portions in brass-finishing are produced by steel-burnishers, a little ox-gall being applied to prevent scratching. During this last 
 process, the objects are kept wet from time to time, by immersion in water and argol. After being "dried out" in boxwood- 
 sawdust they are protected from oxidation by a coating of lacquer, composed of spirits of wine, and colomed with a vegetable 
 matter. The article to be lacquered is heated, and the lacquer applied with a camel-ban- pencd. 
 
 In those objects produced from plates by pressure, the metal is pi-epared by being rolled into a thin sheet. The " dies " are 
 formed of cast-iron or steel, but more corumonly of the latter material : into these dies the design to be copied in rehef is cut 
 or sunk. The impressions ai'e taken by means of a stamp-press, to the falling hammer of which the die, sunk in intagho as 
 described, and technically called " a force," is attached. Annealing follows each blow, and the forces are so changed as to gradually 
 increase in convexity, so that the highest rehef and the minutest details may be brought up. The finish applied is the same 
 as that described in connexion with cast brass-work. Of late years both plain and colom'cd glass have been introduced to a great 
 extent, in combination with brass, and with such success, that upwards of 22,000 pairs of cornice-ends and curtain-holders, into 
 which the improvement has been introduced, have been sold, within the few years which have elapsed since the taking out of the 
 patent, by Messrs. Winficld of Birmingham, 
 
xxxti 
 
 FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 v.— GOLDSMITHS' WORK. 
 
 To work gold with facility, it is requisite to combine with it a small portion of some of the inferior metais, and, in order to 
 efl'ect this combinntion mth certainty as to the result, it is necessary first to obtain the gold in the highest possible state of 
 refinement. This is eft'ectcd, first, by the process known as cnpellation ; that is, melting the gold in a crucible possessing the power of 
 absorbing metallic seoria; in a liquid state ; and, secondly, by " partition ;" that is, exposing very small flakes of gold to the action of hot 
 diluted nitric acid, which, combiniiig with any silver that may be present, and not acting on the gold, leaves the latter quite pnre. 
 It is occasionally necessary, in order to excite the action of the acid on an excessively minute admixtiu-e of silver, to add a super- 
 abundance of the latter metal, in tlie ratio of three to one, which, on lamination and immersion, ensures the exposure of the 
 whole of the gold to the action of the acid. This process is known as that of "quotation." The gold thus purified is mixed 
 with alloys varying according to the destination of the metal, and cast into massive ingots. It may be scarcely necessary to 
 advert to the antiquity of the art of the purification of metals : such passages from the Old Testament as " He is like a refiner's 
 furnace," "He shall sit as a refiner," "I have refined thee, but not for sOver," "the fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for 
 gold," will no doubt readily suggest themselves. 
 
 We have been thus particular in describing the refinement of gold, as an analogous mode of treatment serves as the 
 basis for the reduction of all other metals from the intractable to the tractable condition. The process of casting is but 
 rarely made use of in the manufacture of either plate or jewellery, since it invLilves the concealment of a quantity of metal 
 which would produce infinitely more effect if extended by the action of the hammer. Gold is, therefore, usually reduced 
 to the state of sheet or wire previously to being used ; to the former condition by beating or rolhng, to the latter 
 by what is called " drawing." Rolling is effected by passing the massive gold between several rollers, the peripheries of which 
 are so arranged as to approach each other more closely in regular series; and "drawing," by forcing solid cubes of metals 
 through apertures, gradually diminishing in diameter, pierced in harder substances than themselves respectively. In this manner 
 gold-sheet and gold-wire are produced, and a similar mode of operation will reduce almost any other metal to analogous condi- 
 tions. When the roUing process is applied to lead, it is termed " milling." 
 
 Thus prepared, either in sheet or wire, of slight substance, or excessively thin and dehcate, the gold is ready for the gold- 
 smith or jeweller, who commences beating or twisting it into form, according to the nature of the object he would prodnce. 
 Should he desire to execute embossed work upon it, he first, with a dry jjoint, traces the subject he wishes to represent: then 
 he beats it up, at first with a metal, but subsequently with a wooden hammer, into an ap])roximative form, taking care not to reduce 
 the thickness of the plate too much ; he then proceeds to back up the concave side with a composition of pitch, wax, and brick- 
 dust melted together (a substance so tough as to be called by the medieeval writers "tenax"), and upon the surface of the gold, 
 thus equally supported, he continues to beat and punch until the desired relief and form are attained; then with files, delicate 
 chisels, gravers, and burnishers, he concludes by chasing up the more delicate details, and gets rid of the " tenax " by heating 
 it, until it runs out in a fluid state. In executing large or complex pieces of plate it is usual to work all the principal con- 
 stituent portions separately, taking care to subdivide the design in such a manner that the lines of junction shall, as far as 
 possible, be hidden from observation, and then to unite the several pieces by solder. The theory of soldering once explained will 
 doubtless suggest the different variations requisite to be adopted in the process. Solder is an aUoy of certain metals fusible at a 
 lower temperature than those which require junction. In order to secure perfect tenacity it is desirable that this difference of 
 hardness and fusibility should be as small as possible : and hence the practice has arisen of combining with the solder (in a state of 
 fine powder) certain salts and resins which possess the property of assisting the fusion of the pellicle of metal which they cover, and 
 consequently producing adhesion and incorporation of surface without necessitating the liquefaction of the whole mass of solder. 
 Borax, sal-aramnniac, and common resin, are the most frequently employed of any of these substances. Among workmen, two 
 modes of thus uniting metals are recognised, the one known as hard, the other as soft soldering. Tlie former involves the 
 exposure of the whole object to uitense heat in the furnace, or to the action of the blow-pipe ; the latter is effected by melting 
 lead, tin, and resin together when brought in contact with a heated iron. It is evident that the system of hard soldering 
 must necessarily be so arranged, prior to the commencement of the elaboration of any piece of plate, as to ensure that all the 
 soldering may as far as possible be executed at one time, since, without an extraordinary degree of nicety and attention, 
 exposure to the furnace a second time would undo all that might have been effected at the first operation. Great care must 
 also be taken in any subsequent heating, for the purposes of colouring the gold, &c., that the temperature of the flro shall not 
 be raised above that degree at which the soldered joints would liquefy and become disunited. Without the power of soldering, 
 it would be an impossibility to execute any elaborate work in filigree or torsion of wire ; modes of combination peculiarly 
 appropriate to the design of jewellery in gold, in consequence of the extraordinary pliabihty of the metal. 
 
 This ])roperty of extreme toughness peculiarly adapts gold to the operation of stamping, — a mechanical process wiiicli materially 
 assists in economising labour, and in reducing the prices of all articles of bijouterie produced through its adoption. It is thus 
 performed;- — An approved design is countersunk, or engraved in intaglio, after the manner of gem-cutting, upon a steel die. 
 This, which is called the " matrix," is struck, by a press similar to that used in coining, into a cube of soft iron, which 
 of course presents the design in relief instead of intaglio ; this soft iron die being tempered into hard steel, is then impressed in 
 another cube of soft iron, and thus a second edition of the matrix is obtained. Prom this second "matrix" as many more dies 
 as may be necessary are obtained by a repetition of the same process, without any risk of injury to the original intaglio. On 
 one or any number of these steel dies, a thin sheet of gold is extended, upon which is placed a thicker sheet of lead. On 
 beating this lead with a hammer, the percussion gradually drives the sheet of gold into the indented form of the steel dies, and, 
 on finally removing the gold, it will be found perfectly adapted to the intaglio into which it has been forced. It is in this way 
 that a large quantity of cheap jewellery is fabricated annually in this and in other countries. In consequence of the cost of the 
 steel dies, they can, however, only be employed by the manufacturer in small patterns, adapted for the most general and whole- 
 sale circnlation. 
 
 All gold artieh's, xvhcn finished as far as their formation is concerned, require the superficial graces of coloiiring, matting, 
 biu-nishing, pcjlishing, &c. "To gild refined gold" is not altogether such a paradox as might be supposed, since the purer the gold 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 xxxiii 
 
 the more colouring does it require to give it the splendid doep tint that we m iiiucli admire. The process is thus effected ; — A 
 paste is made of equal parts of verdigris and sal-ammoniac, to which is added one-twentieth part of nitre and a little white 
 vinegar ; this paste is spread with a brush over all those portions of the gold proposed to be coloured, to about the thickness of a 
 knife blade, and the piece of plate is then exposed to the fire ; as soon as the verdigris seems consumed, the vessel is plunged, 
 still quite hot, into a bath of cold water impregnated with some alkali. In tliis manner a slight coating of copper is given to 
 tlie gold, which infinitely enhances its beauty. A matted surface is obtained by delicately tapping all the parts requiring a dead 
 sm-face, either with a broken or unbroken punch. Bmiiishing consists in rubbing with a steel or agate burnisher, and is most 
 effectively applied to ^\Iiat may be termed the high lights of the metal-work. General polishing is effected by friction with 
 powders of different degrees of gi-anulation, so as to substitute one series of microscopic scratches for another, until the last 
 become utterly unappreciable by the naked eye, and a briihant lustre is the consequence. 
 
 VI.— SILVERSMITHS' WORK, AS PRACTISED IN THE PRESENT DAY. 
 
 The design of a piece of plate of an elaborate description having been cbawn, the modeller proceeds to embody it in wax, 
 finishing every portion of it with a degree of precision equal to that which is requisite for the finished object. Assuming that 
 the body of the work is to be formed in what is called repousse, or beaten-u]) work, a sheet of silver is cut into the form of 
 the object when developed upon a plane surface, and rudely beaten into a hollow, or dish fonu, by wooden mallets. The requisite 
 degree of concavity having been given to it by hammering, ornaments in basso or alto-rehevo are obtained by applying the 
 internal surface to an iron rod, which is made to vibrate by the frequent blows of a hammer on the end of the iron farthest 
 removed from that in contact with the silver. The continued action of these vibrations, regulated by the skill of the workman, 
 gradually gives the requisite form to the ornament. The rough developement of minute projections is obtained by more pointed 
 irons of a similar description. In order to define more perfectly the form of these projections, the silver vessel is filled with a 
 composition of pitch and ashes, so that blows with punches of various sizes may be applied to any part of its exterior without 
 injury to the general form. Wlien by this counteraction the relief of the ornament is modelled up, the finishing touches and fine 
 edges are given by means of chasing with the graver. The pitch is melted out, and that portion of tlic piece of plate is ready 
 for the subsequent processes of cleaning, polishing, &c. 
 
 Where certain portions of the object require to be cast, the moulder takes a mould in intaglio from tlie original wax model. 
 Into this mould he lays portions of sheet clay, answering in substance to the desired thickness of metal. By pouring in liquid 
 plaster at the back of the clay a core is obtained, on the hardening of which the sheet clay is removed, and melted wax is poured 
 in between the two plaster-moulds to take its place. The small piece of wax thus cast is made to serve as a pattern for the 
 final casting in sand-moidds, the silver being run into the two halves of the mould, so as to fill up the space originally occupied 
 by the wax which was removed to make way for the metal. When the requisite number of these small pieces are cast, and their 
 edges trimmed up, they are neatly fitted one to another. Solder is placed between them, they are connected together by wires, 
 and by the action of a gas blow-pipe upon the solder-joints the whole are united. The patience and dexterity required for 
 foi 'miiig an elaborate piece of work, consisting frequently of from thirty to forty or even more of these small castings may be 
 readily conceived. As an illustration of the extreme difficulty this subdivision of parts involves, it may be noticed that in the 
 formation of the great candehibnun contributed to the Exhibition of 1S51 by Messrs. Hunt and Roskell, there were at one time 
 no fewer than six hundred fragments distributed throughout their workshops, the whole requii-ing to be adjusted and brought 
 together in the manner described, so as to make up the whole object. 
 
 In order to abridge tlie laboiur consequent upon the formation of frequently-recurring patterns, stamping, by means of steel 
 dies, is often resorted to. These dies, or forces, are engraved in intaglio, and brought down with a heavy pressure upon sheets 
 of metal placed beneath them, in a manner similar to that we have described as necessary for the formation of brass die-work 
 and gold-stamping. In open silver-work the perforations are cut out by hand, but in eommoner work by means of steel dies 
 prepared for the purpose. 
 
 When the article is completely put together, all the imperfections are removed by riflles and otlu-r tools. Every part is 
 carefully chased, so as to give the utmost precision to the ornaments and variety of texture to the different portions. The 
 whole is then cleaned down and polished by a succession of rapidly-revolving brushes, in connexion with which various substances, 
 of a greater or less degree of fineness, are successively employed, until the scratches at fii'st produced by the operation become 
 imperceptible. In those parts in which a dull finish is desired, the effect is obtained by the application of a small metallic 
 brush : and wliere, on the contrary, extreme brilliancy is required, that result is produced by rubbing the parts with burnishers 
 o( steel or bloodstone. A white frosted appearance, or " dead finish," is obtained by covering parts of the object with a coat 
 of pulverised charcoal and saltpetre, or argol, bringing it to a red-heat over a charcoal fire, and finally quenching it in a pickle 
 of sal enixou. 
 
 The employment of dies has been carried to so great an extent that many ordinary objects — such as spoons, forks, &c. — 
 can be formed out of sheet-metal at a single blow. 
 
 VII.— SILVERSMITHS' WORK, AS PRACTISED IN THE TIME OF THEOPHILUS. 
 (TWELFTH CENTURY.) 
 
 The picture of the method of working the precious metals during the Middle Ages afforded in the writings of Theophilus* 
 is so perfect, that, although it enters into somewhat ]5rolix detail, we have determined on printing his description of making the 
 "large chalice" intact. "If you wish," says he, "to construct a large silver chalice of four, or six, or ten marks, you will first 
 purify and prove all the silver in the fire ; aftenvards divide it in the order before described.! After this take two pieces of iron, 
 
 • Wc are glad here to be enabled to express our ileep gratitude to Mr. Hcodi-ic for bringing this autbor .so prominently before tbc public, and for euricliiiig liia 
 traiisJution with, such eopiotis and admirable nutca. 
 + See Theophilus, book iii. ehap. 24-26. 
 
xxxiv 
 
 FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 equally long nnd wide, of the measure of a palm and thick as a straw, evenly beaten and without Haw, and carefully smoothed 
 with a plaue ; make between these m iron biudiiig, beaten smoothly and moderately thick, which you will bend in fashion of a 
 circle, of such size as it may be apparent to you that it can be filled with the silver you wish to cast in it. And when you 
 linvc bent it dti not join the ends together, but you will separate them a little, that an opening may appear through which you 
 can pour in. You will adapt this circle equally between the two iron (plates), so that its ends may appear a little beyond the 
 irons, and bind these with three strong iron hooks in three places, namely, below and on each side near the opening, and thus 
 plaster beaten clay around the circle, between the irons, and abundantly about the opening. When this mould has become dry 
 you warm it, and pour in the melted silver. All gold and silver which is founded in this manner is always sound (unless it 
 happen through great negligence) for working in it whatever you may wish. You wdl measure the circles, also, according to 
 the quantity which you wish to found, and you make larger and smaller: after you have beaten out the melted silver as above, 
 fill it with wax, and beat it on the body, if you wish to hiive ribs flat or round; these stand around like small spoons, 
 both wdiich kinds of work give great ornament to the chalice. 
 
 " If you wish to ornament which ribs with niello take heed of tins, that the silver be thicker, and so act that one rib may 
 be gilt and the other blackened i it is always necessary that they shoidd be in pairs. When you have beaten out these, file 
 them evenly, and portray Greek foliage in those places which you wish to make black, and carve with a bold stroke, and 
 sculpture their grounds with graceful circles and with fine work. 
 
 " O/i applii'ing the Gems and Pearls.' — Afterwards cut these in pieces, like straps, so that every l)and may have a wire, wliich 
 you will bend together, and make small settings of them, by which the stones may be enclosed, large nnd small, to the size of 
 each one, and you wdl arrange them in their places. You will also have flour of wheat or rye, whi(:li you will mix with water 
 in a small cup and place over the coals, that it may become a little warm. In this you dip these settings slightly, one by 
 one, each in the lower part, and so fix them in their place. All being made fast, place the piece of gold upon which you have 
 fastened them over the coals, until the nmisture of the flour is dried, and they will soon adhere. Take also the fine wire and 
 beat it slightly upon the anvil, so that it may be rather thin, and yet that the beads above and below may not project nor lose 
 then- form ; with them you will weave flowers, large and small, with which you wdl fill up all the grounds between the settings. 
 AVhen you have formed these with the fine pincers, dip them into the wet flour, and you will thus put each into its place. Which 
 being done, place it over the coals that it may become dry, and immediately anoint the soldering, and solder it as above. Both 
 pieces of one handle being soldered and made firm, join them together, and place a foundation to them around them near their 
 inner edge, — namely, a thiu piece of gold, which may be like a straw, and smooth everywhere. When you have joined which 
 piece between the two, bend three small thin pieces of iron, and make small stays, which can hold the outer pieces of gold in three 
 places outside, so that the third, which compasses the inside near the edge, cannot be disunited. This being done, anomt the solder 
 everywhere, and you will dry it a little over the fire, and the coals being arranged and glowing, you make a hollow among 
 them, in which you place the handle, and about this you will arrange the coals in order, so that they may not touch the gold, 
 but rise around it like a wall, until they dominate the gold; and you will then place above it two or three slight pieces of 
 iron, which may pass across. Over this yon will place the coals everywhere, and cover it carefully — so, however, that some open- 
 ings may remain among these coals, through which you can see how the solder flows. AVlieu you see which, instantly sprinkle 
 it with a little water : you take it out, and will gently wash and dry it, and, carefully considering it, if there is any fault you 
 correct it, and again anointing it as before, you mil solder it ; and do this until it is made firm everywhere. In this manner 
 you wdl make the other handle, and solder it. Which being accomplished, join them both to the cup of the chalice in their 
 places, and make tw^o lines upon the cup itself with a graver, by means of w-hich you can see whether they ai"e placed straight 
 in soldering. Then melt piu-e gold, and mix with it a third part of red and pure copper, which, likewise fused and slightly 
 beaten, you will file altogether and place in a goose-quill. After this accumulate before tlie furnace a great heap of coals, and 
 place ill them the cup of the chalice, so that half of it may be altogether under the coals, and that part upon which a part of 
 the handle is to be placed may altogether rise above them ; you immediately join which (handle) on to it, and anomt the vase 
 with the handle, inside and out, with the soldering, and you will scatter the filings which you had placed in the quill inside and 
 out with the solder, about the junction by which the handle is miited to the cup ; and thus, fire being placed around, you will 
 heap the coals in a curcle, as you did before about the handle, and place the irons over it, which you cover plentifully with coals. 
 In the front part, within the hollow of the cup, place the coals in the shape of a small furnace, so that the coals may lie thickly 
 around the circumference, and that a small opening may appear in the midst, through which it can be blown, that the heat above 
 and below may be equal. And when you see the solder flow about, and as if undulating, a third time, sprinkle it carefully with 
 a little water, and, taking it out, wash and dry it, and again solder it similarly, and until it adhere very firmly. And, turning 
 the vase on the other side, join and solder the fellow-handle in the same manner," 
 
 VIII.— CELLINI'S METHOD OF MAKING LARGE SILVER VESSELS BY REPOUSSE, AND 
 VARIOUS PROCESSES OF CASTING. 
 
 The following description is closely translated from the twelfth chapter of the celebrated Treatise on Goldsmiths' Work, by the 
 great Eiorentine: — 
 
 "The silver having been cast in iron plates should be left to cool, as they thereby become harder and more solid. AVIieii 
 cold, the dross should be removed from their sm-l'aces. A razor some\\diat blunted, and two-and-a-half fingers wide, slioukl now be 
 provided and fixed upon a stick, which should have in the form of a cross two handles, these latter being about a half braccio 
 (one foot English) from the point of the razor, which shoidd be bent about three fingers, and prepared so as to scratch; for with this 
 razor the plates of gold or silver (as the case may be) will have to be scraped in the following manner : — The plate must be 
 heated till red as the fire, and thus hot placed on the sheet of iron used for its casting, to which it must be nailed. The 
 
 * Thcophilus, book iii, chap. S3. 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 stick on which the razor is fixed being placed against the ivorkman's shoulder, with both his hands on the handles (forming t!ie 
 cross), he should scrape forcibly on the sheet till the sm-face of the silver appears and becomes clean. 
 
 " I will in this place mention some things I observed when working in Paris, wliere I executed works of tiie greatest 
 difficulty, and of the largest size possible, iu massive plate-work. Wliile I was scraping some silver sheet in the above described 
 manner, a workman of mine, a Fleming, named Claude, a very ingenious and able young man, observed to me, that altho\igh my 
 method of scraping the plates was very excellent, still in the way in which he was accustomed to work them, both the time and 
 tlte scraping were saved. Hearing this, I said I should be glad to learn his method, and thereupon I gave into his hands a pair of 
 silver vases weiglung about twenty pounds each, for him to execute, following however my models. When he had melted and cast his 
 silver, and cleaned off the dross, he began beating the plate without scraping it, and gave it its proper form, as we shall describe 
 further on ; thus did he save the labour of the scraping, a plan worthy I think of imitation. Many other excellent methods 
 did I also learn there, which I at first thought were in consequence of their working in excessively fine sdver, but I afterwards 
 found that it resulted from their great skill in this art; for I saw that all the inferior alloys of silver were finished with the 
 same facility and perfection as were observable in works of real silver. Thus did they work without spending any time in 
 scraping the plate, not failing, however, to remove, as they showed themselves, any flakes which the plates might from time to 
 time throw up. Notwithstanding all these advantages, on reflection, I should prefer the first to the second method, that is to 
 say, the scraping system, for the reason that I have found it Iji.'tti.'r, 
 
 "I will now describe the way of making a vase of an egg-shaped form. Amongst the number wliich I had to make in 
 Rome there were two of this shape, more than a braccio (about two feet English) in height, with their handles and with moutlis 
 contracted at the top ; they were also wrought with foliage and diverse animals : one of them was for the Bishop of Salamanca, 
 and the other for Cardinal Cibo. Vases of this sort arc called ewers, and are placed upon buffets for the purpose of display. 
 All the numerous vases I made for King Francis, which were much larger than the above, and on which I wrought with much care 
 several chased works, I executed after the same method. When I had cleaned the plate of its dross and cut off the corners, 
 I scraped it on both sides in the manner I have before described; and as it liappcns that the plates are cast longer one way 
 than the other, by using the hammer I brought them into a round form ; and when the plate had been heated to a red heat 
 (not too much so, however, or it might split), I placed it on the anvil and beat it with the point of the hammer sharply from 
 one angle to the other, driving the pouit well into the metal. I continued thus hammering from ah foiu- corners, till the lines of 
 hammering crossed each other, and then also with the point of the hammer I worked towards the sides ; after so beating and 
 heating it four times, I succeeded in making it round. Having determined the measm-e of how wide the body of the vase 
 was intended to be, I worked the plate to tiii-ee fingers more than that width, always observing to keep the plate as thick in the 
 middle as possible ; before, however, this size is obtained by hammering, the centre should be determined as follows : — Place upright 
 on an anvil a pointed iron tool, one flnger thick and six long, not sharp but blunt-pointed ; on this the plate must be balanced 
 till it is quite sti-aight and even, and when so, let an intelligent boy give a blow with the face of the hammer directly on the 
 part over the point, so as to mark it on the plate. Many workmen are able to do this without any help, particularly with 
 small plates, but in the larger ones it cannot be dispensed with. The plate shoidd then be tm-ned over upon the anvil, and using 
 a hammer upon the iron point, the mark should be made stronger ; a pair of compasses being now applied, using this mark as 
 a centre, as they are turned round, the inequalities of the plate will become apparent ; and by continually re-heating and 
 re-hammering, the silver will be transferred to tliose places where it may be wanting, being very careful, however, not to lose the 
 point of the centre. The plate having been -worked to a size of three fingers larger than the body of the vase is intended to 
 be, the compasses should be again applied, and besides the cu-cle we have mentioned, several others should be made, about a 
 finger's width from each other, until they come up to the centre. A sort of hammers must be now used, the heads of which 
 ai-e a finger thick in the points and a finger and a half on the other face ; the points should liave the corners rounded off, and 
 shaped as is the ficsliy point of a finger; with these the plate should be beaten, commencing from the middle, that is to say, 
 the actual centre, being careful not to lose the mark, renewing it by striking with the same point we previously described in marking 
 it in the first instance; and working witli the hammer iu a spkal manner round the marks and circles made by the compasses, 
 heating the plate continually. Beating it in this manner, the silver mil spread out in the fonn of a cup, such as the body of 
 the vase requires. Having been careful to keep the point of the middle, the silver must be hammered out equally, for, should it hang 
 more on one side than the other, the silver would be unequally distributed and the work would be ugly. Beat thus the plate, 
 til! it becomes as deep as the body of the model is high, and then, using various anvils suitable to the form of the vase, and 
 striking with either the face or the point of the hammer, and sometimes without placing it on the anvil, the beating shoidd be 
 continued till the plate has taken the entire form of the vase; the name given to these anvils is cow's tongue {Ihiffua di vacca). 
 The rim or projection should be levelled at this time, as it determines the proportion of the body of the vase ; this is done upon 
 a sort of bent anvil made for this purpose. The beating should be commenced by degrees, holding it in the most advantageous 
 way for facilitating the contraction of the neck, always being careful to remove any flakes which may, as the work proceeds, make 
 their appearance. AVIien, then, the neck has been contracted and formed according to the model, if basso-relievo have to be 
 introduced into the body of the vase, it shoidd be filled with black pitch, and shoidd be set out and drawn upon with a 
 burnished steel graver ; either figures, foliage, or animals, being the subjects, according as the artists may desire to ornament it. 
 The whole should afterwards be carefully redrawn with a pen and ink, with all that neatness and skill which is looked for in 
 good drawing, after which the punches are to be used. These are iron tools of the length of a finger and large as a goose- 
 quill, increasing up to the size of two quills, and are arranged in various shapes. Some of them are made like the letter C, 
 beginning with the size of a small c, and increasing up to that of a large one. Some are much twisted, others less so, &c., 
 tOl at last they come to be quite straight. These last, in diminishing, should finish with being the size of a man's thumb- 
 nail, the diminutions extending to the number of sk. These punches, being applied to the work, should be skilfully struck with 
 a hammer of the weight of three or four ounces, thus by their means profiling all that had been drawn. When this has been 
 done, the vase should be surrounded with a slow fire, for the purpose of removing the pitch which had been put within it, and 
 then it shoidd be boiled in a mixture of tai-tar and salt, in equal quantities, as has been already described. 
 
 "Another description of iron tools is now to be used; these are called snarling-irons, and are a sort of anvil with long horns, 
 made of pure iron, long or short as may be wanted; they require to be fixed in a block, as is customary with other anvils. 
 
XNXVI 
 
 FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 One of tlie horns is placed within tlie vase, with the point (which should be rounded in the form of the little finger of the 
 hand) turned upwards; this horn of the snarling-iron will cause that part of the work of tlie vase against which it is placed 
 to rise as may be desired, by striking with the hammer the other horn, making the former one, which is in the vase, to vibrate 
 upon the silver, and so bulge it out as much as may be wished. Having thus raised all the figures, animals, or foliage which 
 had been desif^ned, the vase should be re-heated and whiteued as before mentioned, and then be replaced in the pitch and worked 
 with other chisels made as above; except that their ends should be of the form of beans, and diminishing from large to small, 
 jj, jg jj^ip ^j^jjj other shapes than these are used, according to the customs of the artificers, for various are the methods I have 
 seen adopted by masters of this art. This, Iiowever, is of little importance; it. is sufficient to say that the tools arc required to 
 bulge and not to cut the silver. 
 
 " To return, however, to our description, tlic work should be again removed from the pitch, and re-heated ; this should be 
 repeated two or three times, as may be requu'ed. When tlie figures, &c, are brought nearly to the last finishing, remove the vase 
 fi'om the pitch, and work with wax upon the mouth and handle of it various elegant and fancifid devices, improving them from the 
 first-made model ; when these ornaments have been completed in the wax they should be moxilded. The methods of doing this 
 are various : some of thera we think important to be described for the benefit of the artificer. 
 
 "I will begin, then, with that which I consider the easiest, and which I adopted in working the vases for King Francis. I 
 first took some of the earth used by the casters of cannon, which being dried I sifted well, and then mixed with it some shearings 
 of fine cloth, and a little cow-dung passed through a sieve ; all of which I beat carefully together. I then ground some tripoly, 
 and haviu" made it as liquid as a painter's colour, I laid it upon the wax modelling, (to which I had added in the same wax all 
 the inmates and vents required in casting; placing, as was my custom, all the vents below, and bringing them up to the ingates 
 above, being careful in casting to keep these vents so far away from the ingates that the silver may not run into them, and 
 so prevent their acting properly,) and having laid on one coat only of this ground tripoly, I left it to dry, and afterwards I laid 
 over it a quantity of the mixture of earth, &c., as much as would, when dry, be of the thickness of a finger; this also I left to 
 drv, and then I bound the work round with iron wire, upon which again I laid more of the mixture, but not so thickly 
 as before : the purpose of this is that it may hold the portion laid first more tightly. The whole should now be brought 
 close to the fire, keeping the mouth of the wax downwards over a basin ; and by exposing it to a temperate fire, the wax 
 will by degrees run out. Care should be taken not to make the heat too great, for should the wax boil in the mould the 
 latter would be spoilt. The wax having been withdrawn, the mould will separate of itself from the vase. Thus the wax being 
 removed, that part which was attached to the vase should be well closed with the mixtm-e, and tied up in various places with 
 fine iron wire; adding again some more of the mixture until the wire is no longer visible'; and then the whole should be placed 
 to bake in a brirk iuLii;ice supphed with charcoal, the latter being fired at the same time that the mould is placed within. With 
 this species of cartli the whole heat of the fire may be applied at once, which cannot be done with other earths not mixed and 
 compounded as is the one in question. "When the mould is well baked, and whilst the silver is melting, place it within an 
 earthenware pot capable of easily receiving it, and fill up the unoccupied space with sand, not wet; but somewhat damp; this will 
 bind the mould in the same way as is done with those of cannon placed in trenches. When the silver is melted, cool it with 
 some well-pounded tartar, and have ready a piece of linen cloth folded in three or four folds, well saturated with oil or grease, 
 to place over the mouth of the crucible ; then take up the crucible with the pincers, and pour the melted silver into the mould. 
 The workman should have several sizes of these pincers, large, medium, and small, according to the quality of the diff'erent 
 crucibles, and to the quantity of silver required to be melted;. for they are useful in binding the crucible together, so that it 
 may not break, a danger to which the artificer is much subject ; for it often happens, that, in beginning to pour in Uie silver, 
 when a small quantity has gone in, the crucible cracks, and all the labour of the workman is destroyed in a moment. Let 
 the artificer then in this process exercise his greatest skill and care ; and whilst he is filling the mould let bim direct an assistant 
 to hold with a pair of tongs the piece of linen cloth, so that it may not fall from the mouth of the crucible ; for by retaining 
 it there the silver is kept hot, and, moreover, it prevents any bit of coal or other matter falling into the mould. 
 
 " It sometimes happens that there are on the vase some little masks, as is indeed customary. When the wax has been detached 
 from the vase, the moulds of these masks should be taken, and in the hollow a layer of wax, of the thickness of a thin 
 knife-blade, more or less, should be laid, in substance according to the required solidity of silver ; taking care that it be equally 
 distended ; this wax, on account of its equality and thinness, is called ' la lasagna,' (a thin paste made in Italy). To this 
 mould, having made also in wax the ingates and vents as described before, (namely, attached to the bottom, and coming up to 
 the ingate,) cover it altogether with the before-mentioned composition, and tie it up in the same way with iron wire, and pom- 
 in the silver. The handles and feet also of the vase should be cast in the same manner, and should not be wrought with the 
 hammer : in large vases particularly I would advise the artificer to make feet by casting, for, having to bear so much greater 
 weight, were they beaten out of sheet they might twist. 
 
 " I wiU mention, also, one or two other methods of moulding this sort of things, so that the artificer may select tliat which 
 most suits him. The one which follows is very much to the purpose. 
 
 "I pounded some fresh moulding plaster and passed it through a sieve, the like I did also to a brick of terra cotta ; I took 
 two-thirds of the latter, and the same quantity of plaster, and diluted both of these with water till they were of the consistency of 
 a sauce, adding thereto some burnt plaster. Using then a soft hog-hair brush, I laid this composition upon the wax, in the same 
 way as I had done with the mixture of earth. But the plaster should be all laid on at once (for if laid gradually it sets), 
 and afterwards, with a wooden trowel or ladle made for the purpose, add as nmeli of it as the thickness of a finger, and then 
 leave it to set. When it has done so, tie the mould with fine, well-tempered ii'on wire, and then dilute with water the remaining 
 brick and chalk which has not passed through the sieve, and put it over the mould to the thickness of a knife-blade, and so 
 that it may perfectly cover the iron wire ; always observing, that the larger the mould the thicker must this outer shell be. 
 When the artificer is not driven by hurry to finish the work quickly, as is generally the case, he should place the mould in the 
 sun, or some dry place, or where there is smoke, and there leave it tiU all dampness has left it. After this, with a temperate 
 fire, he should cause the wax to run out ; when it is all removed he should quickly increase the fire, and bake his moiJd in 
 the same manner as we described that of earth, &c. to be baked. This is all that has to be done in this system of moulding ; I 
 hold it to be an excellent one, and very suitable for expedition, according as the artificer may be more or less pressed for time 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 xxxvii 
 
 in finishing his work. There is another manner of casting the above-mentioned articles wliich I will also describe. The workman 
 should take the wax models and divide them into several pieces, and then mould them in powdered earth and in boxes, as before 
 explained. When they are moulded in the best way they can be (and I now s])eak of tlie under-cuttings, which arc unable to 
 come out of the powder), cast these latter in lead; they can be then cleaned and thinned as the master may desire; after this 
 mould them, and cast the silver in the same boxes. This is also an excellent method, because, when the artificer has motdded 
 the wax models in lead, he can reduce thcLi' thickness according to his wish ; moreover, these lead-moulds wi!l sei-ve on such other 
 occasions as may occur." * 
 
 IX.— THE ARTS OF CHASING, JOINING, SOLDERING, SANDING AND GRAINING, OR GIVING 
 TEXTURE, BURNISHING, HATCHING, AND COLOURING PLATE 
 OF THE CINQUE-CENTO PERIOD. 
 
 The following very interesting and characteristic account is also translated from the " Trattato dell' Oreticeria" (Chapter 5) ; — 
 
 "All those articles, which amongst goldsmiths are called small-ware work, are wrought with punches and chisels; such as rings, 
 pendants, or earrings, bracelets, and certain medallions (worn in hats and caps) made from very thin gold-plates, on which 
 figures are worked in low, half, and perfect rehef. Amongst goldsmiths, Caradosso da Milano, who, in the times of the Popes Leo, 
 Adrian, and Clement, executed many most excellent works of this description, remains, in my mind, unsurpassed. 
 
 "In treating of the two nsual methods of working with the chisel, one of them being less easy of execution than the other, 
 we will first describe that followed by Caradosso, which was the most difficult of the two. 
 
 " That worthy artificer made, in the first place, a most careful model in wax of his subject, and filling up with clay the under- 
 cuttings, cast it in bronze ; he then took a plate of gold, the thickness of which increased towards the centre, not so much, how- 
 ever, that he could not easily bend it, its width being also greater than that of his model. Having heated and worked the 
 plate to a raised form, he placed it on the bronze model, and then hammered it with tools or punches made of birch or wild cherry, 
 gradually causing the plate to take the forms of the figures on the model; taking care, however, that the gold should not break, using 
 his tools, whether of iron or wood, with great dexterity on either side of the plate, and always striving to render the gold of an 
 equal thickness thronghout. The carefidness of Caradosso in this was very great. 
 
 " When he liad brought the medallion to the height of relief he desired, lie commenced the forcing of the metal between the 
 legs and arms and behind the heads of the figures ; giving to this much attention : and havmg brought the parts so well together 
 that their edges joined, he cut away the grounds which remained under the legs, arms, and other parts of these figures, as he also 
 did to all the remaining parts which were detached from the field, + 
 
 " The work being brought to this point, he commenced the joining it by the method called soldering by fusion or heat, which 
 he did as follows. He took a lump of verdigris in its purest state (not having been previously used for any purpose), the size of 
 a walnut without the rind, a sixth part of sal-ammoniac, and as much borax ; ground them well together, and with the addition 
 of a little very pure and clean water, liquefied them in a glazed bowl. When this composition became of the consistence of an 
 oil-colour, he, with a wii-e, laid a slight thickness of it upon the before-mentioned parts to be joiued, i. c. between the arms and 
 other parts of the figures ; and upon this composition of verdigris he placed with his borax-box a little well-gi'ound borax : he then 
 made a fire of pure unused charcoal, and placed his ivork in it, arranging the ends of the charcoal so that tltey turned towards 
 the parts he wished to join, for the reason that the ends breathe or pufl' out a little, and adjusted some pieces also over the work, 
 in the manner of a grating, taking care, however, that they should not touch it. When the metal became of the same coloiu: 
 as the fire, he began blowing with a pair of small bellows, in such a manner that he caused the fiames to play all around his 
 object. Should, however, the stream of wind be too strong, a danger woidd be caused of the work melting and being thereby spoilt : 
 for this reason he observed the gi-eatest care, and watched for the glittering and moving of the first pellicle, as it is called, or 
 outer coating of the gold. As soon as this took ]ilace, he c[uickly sprinkled his work with a little brush dipped in water; and 
 in this manner the parts became most excellently joined without any solder at all. Having, by the above method— (which is not 
 called soldering, but is rather bringing the whole work into one piece, for such is the power of the verdigris in company with 
 sal-ammoniac and borax, that only the first pellicle or outer coating of the gold is by their agency moved ; and being slightly 
 melted, these outer surfaces of the gold join in such a manner that the whole becomes equally entire and solid), — Caradosso having, 
 as I said, thus joined his work, placed it in very strong white vinegar, adding thereto a little salt, and so left it a whole night. 
 The effect of this was, that in the morning he found it whitened and cleaned from the borax. He next took some stucco.J 
 with which he filled the whole of his work, so as to be able to work on it with his chisels or punches, which he had provided 
 of all sizes, gradually diminishing from large to small, and made without a cutting edge, havmg to be used for bruising or denting, 
 and not for cutting away. 
 
 "In working the metal, some small holes or cracks will unavoidably occur; the method of joining with verdigris, "&c., above 
 described, must not, in these cases, be adopted, but a solder should be used made as follows : — Melt six carats of fine gold, and, 
 when liquefied, add of fine silver and copper together one carat and a half. With this solder, or stopping, the holes or cracks made 
 in working should be filled up ; and every time a soldering takes place some of this ' stopping ' should be put on the holes 
 previously so stopped, so that the subsequent soldering may not cause the previous one to run. All parts of the work being 
 thus soldered, he again placed it on the stucco and re-worked it with care and patience till he had brought it to perfection. 
 
 " This is the whole of the method follo^ved by Caradosso, which I freely confess I learnt from him, nor am I unwilling to do 
 SO; indeed, obhged and grateful, I continually rctiu-n him infinite thanks and praise (for to me there is no greater vice than ingratitude), 
 not wishing to assimilate myself to many who, having but just received a benefit, instead of feeling an obligation to their benefactor, 
 strive dh-ectly to injure and malignantly oppress him. As, however, it happens that I have another method of working to speak 
 
 * In tliia way, probably, the singular lead-caata used by Fran9ois Briot were made. 
 
 t "The plate should be made of the beat gold, of at least 22 carats, that of 23 being too soft for working, and that of 21.1 too hard and dangerous in 
 soldering," 
 
 J "This stucco he made of Greek pitch, mixed with a little yellow was and some wcll-po\i tided brick." 
 
XXXVIll 
 
 FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 of easier than that of Caradosso, and containing some particulars not practised by him, I do not do so with any intention of 
 obsciu'ing in the sHghtest manner his fame; the many acknowledgments made by me showing the obhgation I feel to him: bnt 
 as it often occnrs that additions can easily be made to things already in operation, so it has chanced to nie in this matter. 
 
 " I now say, then, that when the model has been made in wax and the design determined, a plate of gold of the form before 
 described (viz. thicker in the middle than at the sides) should be worked slowly on the reverse side with the large chisels or 
 punches, bulging it roughly or sketchily in the form of the wax model. Working in this way, the bronze model used by Caradosso is 
 not required, and the work would thus be much advanced in less time than the bronze model could be cast; moreover, the slight 
 staiuiu" of the gold, caused by the bronze every time the metal is heated, is not required to be removed, as it is iu the other case, 
 by glass dust (a very iiseful material, however, as it removes all fumes arising from the bronze). 
 
 *' By following the above method the artificer will avoid those impediments I have indicated, and will be able quickly to re-heat 
 his work without ever having to sand it. As some pieces which I worked by this system here occur to me, in speaking of them, and 
 shortly describing the manner in which I treated them, I think I shall better succeed in explaining to the reader what I would say. 
 
 " A Siennese gentleman, named Girolamo Maretta, commissioned me to make a gold medallion for Imu : iu this I introduced a 
 Hercules accomplishing the labour of tearing open the jaws of the' lion. I made these figures in whole relief, and so much were 
 they detached, that the heads hardly seemed to touch the ground, so slight were the junctions. This piece I executed without 
 making a bronze model, following the last- mentioned method, striking alternately on the face and on the back of the plate ; with 
 snch patience and care did I finish it, that it gained nie this reward (and I say it with the greatest satisfaction), that the most 
 excellent Michelagnolo Buonaroti condescended to come even to the chamber in which I worked to see it ; as is known to many 
 worHiv m-tificers who were present on the occasion. This occurred at Florence in the year 1528. This most wonderful man having 
 exammpd ray work, spoke of it in these (his own) terms (I do not, however, wish therefore to make these words a matter of 
 met'chaTidise, or to exalt myself, as many artificers with unbridled ambition are in the habit of doing, adapting in all their discourses 
 (Expressions purporting to have been used by him ; it having been niy practice ever to strive rather for the reality than for a mere 
 appearance), — having, as I said, examined with a careful eye the outlines, the muscles, and the attitudes of these small figures, — be 
 said — ' If this little work, finished with that cai-e and beauty which I observe in it, had been caiTied out in a large size, either in 
 marble or bronze, we should have seen a marvellous work ; and to my mind I do not believe the ancient goldsmiths could have 
 executed their works with more excellence than I find in this.' So much did these words excite me to work, that I set myself 
 to make large figOTes ; and the more so, from its having been afterwards told to ine that Michelagnolo expressed himself to the 
 effect, that one who had completed with such perfection a small work would not, in one of a larger description, have arrived at the 
 same happy result. Not for the purpose of overthrowing the opinion of such a man, but so that I might by study and practice 
 avoid such impediments as, in the carving in marble or in the casting in bronze of large figures, might have prevented me from 
 attaining that true and esteemed manner go nmch sought after in these arts, did I therefore set myself to carve and cast krge 
 subjects in marble and in bronze. 
 
 " But to return to the point from whence I digressed. The medallion having been seen by Frederigo Ginori, a Florentine 
 gentleman, who much esteemed skilful persons, he requested me to make one also for him. Being of a truly noble mind, and 
 having placed his affection upon a lady of high rank, he expressed his own idea, by mshing for an Atlas sustaining heaven, according 
 to the fiction of the poets, — giving the spirit to his invention by adding the motto, ' Smuma tulisse juvat.' When I heard this, 
 I set myself with great pleasure to serve him, and did so in this manner. I first made a small model with careful study, and 
 then I resolved so to make the medalhon, that it should have the field of lapis lazuli; and the heavens wliich Atlas is described 
 to bear on his back (the Atlas I had already modelled in wliite wnt) I made of crystal; cutting thereon with careful design the 
 zodiac and other figures of stars. This done, I prepared a plate of gold, and, with great patience, by degrees I brought into relief 
 the figm-e of Atlas; by holding in front a small round anvil, on which, from time to time working, I, with a small hammer, 
 drew the gold of the field, putting it in the arms and legs of the same figure, for the purpose of equalising the thicknesses : in this 
 manner did I almost finish the figure. This method is called ' working in the round,' from the work having nothing underneath, 
 as would be the case when placed on pitch, t. c, on the before-mentioned stucco. When I had broiight ray work to the point I 
 have mentioned, I filled it with stncco, or pitch, as we arc accustomed to call it, and by means of punches or chisels I brought it 
 up to the point I wished. I then detached it by degrees from its field of gold; but this is very difficult to explain in words. I 
 will, however, try to do so in the best manner I am able. We have said in what manner the anus and legs of the figures are joined, 
 leaving them attached to the field of the medallion ; but in the method we are speaking of they have to be detached from the field. 
 The artificer, working on a little anvil with a small hammer, should strike gently with its point, and giving a slight action to his 
 hand should, with the punches, so strike within and on the sides, as to cause the figures to become swelled up on the field. W^hen it 
 is required that the figm-es should be left detached upon the field, it should never be bulged up, and for this reason care should be 
 taken that the field of the said figure does not get out of its level ; but as in the present case of which we are treathig the field is 
 not required, it should be bulged and forced out wherever the workman may think fit. When he shall see that there remains 
 sufficient gold to enable him to join the back of the figure, then he should separate it from tlie rest of the field, and, with the gold 
 remaining on the figiu-e, joining it gently, he should solder it, and give it the last touches and finishing, without placing it any 
 more on the stucco : he should be careful also not to allow any opening to remain in his work through which the stucco might pass. 
 In such manner, then, did 1 finish my Atlas ; and on those portions of the figure which were to be placed on the lapis lazuli which 
 I had chosen for the field of the medallion, I soldered two strong stems of gold, and having pierced the lapis, I secured it well 
 thereon. Having thus finished the figure, I placed the crystal ball (representing the heavens, and therefore engraved with the zodiac 
 and other celestial figures) u])on Atlas' shoulders, it being also supported by his u])raised hands. I then added, as a finish to the 
 medallion, an ornament of gold, full of leaves, flowers, fruits, and other beautiful things, within which I set it. Thus completed, 
 I gave it to the gentleman, who expressed himself highly contented with it ; and at his death (for he died very young) he left it a 
 legacy to Luigi Alamanni, a most excellent poet,* and his particular friend : the latter, after the siege of Florence, going to France 
 into the service of King Francis, gave it to that king, considering it a fit present for such a lord. This medallion being greatly 
 
 * Author of tlie " Coltivaiioiii' ili Riao." 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 admired l^y Francis, caused his mnjoaty to cuiKbsceiid to iiujuin; uf Alamaiuii who miglit be the master who had made it: and 
 was thus tlic means of my being afterwards called into his service. 
 
 " Being also fit for our pm-pose, I will here speak of a gold clasp of a round form, which I miidc for Pope Clement the 
 Seventh, with which he fastened his mantle, and partly of the manner in which I worked it. This clasp was of the diameter ot 
 a palm (three inches), and from its large size very difBcnlt to work, for in small works the material is more obedient to the hand. 
 My labour in this was so much the greater, inasmuch as I was tied to certain jewels which were to be set in the compartments 
 of it ; amongst them was a diamond, which had been bought at the price of 36,000 scudi (about 7000/.) Upon this most noble 
 gem I adjusted a figure of our 'Heavenly Father,' seated, and giving with fitting dignity the benediction; the head and arms 
 of which I had made quite round, the remainder being attached to the field. Around this figure I arranged more than one 
 troo]) of angels ; of these some wound themselves round the borders of the robe, and some I arranged with skill amongst the 
 other jewels I had to employ ; part of these cherubs I made in whole rehef, some in middle, and others in low relief, accordmg 
 as I wished them to appear neai- or distant, following in this the rides of design and perspective. Having made the model of 
 the exact size of the intended work, I took a sheet of gold, larger by a finger all round than it would be when finished, and 
 commenced bulging it in the middle, striking it with small hammers on the face of an anvil; but on the inside I struck it with 
 the point of the hammer, thus causing it to swell up very much in the middle ; and where I observed that it was too thick_ 
 I worked with the punches on either side, till the piincipal figure, that of the 'Father,' began to assume a suitable form. In this 
 way, little by little, using all sorts of punches, with patience and enthusiasm, I made the gold plate obedient to me, and in a 
 few days I very nearly got the figure of the ' Father ' quite round. 
 
 " AVliilst I was thus quietly working, in consequence of certain invidious persons belonging to this profession having said, to 
 some familiars of the Pope, that I should not succeed with honour in this work, and that I was worldng in a manner very 
 different from that of Caradosso,— both more dangerous and less beautifid,— the Pope sent "for me, and gently asked me if, after 
 I had brought to him the model in wax, I had made any other? I therefore showed him how much I had up to that 
 time done, to his very great content and picasm'c ; and he was pleased to favour me with words to this effect (speakhig, turned 
 towards the many gentlemen who were around hiui, and, perhaps, some of them the same who had dune nie this evil turn), 
 ' that I had greatly improved upon the model which I had already submitted to him.' His Hohness then inquired of me how 
 I should manage to work out of the plate the little angels which were in the model, without spoiling that which I had already done? 
 I replied that, in the same manner as I had relieved the figm-e of the 'Father,' I should be able to bring up those of the angels, 
 that is to say, bulging little by little the gold plate with the punches on either side of it, till I had by degrees distributed the 
 gold to where I found it was most requu-ed; tliat as there were some of them in very high relief, to bring them up to the 
 required height I should have to treat them in the same manner as I had adopted in the figure of the ' Father,' but that aa 
 the others were in less relief, I should not have so much difficulty with them, adding, that the greatest labour in working the 
 above plate was in keeping the gold of an even thickness. When I had said this, his Holiness asked mo why I had not fol- 
 lowed the method of Caradosso in working ; to which I said shortly, that that artificer, before he began to work, made a bronze 
 cast, a method which appeared to me to cause greater difficulty and to consume more time ; that, had I been governed by his 
 system, I should have been obhged to piece and join the work several times; thus exposing myself to the dangers which in 
 soldering the fire is apt to cause; whereas in the method .which I had adopted in working the plate, such necessity would not 
 occur, and 1 shoidd get forward more easily and with greater despatch. 
 
 "Leaving his Holiness thus satisfied, 1 departed, and returning to operate on the above work, I commenced with my pimches 
 relieving the cherubs, which were in number fifteen, without having to solder in my work any cracks whatever. After having 
 joined the gold between the heads, arms, and legs of these little figures, I began detaching them from the field, and joining 
 that part of the field which had been separated by the portions I had detached ; and I then with great skill soldered 
 them, adopting the method before spoken of — that is to say, making the soldcrings with 'stopping.' When it occurs that 
 works of so large a size have to be executed, the skilfnl artificer should be careful to put them into the fire as little as pos- 
 sible, for the purpose of avoiding their being soiled by the solderings, for, should any enamelhngs be required, such soifings would 
 iuti-rfcre with their clearness. For this reason I got into order all the splits, and all those parts that I had joined together, 
 such as the arms, the legs, and the heads of the figures, and when properly arranged I soldered the whole work in one firing : 
 \iorking thus, in four firings I managed to solder everything. The solderings being completed, I set myself to clean tliem care- 
 fully, particularly those on the field, and when I saw that these were clean and quite e([ual in thickness, placing niy work on 
 the pitch, I worked at it with the punches ; and as there were, as I have said, figiircs of infants in both high and low relief, 
 and also another sort, on the field of the work, which had been wrought with only the large punches, I profiled the whole of 
 them, and afterwai'ds taking my work from the pitch, I well roasted or tempered it in the fire; and replacing it on the pitch 
 with its bottom up — that is to say, burying the figm-es in the pitch (having for this purpose rendered some of the latter some- 
 what more soft than I had it at first), I commenced depressing with the small punches those cherubs which I had profiled from 
 the face of the work, and forcing out somewhat more those which had to appear more forward than the others. Having done 
 this, I took the work from the soft pitch and replaced it in the first or harder sort, thus always working it up to greater 
 perfection. 
 
 " There were, as I have said, several jewels to be set in this clasp. For this reason, I made a bottom with a hook 
 or clasp, which fixed it to the papal cloak, and I worked it with various sorts of shells, masks, and other things, whicii I 
 thought would add greater beauty to the work. This bottom plate I fixed on with screws, which held it most strongly, nor 
 could it be seen how it had been joined. I afterwards enamelled the work in several places, particularly in the frieze which 
 was aroimd it. Finally, I gave it the last finish in this manner : — To smooth down on all the parts which were represented as naked 
 tlie marks of the punches, chisels, gravers, and files, which are used in such works, I provided several shps of stone, with points 
 shaped like chisels. These should be four or five in number, and the chisel-like points shoidd diminish ni proportion. There 
 is nothing which gives greater beauty to this kind of works than an excessively clean surface ; and this can only be obtained by 
 means of certain stones. The result of their use is, that the surfaces left by the iron tools do not appear by any means so 
 much coloured as before. I therefore, with these stones, called snake-stones, adding a httle well-pounded pumice, and using their 
 points, levelled and cleaned the naked portions of the figures. In finishing the draperies with which they were clothed, I have 
 
xl 
 
 FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 been iii the Iwbit of making a tool from a very thiii aud Jiighly-tcnipcred piece of iron, whicii, when broken in half, provides 
 on the broken surfaces a very fine grain. With these broken surfaces I worked upon the draperies, by striking the tool with a 
 hammer weighing a little less tlian a couple of sciidi {two ounces) ; aud thus I gained the effect I desired. This method is 
 called by goldsniitha graining (or giving texture). To give effect to the heavier di-aperies a small pointed iron tool (not broken) 
 must be used. By hammering this upon these draperies, the appearance of a thicker material will be produced. This has the 
 name of granulating. To mark the separation of the planes of the field, a thin and well-sharpened chisel miist be used, and 
 with this they should be scored crossways, as otherwise they would not show at all well. This has the name of hatching, 
 
 " After I had done these things, I placed the button in a well-cleaned glazed basin, and caused some young boys to make 
 water thereon, the urine of these being warmer and purer than that of men. After this I commenced the colouring. The colour 
 is composed of equal parts of verdigris and sal-ammoniac, very clean saltpetre being added, to the amount of a twentieth part 
 of the two former. Tha whole of these I ground togetlier. They should, however, never be ground on either iron or bronze, 
 but upon stone ; either porphyry or any other — porphyry, however, being the best. When well ground up, they should be put 
 into a glazed porringer, and the couiposition diluted with wliite vinegar till it be of a consistency neither too liquid nor too 
 solid. This composition I applied with a very fine hog-hair brush over the work equally, the thickness of the blade of a knife, 
 I then liglited a fne with half-burnt charcoal — that is to say, charcoal which, having been previously used, had lost its power — 
 and made the coals sufficiently level for tlie work to stand thereon. Having put the work on this fire, I took with the tongs 
 sonic well-lighted coals, and applied them wherever I found the composition too thick, observing carefully that the verdigris burnt 
 equally, and did not crack in the l)urning ; for there is a difference between causing it to burn and causing it to dry upon the 
 work. Should this occur, a good colom- would not be produced ; moreover, it would be difficult to afterwards detacli it with the 
 brushes. When the verdigris ia very nearly equally bm'nt, the work, thus dried and hot, should be taken from the fire and 
 placed on a stone or wooden table, a clean basin being tm'ned over it, and there left till it be quite cold. It is then to be 
 covered all over with the childi'en's urine (we have spoken of), contained in a clean glazed basin, and cleaned with hog's 
 bristles. This ia the method to be followed when there is enamelling ; but works that are not enamelled may, as soon as the 
 verdigris is burnt, be placed thus hot in the urine and then be finished. The above were the methods I adopted in this 
 work ; and when I came to the setting the jewels in their places, I did not fail to do that with my best skill, by means of pins 
 and screws, ti.ving the ground in this way as strongly as though it had been soldered. 
 
 " I think it well here again to warn the artificer who may have to set large and small jewels together in such works, to see 
 that they are arranged in his design with judgment, for it often happens that goldsmiths will adapt with great disproportion 
 some large gem as an ornament to a small figure, thinking that the diflicidty arising from the largeness of the jewel will excuse 
 them, as oceuiTcd in this same button ; for the Pope being resolved to have therein a figure of God the Father, many of the 
 goldsmiths in their designs placed the great diamond directly in the breast of tlie figure, and as it was impossible to make the 
 figure large in proportion to the gem, it resulted that there was but little grace in such an allocation. The Pope was sensible of 
 this fault, for having looked at many models (mine was the last), he said to those masters that he would have wished the diamond 
 not to have been so employed. In reply they said, that it would be difficult to arrange it otherwise. His Holiness making then 
 a sign that I should approach and show my model, he saw that I had employed the diamond as a sort of seat, on which I had 
 placed the ' Father.' So much did this niodel please him, that he at once consigned the work to me. Therefore (as I have 
 said), do I advise the goldsmith liaving to set similar jewels, to be careful to observe good proportion and good design in his 
 work. 
 
 " There is also a practice in this art of gold-plate working of making small figures of the sl/,e of half a braccio (about one foot) 
 or less, as may be requked, which I will illustrate by the means of an example, as I have hitherto done. At the time I was 
 working at Rome, there was among the Cardinals a ]jious custom of keeping in theu" cabinets the image of the Blessed Jesus 
 Christ on the cross, in size rather more than a span ; — the first which had been made were worked in gold with excellent 
 design by Caradosso, for which he had received one hundred gold scudi a-piece. As I have done with regard to the medallions 
 of sheet gold, I will now also do by treating first of Caradosso's method of executing these crucifixes, and then mentioning mine, 
 which, for the reasons I shall give, I think easier and safer than his. When Caradosso had made his model the exact size of 
 his intended figure (the legs being separated, that is to say, not laid over, as is customary in crucifixes,) and finished it as he 
 wished, he cast it in bronze ; he then took a slieet of gold of a triangular shape, about two fingers larger all round than the 
 model, this he placed on the bronze crucifix, and using small, but long wooden hammers, he continued beating till he gave it 
 a form rather more than half relieved ; then, taking his punches and hammer, he carefully hammered it on either side, thus 
 giving to his figure that rehef which he thought sufficient. Afterwards, with the same punches and hanmiers, he beat the rims 
 which remained of the gold of the figme ; so that at last, in touching each other, the roundness of the head, body, arms, and 
 legs, was formed ; he now filled it with stucco, and with his punches and hammer again went o\'er the whole, working up the 
 chief muscles of each member of his figure with great feeling and skill. Removing it from the stucco he joined the gold 
 togetlier carefully in the before-mentioned manner, leaving open a hole between the shoidders to enable him to take out the 
 stucco ; he then gave the finish with his small chisels ; and when he was near to the last working which the figure had to receive, 
 he gently laid the feet over each other. Such was the method followed by the above artificer. I only differ from him in this, — . 
 that in such works I cannot countenance the adoption of bronze, it being in its nature most inimical to gold, aud causes it to 
 break, introducing great difficulty into the work. I, however, by means of punches and various anvds (called by goltlsmiths 
 snarling -irons,) with the skill and certainty acquired by long study in the art, contrived to complete my works without first 
 casting in bronze ; by this method of mine I brought my work to completion much more quickly, and escaped from the fumes of 
 the bronze, which, as I have said, stain the gold : in ail other points I adopted the system of Caradosso. 
 
 " To show to my reader that I have not borrowed these practices fi'om other artificer, but have acquired them through my 
 own industry and experience, by putting them to the test of execution, I will mention a work m plate I had to execute for King 
 Francis I. ; whieli, on account of its size (if in no other respect), is worthy of the notice I purpose making of it. This piece of 
 plate, then, was a gold salt oi' an oval form, two-thirds of a braccio in length, and the fbst base of this oval w-as four fingers 
 thick. The composition consisted principally of two figures, one representing Neptune, god of the sea, and the other Cybele, 
 goddess ol the earth. On the side where Neptune was I figured the bosom of the ocean, upon wliich was a shell, and the god 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 xli 
 
 seiitcd triuiiipliantly tlicrcon, drawn hy four uiai'iiio liui'scs, his loft luuul holding his trident, and leaning with his right arm ujxin 
 a boat, which was to contain the salt, with several skimiishes of marine monsters around; and in the waves on which the boat was 
 placed were seen fishes swimming about. This figiu-c was made from a sheet of gold quite round, and rather larger than half a 
 braccio, by means of punches and hammers, as before mentioned. Upon the other side of the salt was standing, on the shore, 
 the figm-e of a woman of the same size, metal, and roundness, representing the Earth, whose legs touched those of Neptune, one 
 being extended, the other gathered up, but crossed, my intention being by this attitude to represent the plain and the mountain. 
 In her left hand she held an Ionic temple ricldy ornamented, which served to contain pepper, and in her right a cornucopia with 
 all its beautiful appm-tenances, Upon the earth or shore on which she was placed wei'e leaves and flowers, also little animals 
 skirmishing and playing together : both the land and the sea bad thus each its own appropriate life and ornaments. Besides these, 
 in tin- thickness of the oval were eight niches ; the first four contained Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter : in the remainder 
 M-cre Dawn, Midtlay, Twilight, and Night. Thus did I ornament these niches, the angles of which, as well as several other 
 places in the work, were interlaced with little bands or threads of ebony, the contrast of their black colour adding much to the 
 beauty of the whole. Lastly, I placed this salt upon four little ivory balls, which being half-sunk in their boxes, enabled the 
 machhie, by their rolling about, to be moved backwards and forwards easily. Several parts of this piece were enamelled, such as 
 the fniit, leaves, flowers, trunks of trees, and all the waves of the sea, according as our art requires and suggests. 
 
 " Wlien I had finished this salt, and fixed a day for taking it to the king, an event happened, the relation of which wOl serve to 
 conclude our treatise, and also will show to skilful men that, though subject to the scheming of envious and malicious persons, they have, 
 in fact, no cause to fear their evil designs. A certain Monsignore, whose name I will not mention, envying, for what cause I know not, my 
 s\iccess and the honoiu- shown me, devised a plot against me worthy of his own weak mind. On the day the king was to look at this work of 
 mine, this gentleman tried, by distracting his majesty, to prevent him from so examining my work as to perceive the extreme pains I had 
 taken ; — even to such an extent are vile minds lu-ged by malignity. The day before that on which I was to go before the king, this sagacious 
 old man, knomng of the arrangement, paid me a visit, showing me, at the same time, some antique bronze figures ; small, but really 
 good : having asked rue what I thought of them, I praised them highly as they deserved, oSering to give for them a sum which 1 cannot 
 now remember : he left ine apjjarently quite satisfied. But at the time that I was exhibiting niy salt to the king, he, according to his 
 intention, being also there, and feigning to be present by chance, presented the before-mentioned antiques to his majesty, adding the 
 testimony I had borne as to their perfection and value. Having examined and somewhat praised them, the good king, tiu-ning to my 
 work, said, ' We ought to be not a little grateful to the artificers of our own time, when they also can place before us objects 
 of their own, not less beautiful than these antiques." Having said this, he dismissed me, praised and rewarded beyond ray deserts. 
 Such was the result of the cunning of this hateful old man, who aftemards paid me a visit, making an excuse for disturbing me 
 with the bronzes, by saying, that it was quite by chance he was that day with the king, ha\dng sometime back destined them for his 
 majesty. I, however, pretended not to be aware of the action he had committed, which was done merely that these figures should be 
 put into comparison with my salt. It is, however, time to conclude this treatise, and to commence tliat on the beautiful art of 
 intaglio." 
 
 X.— THE ART OF DIE-SINKING (AS PRACTISED BY CELLINI IN THE MAKING OF CARDINALS' 
 SEALS), CONTAINING ALSO HIS METHOD OF SAND-CASTING. 
 
 We translate the following particidars from the sixth chapter of CeUini's interesting work : — 
 
 " In the art of making Cardinals' seals no one has shown greater perfection than Master Lautizio, a goldsmith of Prnigia, who 
 worked at Rome in the year 15^5 — ^the making of dies for the stamps of the cardinals being his only occupation. These seals 
 arc made about the size of the hand of a child ten years of age, and have the shape of an almond, the title of Cardinal being 
 indicated by a composition of figures, and their family arms cut in intaglio. The price Lautizio received for each amounted to 
 100 scudi. 
 
 " I will now, according to the custom 1 have adopted, first speak of some works of this descri[)tion which I have executed, 
 and then of the method of producmg them, particularly describing that followed by Lautizio. In a seal I was commissioned to 
 make for Ercole Gonzaga, cardinal of Mantua, I engi-aved the Ascension of Our Lady, with the Twelve Apostles, that being his 
 title. Another, richer in the number of its figures, whicli I made for Ipolito da Este, cardinal of Ferrara, and brother of Duke 
 Ercole, I euirraved « ith a St. Ambrogio on horseback, holding a scom'ge in his hand, with which he is driving away the 
 perverse Arian crowd ; and aa St. John the Baptist also formed part of his title, in the adjuiiiiiig compartment (having made a 
 division lengthwise on the seal) I placed St. John preaching in the wUderness. For the Mautuan seal I received 200 ducats, 
 and for that of Ferrara 300 were paid me. 
 
 " In the execution of these seals the artificer should, in the first place, taking a black stone with a flat face, draw on it 
 the design which the seal has to bear, and then, with white and somewhat hard wax, ho shoidd model the relief which he 
 desires the sejd to produce in stamping. When he has well finished the wax model, he should take some bm-nt chalk or plaster 
 (volterano, or other chalk, provided it be fine), and, having oiled the wax design (using for this purpose a clean miniver brush, 
 dipped in olive oil, being careful not to lay on too much, as that would clog the model and prevent the plaster from entering 
 into the more delicate parts), he should make a boundary round it with fresh and soft earth, about two fingers in height, and 
 then pour on the liquid plaster, painting it as it were upon the wax with a largish miniver brush. When well worked in, it 
 should be left to set, and, having become firm, it may be detached from the was, which will not be damaged in the least, as, 
 from the intaglio having to be used as a stamp, tlicre can be no under-cuttings. The mould should then be cleaned from the 
 irregularities which will exist on its edges. 
 
 " Having now arrived at the time for casting, aa there are two methods of doing this — and, in silver casting, one easier than 
 the other, both being good — we will speak of each of them, so that the ai'tificer may adopt whichever may be most to his mind; 
 advising him to make trial of both one and the other, as some improvetuent may suggest itself, as occurs continually in the 
 practice of the goldsmith's art. The first method, that followed by Lautizio, wc now treat of, in which the sort of earth used 
 
xlii 
 
 rORMATlVE PllOCESSES. 
 
 by brass- workers and stud-makers, who cast the trappings for mules and horses, is «mployed. This earth is made of volcanic 
 sand, an excellent specimen of which I saw in the river Seine at Paris. On account of its good qnaUties, I think it worthy of 
 notice. It is found in au island called La Sainte Chapelle, in the middle of the Seine, is excessively fine, and has the quality, 
 so different from other sands, of not drying, as occurs so much w-itb them, when used for the purpose of casting in boxes. 
 With this sand, gold, silver, brass, and other metals can be cast. But, before we speak of the other earths fit for moulding, it 
 will be better to demonstrate the manner of moidding the plaster for casting the seal. 
 
 "Havino' the damped earth in order, and the plaster being made quite clean, it should be dusted over with some very fine charcoal 
 dust, or it may be smoked with the flame of a candle or lamp. Eilber of the metliods is good, and being so well known, we 
 iwcd not speak further of them. When the plaster cast has been dusted or smoked, it should be moulded in the boxes, which 
 ouo-ht to be large and strong enough to bind it. This being done, that portion in which the figures are moulded should 
 be well dried (we are now speaking of Italian sand, not that of the Seine, which we mentioned lately), and a cake of dough 
 shoidd be made of the shape and thickness of the proposed metal, whatever it may be ; the chalk mould should be smoked in 
 the flame of a candle, the dough cake placed thereon, and then also the other box, wliicli will have been ready baked and 
 dried. This must now be filled with the same damp earth, which umst be done with skill, so as not to break the dried 
 portion, in which the figures have been already moulded. The mould must be opened again, and the dough cake removed, and 
 the inmates should be made; also two vents on the underside— that is to say, they must both of them begin in the lower part 
 and come out from the upper, near to the ingate. This part also being dried, both of them shoidd be slightly smoked with a 
 candle, as we said before. When the mould is cold, the silver or other metal, being well melted, should be run into it, it having 
 been found by experience that the metal flows into the mould better when cold than when hot. 
 
 " There is another method, diflerent from the above, obsei-ved by Lautizio, which, as it is better in many points than that 
 ■we have treated of, we shall describe for the benefit of the reader. Over the wax model of the subject of the seal a cast 
 should be made with very fine plaster, in the manner we have before described. Some plaster should be taken separately, and 
 as much in quantity as a third part of the plaster of the marrow of a sheep's horn, whicli should be well burnt, and botli 
 one and the other should be well mashed up. To these should be added as much as a foiu-th part of the whole of tripoly, 
 and the same quantity of pumice, and all the ingredients must be well pounded up together. When this has been done, as 
 much -water (as will suffice for tlie materials) should be added, mixing it up into tlie form of a sauce, neither too thick nor too 
 liquid. The plaster mould made ou the wax should be now oiled with a miniver bmsh and olive oil, and put by till dry — 
 the plaster by its nature absorbing the oil, when it has of itself dried to such an extent as to be yet damp (for it 
 should be neither too dry nor too moist), a wall of sand not less than two fingers high should be raised aromid it. This 
 having been done, the corai)osition of plaster, horn, and tripoly before mentioned, should be poured on the oiled mould, and with 
 a miniver brush be painted thereon, this being repeated till it has been laid two fingers or more thick ; so that at last a 
 moidd is made of an almond shape, four fingers in thickness, which substance will enable the ingate to be cut, and wOl be 
 suitable for casting in either silver or any other metal. Wlien the plaster is well dried, which it will be in about four hours, 
 the two parts should be skilfully separated, so that no portion of the subject may be broken. It may be here mentioned, 
 that it is nmch more easy to separate the simple plaster from the wax than it is to detach t!ic composition, the former being 
 stiffer than the latter. 
 
 "If it should happen that a head, an arm, or any other part of any of the figui-es, should remain in the hollows of the 
 mould, two methods may be followed in repairing such an accident. Fu-stly, — if the artificer can extract the pieces, by taking 
 some ground tripoly and using a miniver brush they can be readily joined together again ; for as the subject is in relief, it is 
 easier to see where reparation is required than when it is in intaglio. The second method is to clean carefidly the plaster, and 
 to oil it afresh, and then to lay on the composition in tha before-described manner, it being probable that though it failed in 
 t!ie first trial it will come out on a second without any defect occurring. 
 
 " I should wish that the prudent goldsmith would now pay attention to what I purpose saying. Let him make a model of 
 wax of the exact size he intends the seal to be, and of the shape before described; this being made concave, and being placed 
 on the design, let him be -careful to give to it that thickness which he intends the seal to have when cast. Then let him 
 place the parapet of sand round the wax in the manner we have already mentioned, taking care that the ingate be made so 
 long as his discretion may suggest, as it is a fact that when the ingate is long the work conies out better. Many trifles I 
 might add which, however, I consider superfluous, inasmuch as I am speaking to men who are not inexperienced in this art ; 
 I will, therefore, pass these things by. As I said before, the ingate of wax should be added to the model, and in the same 
 manner the vents should be left, fixing them underneath, but causing them to come round the seal to the ingate above, not 
 letting them, however, conmuniieate with it, so that they may breathe freely and answer their purpose. When the mould has 
 arrived at this state it should be tied up with well-tempered iron or copper-wire, and be placed in the sun or other warm 
 place, so that it may be well dried ; and afterwards it should be laid amongst some bricks put together in the form of a furnace, 
 within which a fire shoidd be made for the purpose of making the wax run out. I would here mention that the wax must 
 be pure, and unmixed with any other substance which might cause damage, because being pure, a beneficial eftect will be 
 produced. When the wax shall have been thus removed, the fire should be skilfully increased round the mould, so as to bake 
 it well ; !in improved result being thereby obtained. It must then be allowed to cool, as it receives the silver better when cold 
 thnn whun wann, it being, however, understood that in this cold state there be no dampness. The mould is now ready, and 
 the silver, being well melted, may be poured in ; and that it may not over-bm'ii, throw on it a little borax, and over that a 
 liaudfid of well-gi'ound crust of wine-butts (or tartar). 
 
 "When the cast is made, the mould should be untied and opened, or it should be put into water, which is a better 
 plan, as thereby the silver is more readily detached. The cast shoidd now be freed from the ingate's and the vents, 
 and by means of the file brought into shape. The seal being so far executed, it is customary to fix it in the stucco previously 
 mentioned, and (placing before it the first cast in plaster, which was in intaglio) to work up the silver to the effect of the 
 model with punches, gravers, and chisels ; thus completing the design of the seal, including the connexions of the figiu-es, theii- 
 draperies, and all other parts of them : for the purpose of trying the effect, it is well to often mould the portion on which the 
 artificer is working in black or other coloured wax. 
 
FORMATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 xliii 
 
 " It may be mentioned here that careful workmen wlia really love their art are in the habit <jf cutting the lieada, hands, and 
 feet of their small figures on a punch of steel, as in this manner they are better seen. Having carefully cut the above members, 
 the workman stamps them in the places where they occur in the seal by striking them with a hammer. He should also provide 
 himself with a steel alphabet, cutting in steel with the same skill as he showed in the heads, &c. the several letters. 
 
 " When I had simdar works to execute I always re-made my alphabet, for if worn out the artificer will gain but little credit. 
 The letters should be well proportioned, such as would be produced by a pen cut to ivrite somewhat thickly, which as it turns 
 in the hand woidd make the bodies of the letters even and regular. This I consider the best ride, observing, however, that the 
 letters shoidd not be either too thick or too small, neither should they be too long nor too thin, as thus they would have no 
 elegance of form — in truth, by keeping a middle course, and inclining slightly to slendenicss, error will be avoided, and they will 
 appear very graceful. 
 
 "With regard to the ornamentation of the seals, as it is necessary that they should bear the arms of the Cardinals for whom 
 they are made, I have always ornamented theru witli figures and other rich designs, never sparing any trouble. I have also been 
 in the habit of making cm-ious animals or figiu-es serve for the handles, adopting for that purpose some emblem of the gentleman 
 who had placed the seal in my hands — such, for instance, as in a small seal I executed for Ercole Gonzaga, cardinal of Mantua, 
 in which, as a handle, I made a Hercules seated on a lion's skin, with his club in his hand ; this figure, to which I gave a great 
 deal of study, was very much praised by Giulio Romano, the highly-esteemed sculptor and painter, and was thoiight worthy by 
 the painters and sculptors of that day of being imitated. Some there are who with great skill and boldness have cut seals 
 without first casting them, having only made a model or design, and in so working have gained great honour; it is always 
 necessary, however, to make the dies or punches we spoke of above, though I also have worked them after the last-named 
 manner. I. nevertheless, consider it to be an easier and safer method to cast them ; both systems, however, are worthy of being 
 tried by the artificer who strives in this art for more thnu a mere, mediocre rcputntion." 
 
 XL— ELECTROTYPE. 
 
 The electrotype process, whether applied to the reproduction of elaborate works of ai-t, or to coating with the precious 
 metals objects manufactured in baser material, has already assumed so important a position among the mysteries practised by 
 the metal-worker, that any account of his labours would be very incomplete without some allusion to this recent but highly-useful 
 invention. 
 
 The application of the electrotype process is twofold, as it may be employed to form an article, entirely by electro- deposit, or 
 merely 'to overlay an object already made in one metal with a superficial deposit of another. In the former case a careful mould is 
 taken of the original object in fine clay, plaster, wax, or gelatine, and the face of this rendered conducting, by being brushed 
 over ivith fine plumbago, or bronze powder. To obtain a quick and good deposit the face should be polished as much as possible. 
 The mould is then placed in a trough containing a solution of the metal requireil, which, when connected with a galvanic battery, 
 is gradually deposited on the inside, and becomes in its turn an exact copy of the original. By this process the shrinking and 
 distortion incident to ordinary casting is avoided, and no mechanical imperfection interferes with the form or finish of the work. 
 If the mould is taken in a porous substance, as plaster, the back must be brushed over with wax or tallow previous to its being 
 placed in the trough, otherwise the metallic solution may pass through, and form what is called " surface deposit," making the 
 face of the work rough. Electro-silvering or gilding is effected by suspending the object to be overlaid in a trough, containing 
 a solution of the metal, and placed in connexion with a battery, when a deposit of any thickness may be obtained, without 
 effacing the modelling or engraving on the original surface. 
 
 The solution of sOver commonly used consists of cyanide of silver dissolved in cyanide of potassiimi, and it is prepared as 
 follows A mixture of four parts of nitric acid dduted with one of water is heated in a vessel, and metallic silver is gradually 
 added. (The fumes from this brewing are highly deleterious, so that the operator must carefully avoid breathing them.) When 
 the silver is quite dissolved the fluid is further diluted with water, and cyanide of potassium is added so long as a white 
 precipitate is formed. When this precipitate, which is the cyanide of silver, has quite settled, the clear solution is drawn off and 
 preserved, and the vessel is again filled with water, which in its tiu-n is drawn off as soon as the precipitate has again settled. 
 When, by repeating this process tluee or foiu times, the soluble salts have been effectually washed out the precipitate is dissolved in 
 a solution of cyanide of potassium, and is then ready to be used for plating : it should, however, be previously filtered to remove 
 a black sediment wliich is generally formed, consisting of iron, silver, and cyanogen, and which, if left in the solution, would 
 settle on the surface of the article receiving the deposit, and make it rough. The strength of the plating solution may, of course, 
 be varied, but the proportion of one ounce of sdver to a gallon of fluid is practically found to be the most convenient mixture. 
 By adding a little sulphm-et of carbon during the process the deposited silver conies out burnished, instead of dead. The best 
 way of doing this is to mix one or two ounces of the sulphuret of carbon with strong silver solution in a bottle, and to add some 
 of the fluid to the plating solution as may be required. The above is the method commonly adopted, but Napier * recommends 
 as the best and least expensive the employment of a battery. " This is effected," he says, " by taking advantage of the 
 principle of the non-transfer of metal in electrolytes. To prepare a silver solution, which is intended to have an ounce of silver 
 to the gallon, dissolve 123 ounces of cyanide of potassium in 100 gallons of water; get one or two flat porous vessels, and 
 place them in tliis solution to within half an inch of the mouth, and fill them to the same height with the solution i in these 
 porous vessels place small plates of iron or copper, and connect them with the zinc terminal of a battery ; and in the large solution 
 place a sheet or sheets of silver connected with the copper terminal of the battery. This arrangement being made at night, and 
 the power employed being two of WoDaston's batteries, of five pairs of plates, the zincs seven inches square, in the morning there 
 will be found dissolved from the sheets from 60 to SO ounces of silver. The solution is now ready for use ; and by observing 
 that the articles to be plated have less siu-face than the silver plate forming the positive electrode, for the first two days the 
 plating solution will then have the proper quantity of silver in it. 
 
 • " A Mamial of Electro-metaUurgj-," &c., hy James Napier, F.CJ.S, Loniioii, 1851. 
 
xliv 
 
 FORMA'I'IVK VROOKSSES. 
 
 The aiTangements fnr the process adopted in some of the large plating manufactories is somewhat as follows ; the vat or 
 plating vessel is made about six feet and a half long by thii-tj-tliree inches in breadth, and the same depth, and generally contains 
 from 200 to 2.50 gallons of the solution; the silver plates which form the electrodes are now usually fixed upon light iron frames, 
 because these are not affected by the solution. Two battcry-troughs, consisting of sbt batteries of tluee-pair intensity, are arranged 
 at the end of the vat. Mr. Prime of Birmingham and Messrs. Eliington have substituted powerful magnets as permanent sources 
 of electricity, upon the principle now generally understood, that when the armature of a magnet is set in motion in ti-ont of the 
 poles of the magnet, an electric current is generated. This is accumidnted by large coils of copper wire, and the ends being brought 
 into the decomposing cells, the same effect is produced as results from the battery current. In practice, the armatures of large 
 magnets are made to revolve very rapidly by means of steam-power, and hitherto no loss of force has been discovered in them. 
 
 Articles to be plated are first boiled in an alkaline ley, to free them fi-om grease, then washed from the ley and dipped 
 into dilate nitric acid, to remove any oxide that may be formed upon the surface ; they are afterwards brushed over with a 
 hard brush and sand. The ley should have about half a pound of soda-ash or pearl-ash to a gallon of water. The nitric 
 acid into which the article is dipped may be diluted to such an extent that it will only just act upon the metal. When the 
 article has been thorougldy cleaned and dried, a copper wire is to be attached to it, for the purpose of suspending it in the 
 solution. It is next dipped into nitric acid, as quickly as possible, washed through water, and then immersed in the silver 
 solution, suspending it from the wire which crosses the mouth of the vessel in passing from the zinc of the battery. The article 
 is coated with silver instantaneously, and ought to be taken out after a few seconds and well brushed to remove any particle 
 of foreign matter that may still be on the surface. It is then replaced in the solution, and in the course of a few hours a coating of 
 the thickness of tissue paper is deposited on it. In depositing silver from the sohition, a weak battery may be used, but then 
 the resulting silver will be soft ; should, however, tlie battery be as strong as the solution will allow, the deposit will be equal in 
 hardness to rolled or hammered silver. The average cost of depositing silver in this way is id. per ounce. In order to scciu-e B 
 perfect adhesion of the deposit in plating large articles, a small portion of quicksilver is dissolved in nitric acid, and of this 
 solution as much is added to water as will cause it to give a white silvery tint to a piece of copper when dipped into it , the 
 article is then plunged into this hquid until the surface is white, and, after being well washed in clean water, it is placed in 
 the plating solution. 
 
 The solution for electro-gilding is prepared by dissolving the gold in tlu-eo parts of muriatic and one of nitric acid, which 
 forms chloride of gold. This is digested with calcined magnesia, and the gold is precipitated as an oxide ; the oxide is then boiled 
 in strong nitric acid to dissolve any magnesia in union with it, and the oxide being well washed is dissolved in cyanide of potassium. 
 This, which is the common method, gives a proportion of potash in the solution, as an impmity ; it is not, however, very detrimental 
 to the process. Napier prefers the battery process, which is similar to that described for silver, having a sohition of cyanide of 
 potassium, with a gold positive electrode, and the negative electrode, which may be iron or copper, in a porous vessel also charged 
 with cyanide of potnssimn. For all operations of gilding by the cyanide solution it must be heated to at least 130° Fahrenheit. 
 The articles to be gilt are cleaned in the way already described for silvering, but are not dipped into nitric acid previously to being 
 put into the gold solution, as the gilding is generaUy performed upon silver articles. The actual process of gilding is mnch the 
 same as that of silvering, and an immersion of three or four minutes is generally sufficient if the solution and battery arc in 
 good condition. The former generally contains from one-half to an ounce of gold in the gallon, but for smaller articles a weaker 
 solution will suffice. On removing a gilt article fi-om the solution it should be of a dark yellow colour, which when scratched will 
 yield a rich deep gold. If the colour is blackish it ought not to be finished, for it will never either brush or burnish up to a good 
 colonr. When the battery is too strong, and gas is given off from the article, the colour will be black ; if the solution is too cold, 
 or the battery weak, the gold will be light-coloured, so that every variety of shade can be obtained. 
 
 For more minute details of the processes we have been describing we may refer our readers to the work of Mr. Napier, from 
 which we have derived much assistance, and to those of Messrs. Smee, and Shaw, who have severally written treatises on the subject. 
 
DECORATIVE PEOCESSES. 
 
 ENAMELLING GENERALLY. 
 
 Enasiel is, per se, a transparent, coloiu'less substance, composed of oxide of lead and silex, fused together ; a small quantity 
 of oxide of tin renders the substance opaque; and when it is wished to obtain a clear and brilliant white tint, manganese is added. 
 
 The primitive material, whether transparent or opaque, when it receives the addition of oxide of golJ, acquires a beautiful purple 
 coloiu- : to procure a fine red, a mixture should be made of sulphate of iron and of sulphate of aUuiiina ; and the two being brought 
 into a state of red heat, iu a reverberating furnace, shoidd be united to the primitive colourless paste. Yellow may be obtained 
 directly from silver; and the process of staining the delicate yellow, so much used in English glass painting, from the time of 
 Edward III. downwards, may be perfectly applied to enamel. Green is given by oxide of copper; violet by black calx of manganese; 
 and bine, of the most brilliant kind, may be obtained from the oxide of cobalt. Many different authors give receipts for the formation 
 of colours ; and, as a general rule, the substances employed to give tints to stained glass produce exactly the same results when 
 applied to enamel. To obtain any variety of hue and any degree of opacity or transparency may, therefore, be regarded as perfectly 
 practicable ; although we may observe that the purity of the colours depends almost entirely on the strict attention paid to the 
 amount of heat applied to evolve them. 
 
 To enter more minutely into the structure and composition of the pigments used in the enameller's art would be wearisome to 
 the unprofessional man ; and to those who are acquainted with its details it could only be to repeat a " thrice-told tale." We shall, 
 therefore, proceed to an examination of the nature of the leading varieties of the processes of application. 
 
 These divide themselves, both structurally and historieally, into six genera, each reigning for a time, and tlien disappearing ; no suc- 
 cessive race of artists having attempted a revival or perpetuation of the manner of its predecessors. 
 
 L— BYZANTINE FILAGREE, OR CLOISONNE ENAMEL. 
 
 Firstly, then, as most primitive and original, we shall notice the "Byzantine," or "filagree mosaic enamel," which obtained 
 throughout the Eastern Empire, from about the reign of Justinian down to the latest time at wiiich her artists may be presumed to 
 have retained a distinctive and original character. The middle of the eleventh century appears to have been the time at which 
 tfiis style reached its perfection, and was most in demand throughout Europe. As the writings of the celebrated artist-monk, TheophQus, 
 have been ascribed by his learned editor, Mr. Hendrie, to this period, we may with safety trust to iiis description, as furnishing us 
 with an authentic and accurate account of the Greek method of proceeding. 
 
 Presuming the existence of a vase, which it is desirable to decorate with enamel, he gives directions for sec\irely setting 
 gems, by soldering to the flat surface of a piece of gold, to be afterwards attached to the vase, long narrow strips of 
 the same metal, perhaps the eighth of an inch in width, and the thickness of a sheet of thin paper; and then turning 
 a minute margin domi, so as to clasp the gems, which being placed at some distance apart leave cellular intervals, 
 which he thus proceeds to fill up. Having carried the gold strip round again, so as to strengthen the outside margin 
 of the chamber prepared for the enamel, he says, " Then, with the same measure and rule, you cut sniail bands of 
 exceedingly thin gold, in which you w-ill bend and fashion whatever work you may wish to make in enamel, whether circles, 
 or knots, or small flowers, or birds, or animals, or figures ; and you will arrange the small pieces delicately and carefidly, 
 each in its place, and will fasten them with moistened floiur over the coals ; when you have filled one portion you wdl solder 
 it with the greatest care, that the slender and fine gold may not be disjoined nor liquefy, and do thus twice or three times 
 until the separate pieces adhere a littk.'." As his own language is somewhat prolix, we shall venture to abbreviate the remainder 
 of the worthy artist's description. This is its piu-port : — Then take prepared glasses of various colom-s, proving previously that 
 they will all fuse at much the same temperature ; heat the pieces of each tint glowing hot, and throw them in that state 
 into a copper urn iu which there is water ; they of course fly to small fragments, and may be easily brought to a 
 fine powder ; place each colour in a small vessel, and, with a quill pen and minute spatula, fill with tlie different powders 
 the cavities formed by the filagree : enclosing the plate or band of gold so prepared in a small iron muffle, and making a 
 strong fire round about it, fan gently, and watch until the holes made in the upper part of the miiffle begin to glow. It is 
 then time to remove the iron case, which, when it has cooled gradually, may be opened, and the powder wdl be found to have 
 vitrified and become a strong enamel, enclosed by the filagree, the gold lines of which form the outline of whatever may have 
 been portrayed. It should then be rubbed down and polished, and the efl'ect produced wdl be beantifid, resembling a miniature 
 glass window, excepting that for the coarse bounding lines of the leadwork is substituted the thread-like gold filagree. 
 
xlvi 
 
 DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 II.— EARLY LIMOGES, OR CHAMPLEVE ENAMEL. 
 
 Tor a description of our second genus of enamel, " the Early Limoges," or " champlevc work," we should regret extremely 
 the absence of contemporary evidence, were we not able to console ourselves with that of Mr. Albert Way, which, though it may 
 seem somewhat paradoxical to say so, is of veiy nearly equal value. That distinguished autiquary, in his admirable paper on 
 enamd, printed in the " ArcliEeological Journal," vol. ii., informs us that this variety is termed in France champlevi', to imply 
 " that the field of the metal was removed, or tooled out, leaving certain slender lines, which serve in place of the filagree, to 
 keep one coloured enamel distinct from another, and to define the outline and chief features of the design. Tlie metal plate 
 in this instance, which in almost every known example is of copper, was chased out in the same manner as a wood-cut pre- 
 pared for printing with letter-press ; the casements, or cavities, excised on the face of the metal served to receive and hold 
 fimily the enamel, with which they were filled by means of fusion ; the face having been polished, the lines of metal were gilded, 
 and thus produced an efi'cctive appearance, as contrasted with the bright colours, to which they served as an outline. The 
 thickness of the metal gave great durability to enamelled works of this description, and unless the enamelled object or plate were 
 bent or violently bruised, the colour could not easily be detached. Some examples are, indeed, to be seen in as perfect 
 preservation as if they had only just been withdrawn from the funiiicc. The best works of this kind were produced during 
 the twelfth and thirteenth centuries." 
 
 "We have drawn thus on Mr. Way's resources, because, on comparing his description carefully with those gi\'en by Messrs. 
 Petit, Potticr, Wdlemin, and the Abbe Texier, and with the condition of alt the specimens of Early Limoges work that have 
 fallen under our notice, we have found it to possess more than their accuracy, and far less than tlieir mystification. It 
 may he well to notice that these enamels were not always placed on a uniformly flat surface, portions of the subject represented 
 being worked in the copper in relief, either, as the French term it, "en bosse," or "repousse," (that is, beaten up from the 
 back), prior to the commencement of the engraving. The same cavity was also often filled up with paste of two or three colours, 
 thus producing shades, streaks, and even patterns. It appears probable that this style of work was first manufactured at 
 Limoges in the early part of tlie twelfth centiu-y, or perhaps even earlier; and that it continued in universal estimation and 
 demand throughout Em-ope, until the frightful siege of the town and massacre of its inhabitants, by Edward the Black Prince, 
 in 1370, which finally destroyed the long hereditary art. 
 
 III.— EARLY ITALIAN, OR TRANSLUCENT ENAMEL. 
 
 This, our third variety of enamel, prevailed in Italy from about the year 1300 to 1550. Giorgio Vasari, who published the 
 first edition of his celebrated " Lives of the Painters in the latter year," describes the process very distinctly ; and as he probably 
 only echoes the result of anterior experience, we may look upon him as a sufticient contemporary authority. In the thirty-third 
 chapter of his "Introduction to the Arts of Design," be says: "There is yet another kind of work on gold and silver, com- 
 monly called enamel, which is a species of painting, mingled with sculpture ; it serves for vessels to hold water, since tliat does 
 not displace the enamel. "Whoever would labour on gold and silver has need of the finest of either metal ; this is necessary in 
 order to keep the paste in its place. You with the graver make a low relief in the silver or gold plate, leaving fine raised 
 lines here and there to separate the colours, so that when the enamel covers the plate the paste is of course thicker where the 
 sinkings are deepest, and, consequently, seems more intense in colour; where, on the contrary, the enamel forms only a very thin 
 coating to the parts which are most in relief, the high lights appear; and thus it is that ' chiar'oscuro ' is obtained. The plate 
 being fidly prepared, take glass enamels of various colours reduced to a fine powder; mix them with pure water, and keep them 
 distinct in small vessels, remembering always that those which serve for gold shoidd be different from those used for silver. With 
 a minute spatula each colour should be spread with the greatest nicety — [con pulita pidifesza) — in its place; and the gold or 
 silver plate being laid upon an iron shelf fixed in a small ■muffle, should be enclosed in an earthenware furnace of proportionate 
 size, in which a fire being lit, it should remain until the enamels run. It should then be withdrawn, allowed to cool gradually, 
 and when perfectly hard, ground down to an even face with a hone and glass powder; it may then be replaced in the furnace 
 and watched until the enamels begin to liquefy ; this second passing through the fire serves to give a lustre to the surface." 
 We have not translated the worthy Vasari quite literally, as his style is somewhat diffuse, but have rather given the sense of 
 his description, comparing it carefully with that fmnished by Benvenuto Cellini, in his elaborate treatise on goldsmiths' work, 
 with which it will be found to agree in all essential particulars. 
 
 IV.— LATE ITALIAN, OR JEWELLERS' ENAMEL. 
 
 This variety was to a certain extent eclectic, since it adopted much of the previous style in Italy, adding to it a skilful use of 
 champleve, or incised work, and its chief peculiarity was the power of covering with transparent enamel raised and rounded surfaces 
 in the highest relief. We appear to be indebted to Benvenuto Cellini for the introduction of great improvements into the 
 enameller's art. In his invaluable treatise on goldsmiths' work he details these at length, and as the particulars he gives 
 possess exceeding interest, as illustrating both the present and preceding variety, we have translated the whole chapter referring to 
 the subject. 
 
 Cellini treats, in Chapter IV. of the " Trattato dell' Orcficeria," of "the art of enamelling on gold and silver, mid of the nature 
 of the various enamels." 
 
DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 " Id Florence," says lie, " us I luive iilreiuly said, the art uf (.-iiimielliug lias Hoiu'ished to such an extent, and so eminently, 
 that the goldsmiths of Flanders and France (where this art is also much practised) have increased tlicir skill not a little by their 
 observation of the works of our artificers, judging their system of enamelling to be the true one ; but in consequence of the difficulty- 
 attending it, some, following other more easy methods, have shown considerable skill in the execution of numberless works, which 
 have been much praised by those but slightly skilled in the art. 
 
 " I, however, have to treat of the frue nature of enamelling; I therefore commence by saying, that, in the first place, a plate 
 of gold or silver, somewhat thick, and of the shape that the subject requires, must be fixed upon a composition made of Greek pitch 
 and pomided brick, carefully incorporated with a little wax, the quantity of which must be regulated by the season of the year: for 
 example, if it be winter, more wax will be iicccssnry than in the suuuuer season. Having placed this stucco upon a piece of wood, 
 large or small, according to the size of the sulijn t, llir metal plate should be heated, and then fixed upon the composition. This 
 done, mark ivith compasses an outline, wIiilIi mm lie k'ss than the edge of a knife, and then reduce the whole of the plate with 
 great care, just so much as the desired thickness of the enamel : wlien the plate is reduced to this point, di-aw all that which is 
 required to be engraved, whether figures, foliage, or animals, and cut them with the graver and with chisels with great attention. 
 Works of basso-relievo should be made of the thickness of two sheets of ordinary paper, and cut with sharp iron tools, more 
 pai'ticularly the outlines. If the figures be clothed, it should be understood that thin draperies are better displayed by the intro- 
 duction of numerous folds. It is also of great importance and beauty to fill the work with chasings and small folds or flowers, 
 such as, placed on a thick cloth, would form a damask. This treatment is the more valuable, inasmuch as, besides the beauty 
 resulting from it, the enamels on finishing do not fly; according, also, to the excellence of the ciitting will be the beauty of the 
 work. The workman should be warned (after any portions of the enamel are set) against touching the work with the chisels and 
 hammer in the hope of improving the basso-relievo, for should he do so the enamels will not hold. 
 
 " In chasing, it is necessary to rub the intaglio with some willow or nut charcoal, using at the same time some saliva, for the 
 piu-pose of better displaying the cutting, the brightness caused by the tools confusing the sight. As the work will become somewhat 
 dirty and greasy, when the engraving is finished the plate should be boiled in a lye- of ashes, in the manner before described for 
 works of niello.* 
 
 " Before proceeding to treat of the methods of enamelling in gold and silver — (in which some diversity is found, in consequence of 
 the difierent tempers of the enamels, such as occm's, for instance, with the transparent red, which cannot be used on silver), — we will 
 particularly speak of the enamels themselves. This art was in use amongst the ancients, but it has been conjectured, from various 
 observations, that they were unacquainted with the transparent red enamel, which was discovered by a goldsmith who amused himself 
 with alchemy ; and who, when tiyiiig to make gold, found remaining in his crucible, after fusing his metals, a residue, or coating, of red 
 glass, which he thought so beautiful, that, with the aid of his experience, he used it with his other enamels. This is considered by all 
 goldsmiths, with good reason, as the most beautiful of enamels, and has received from them the name of ' smalto roggio.' There 
 is another sort of red enamel, neither transparent nor of a good coloiu:, which, however, can be used upon silver, differing in this 
 also from the smalto roggio, which, as we have said, cannot be so used, many trials having proved that the silver will not receive 
 it. It would appeal', that from the smalto roggio having been associated with precious metals in the search for gold, the latter is 
 not disdainful of its presence, but, on the contrary, agrees excellently well with it. Enamels are made of all colours. 
 
 " In retiuning to enamelling, we may say, it is only another species of painting ; it is therefore necessary to be well provided with 
 enamels ; and that these shoidd be well pounded is a point of great importance, hence it is a saying amongst goldsmiths, ' Smalto 
 sottile e niello grosso,' — ' Niello thick and enamel fine.' Bruise, then, the enamel in a mortar a span in diameter, made of well- 
 tempered steel, and pulverise it with a steel pestle of a proper size, using at the same time the purest water. Some there are 
 who bniisc the enamels dry, on stones of porphyry or serpentine; but by experiment it has been found that the use of the steel 
 mortar and water is a better and cleaner method : these steel mortars are made in Milan. When the enamel has been pounded 
 very fine, wc have found it better to pour off the water in which it has been pulverised, and to immerse it quickly in as much aqua- 
 fortis as is sufficient to cover it, using for this purpose a glass vessel, and there to leave it for the space of eight minutes. This 
 done, place the enamel in a small glass phial, with a good quantity of clear fresh water, and wash it well, so that no dirt may 
 remain ; the aqna-fortis having removed all greasy matter, the water will clear oft' any earthy substance which may be present. The 
 ciuunels being washed, they should be placed each one by itself in a small vessel of glass or glazed eai'thenware, and should be kept 
 continually under' water, adding new water as required, that they may not dry up : should they do so, they would be quickly spoiled. 
 Now, let the goldsmith who is desii-ons that his enamels may turn out well pay gi-eat attention : let him take a piece of perfectly 
 clean paper, and masticate it, or soak and mash it with a hammer ; then wash it well, and squeeze out the water : this is to sei-ve 
 fis a sponge, to be apphed from time to tune to the enamels as he places them on his work, for the drier they are laid the more 
 beautiful they will become. Nor would I omit to mention another piece of advice very important in enamelling, which is this : 
 Before the goldsmith begins enamelling he should take a plate of gold or silver, and make thereon with a chisel as many small 
 cavities as he has enamels in use; he should then pound and place in these cavities a small quantity of each, for the purpose of 
 making a trial to see which may be more or less quick in fusing, it being necessary that they should all flow at the same moment, 
 for should one of them do so readily and another tardily, they would interfere witli one another, and would not produce a perfect 
 result. 
 
 " For the better application of the enamels, an instrument is used (called a ' palettiere'f) made from a thin sheet of copper cut 
 in uuitation of the fingers of the hand, to the number of five or sl\ fingers at the most, and also of a finger's width. A piece of 
 lead is then cast in the form of a pear with a stalk or stem of iron, and a hole having been made in each of the before-mentioned 
 copper fingers, they are to be placed one over the other on the iron stalk of the pear-shaped lead, which, being held before the work, 
 the copper fingers arc to be opened and the enamels placed thereon little by little, according as the discretion and skill of the 
 artificer require them. 
 
 " These points having been attended to, the enamelling of works in basso-relievo may be commenced, the vessels containing the 
 enamels being always kept covered to protect them from the dust : the same skill is now required as the painter displays in his 
 
 * Chap. ii. " After the iutnghn aliiill hiivo btpii placed hi a Ijo to boil for a qnartor of an Iiouv, it .iliuuld Ijl- laid in a basin of wvy clean aud fresh ivati^r, and 
 be well rubbed or scoured with a bmsh, so that it may be ckaued from all sort of dirt." 
 + LiteraUy, a /an. 
 
xlviii 
 
 DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 art Enamelling as we liiivo said, being very similiir, both colours and enamels being rendered liquid, the former by means of oil or 
 water, the latter by fire. 
 
 " The enamels should be taken np with a small copper spatula, and spread by degrees very thinly upon the work, distributing the 
 different colours with taste, which are green, flesh-colour, red, violet, tawny, blue, grey, and colours known as ' cappa di frate' 
 (monk's frock) and ' cavezza di moro' (Moor's bridle); such being the names of these enamels. To these must be added an enamel 
 of the colom- of sea-water, which is most beautiful, and can be used on both gold and silver. Amongst these, white and turquoise are 
 not enumerated, as they do not belong to the transparent class. The first application of the enamels is called laying the first coat : 
 this must be done very thinly, and with great care; the various colours must be placed very cleanly, in such a manner that they 
 shall not spread into one another : they should appear as though painted. 
 
 " When this has been perfectly done, the furnace, well heated with soft charcoal, should be ready. The fire should be in proportion 
 to the object to be placed therein, and when raised to the proper intensity, the work being placed on a sheet of iron so much larger 
 than the work that it can be laid hold of with a pair of tongs. With these, being taken up, it is to be brought to the mouth of the 
 furnace, and held there to become warm ; and gradually, as it becomes hotter, to be placed in the centre of it, being very careful 
 indeed, as the enamel begins to move, not to let it run altogether, but to remove it gradually from the furnace, so that it may cool 
 by degrees. When quite cold, lay the second coat in the same way as was done with the first, and retiu-n it in the same manner 
 into the furnace, subjecting it a little more to the fire, and withdrawing it also as before mentioned ; observing if the work requires 
 the addition, in any of the extremities of the different parts, of more enamel, which requires to be added with great judgment : it is 
 a thinf, however, very difficult to teach. The furnace should now be supplied with fresh charcoal, and when at a proper intensity 
 the work should be again heated; in such a manner, however, as is suitable both to the enamel and the gold. 
 
 " After this it nmst be drawn with great celerity from the furnace, and a boy should, with a pau- of small bellows, blow upon it 
 to cool it. This is to be done only when the ' smalto roggio' is used, one of the characteristics of which is, that of being peculiarly 
 affected by extreme heat, under which it not only flows as do the other enamels, but also changes from red to such a yellow as to 
 be scarcely distinguishable from the gold. This result is called by goldsmiths 'opening;' and when it does take place, it should, when 
 cold, be taken up with the tongs, and be again placed in the furnace, which should now contain a very weak fire as compared with 
 the previous one, and then by degrees it will again become red ; but care must now be taken, as soon as it "has-attained the required 
 colour, to draw it quickly from the fire, and cool it as before with the bellows,— for should it be too much heated, it would become 
 so highly coloured as to turn almost black. 
 
 " The enamels having been properly applied, shoidd now be rubbed down and thinned with snake-stones till tliey are suffi- 
 ciently transparent and show well ; and should, to finish them, be polished with tripoly. This method is called ' hand-polishing,' 
 and is the most certain and beautiful. Another manner of polishing is as follows : — When the enamels have been rubbed and 
 thinned by the above-mentioned stones, and so well washed "with pure fresh water as to be perfectly clean, they should be again 
 placed on the iron plate; and a fresh fire having been made ready in the furnace, should be placed within it so gradually that 
 they may not be suddenly warmed, and when well heated they should be left in tiie furnace till all the enamels begin to flow 
 and become very pale. This is the manner ill which is eff'ected the second method of pohshing enamels; it is performed more 
 quickly than the first ; but as all enamels by their nature contract, some more and some less, when they are poUshed by the 
 latter method, the work is less perfect than when treated according to the first system (hand-polishing). It should again be 
 observed, that where there is no 'smalto roggio' (as where the metal is silver, on which, as we have said, it cannot be used), 
 when the work is taken out from the furnace, it should be removed so gradually that the enamels may cool of themselves, and 
 not by compulsion, as is required when the 'smalto roggio' is amongst thera. 
 
 " It is a practice also to enamel pendants and other various works, in which case the snake-stone cannot be used from the 
 circumstance of there being sometimes subjects in relief enamelled, such as fruits, leaves, small animals, masks, and the like ; 
 in these, enamels most finely pounded and washed are employed. In jilacing the enamels upon such subjects in relief a great 
 deal of time is occupied, for they become so dry as to faU off when the work is turned round; to remedy this inconvenience 
 some pear-seeds should be taken (the fullest being chosen) and placed to soak in a glass vessel containing a little water; if 
 placed there over night they will be fit for use in the morning. In commencing to enamel, the enamels being placed on the 
 palettiere or fan, a single drop of this pear-seed «'ater should be put upon each of the enamels on the palettiere, and they may 
 then with security be applied to the work, this pear-seed water forming a species of size, which so holds the enamels that 
 they do not fall off; no other would answer the pm-pose so well as this formed of pear-seeds. Such are the methods to be 
 observed, nor are there any other differences in enamelling in either gold or silver to be spoken of, than such as we have 
 noticed. 
 
 " In conclusion, 1 wish to mention that Caradosso was very successful in enamelling, as I would not deprive those strangers 
 who were the equals of my countrymen of that honour which is their due." 
 
 In addition to these remarks of CeUini we may observe, that one of the most trying problems involved in the execution of works in 
 jewellers' enamels consists in the difficulty of so chasing the small gold figures, over which the enamel covering, or revetevienf, has to be 
 spread, as to leave just sufficient room for the enamel to bring the forms up to their right degree of fulness, without involving lumps of 
 enamel, which would be sure to fly in cooling. In many of the modern works which have been executed in France in imitation of 
 Cellini, the requisite amount of allowance for the coating of enamel has not been made with nicety, and the iigiu'cs are consequently some- 
 times too thin, and at other times their forms become coarse. Another point in which the modem works are defective, as compared 
 with the ancient, is, that due allowance is rarely made for modifying the thickness of the enamel pastes in proportion to their opacity 
 or translucency. The beautiful transparent ruby is too often pitt on in lumps, and the comparatively opaque blues, which need 
 body to produce their fuU sapphire tint, are laid on so thin as to produce but a washy effect. In the exquisite vase (which 
 was exhibited at the Exhibition of MediEeval Art at the Society of Arts in 1850), now the property of the Marchioness of 
 Beresford, and known to have at one time formed a portion of the crown jewels of France, the acme of perfection in this style of 
 enamelling has been reached. The ])erfect purity and sparkle of the ruby, the retention of full and rounded modelling in every 
 part, and the adhesion of every portion of the vitrified pastes, combine to render it a perfect model for the study of the art- 
 workman. 
 
DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 v.— LATE LIMOGES, OR GRISAILLE ENAMEL. 
 
 The fifth, and certoinly not the least interesting process we shall describe, was that adopted by Leonard Liinousin, in tlie 
 revived enamel manufactory established by Erancis I. about 15ilO, and which lasted until iibout 1766, when it sunk, under the 
 feebleness of its professors, the Noualhiers, into utter abeyance. 
 
 The last artist of that name presented to a friend in the beginning of this century a most valuable nianuseript, which has 
 been published by M. Maurice Ardaut, iu his interesting pamphlet, " Sur les Emanx, Ics Emailleurs ct les Oiivrages, et Ics 
 Proct'dcs de Pabrication en usage a Limoges." It bears date 1583, and may very possibly have been dictated by the father of 
 the school of Leonard Limousin, and fully details every particular connected with the late Limoges method of proceeding. To 
 quote the exact words given would require more space than we can afford : we shall therefore give the spirit rather than the letter 
 of the author's revelations. First, says he, prepare a pure white enamel for " fondason," or foundation, and break it up to a 
 powder; then spread it on a polished copper-plate all over, put the plate in the oven and thoroughly bake the ground tints, 
 after which outline with black and burn it in ; then paint the subjects either in full colours, or (as more commonly practised) in grey 
 only, and pass the plate again through the furnace, then put on with white the high hghts, ornaments, draperies, nimbi, &c. ; 
 with delicate gold hues, finish generally and burn again, when the enamel, now grown into a regular picture, may be considered 
 finished. In .order to avoid contraction, the back of the plate was always covered with the paste, so that in cooling both sides 
 might be in tension. 
 
 One very curious and characteristic practice was made use of by the late Limoges enamcUers, probably to imitate the effects 
 produced through the Italian processes by their contemporaries, Cellini, II Ilosso, and otliers. It consisted of fastening to the 
 face of the half-finished plate, by a glaze of transparent enamel, pieces of thin silver cut to the forms of draperies, &c., and 
 then painting over them, so as to take advantage of the reflecting ground and the sheen of its surface. Thus, as M. Pottier 
 observes, " The metal grew at last to be entirely subjected to the picture, although still its base or ground ; occupying a situation 
 analogous only to that of the canvass or wood in an oil painting." As tlie striking external character of all the enamels of the 
 sixteenth century is their grey tint of chiar' oscuro, I think we may be justified in calling this variety the late Limogps, or 
 " grimille." 
 
 VI.— MINIATURE ENAMEL. 
 
 The diversity the seventeenth ci:ntut'y produced may witli equal justice be denominated the miniature stifle, as it was made 
 completely subservient to portraiture, and the execution of small subjects, generally reduced copies of celebrated pictures. The 
 advance made in chemical study and the labours of Sir Theodore de Mayerue, who added many new pigments to the art (most 
 of which have been described by him in a manuscript now existing in the British Museum, and about to be published by Mr. 
 tiendrie), introduced refinements in its manipulation, but at the same time rendered it far too elaborate to be described in 
 the limits of our present work. The chief improvement consisted in increasing the number of firings, and so graduating the 
 condition and fusibility of the coloms that the hardest might be used at fu'st, and the more easily melted last ; thus admitting of 
 the greatest brilliancy and transparency of tint, and at the same time of the most elaborate finish and retouching, Su' Theodore 
 de Mayerne was physician to James I. and Charles I. in England, and to Henri IV, and Louis XUI. in France : lie was the 
 intimate friend of Petitot, the greatest master in this style, and, indeed, of all the eminent artists of bis period. 
 
 This method is the one most generally practised throughout Europe at the present time. 
 
 VII.— NIELLO. 
 
 This interesting process possesses a peculiar ehann in o\u eyes, fi'otn the fact of its having given origin to the art of 
 engraving; that glorious invention, which multiplies the beautiful creations of the artist's imagination, and thus extends to thousands 
 the enjoyment that would otherwise be limited to few. Dr. Waagen, in his "Arts and Artists in England," has given so concise 
 and lucid an explanation of this art that we cannot do better than adopt his language : — 
 
 " The goldsmiths (says he) in the middle ages* used frequently to trace with the graver in metal plates, generally silver, 
 all kinds of designs — sometimes only arabesques, sometimes figures — and to fill up the hnes so traced with a black mass of 
 sulphate of silver, so that the design appeared very plain contrasted with the white silver. In Italy, where this species of 
 ornament was applied very frequently, and -with the utmost success in the fifteenth century, this mass was called, from its black 
 colour, in Latin, Nigellum, and in Italian, Niello." In this manner chiu-ch plate was wont to be embellished. Vasari tells us 
 that Maso Finignerra, the celebrated goldsmith of Florence, about the year 1450, "was the first who, before he filled up the 
 incised lines in the silver plates with the niello, used to apply a black fluid, and laying a damp paper upon them, to pass over 
 it with a wooden roller, by which means the paper imbibed the fluid from the tracings, and thus gave a fac-simile of the design 
 on the plate." The Italian goldsmiths had also another method of obtaining impressions of their silver plates, namely, on sulphur 
 
 • Tlie practice of the tweUth teuturv is admiralilv iUiii^tratcd in the in-itiugs of Thpopbilus, tniiislntecl bv Mr. Hcndne, aa follows:— 
 
 "Of Niello. —Take pure silver, and divide \\. into t«n ,.„ik,1 ,,v,i-t--. lul.liii ' lu W ;i lliinl |>;nt of pure copper. "When TOii have placed these thi-ce quautitiea 
 
 into a ca.st-inEtid cuji. iveigh as mnch lead a.s the half of tl ... ■ ',■ ' .1. 1. 1 1, ■ .1 the sdver weighs, and taking yellow sulphur, break it very small, 
 
 mid put the lead and part of this sulphur upon a small r,,].] i ,. : i. sulphur in another castrmctal aip ; and when you have bquehed 
 
 the silver with the copper, stir it evenlv mlh charcoal, aii.l [■ ml., i; .. n .sulphur from the small copper cup, and again mix it well together 
 
 with the eharcoal and with quickness pour it into the otiier iiiolU'ii i:up upun the ,Mil|.hm which vou had put into it, and then puttuig down thu small vase 
 with which v<ia have poured out take that into which you have cast it. and pkce it in the tire until the contents liquefy, and again atimng it together, pou? 
 
 D" 
 
1 
 
 DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 _a practice whicll »i,s iJmlmUy anterior to that of printing tlu-m on paper. The late Mr. Ottley, the Duke of Bneliinglinra, 
 and Sir Marlv Sykes, have been the principal private collectors of such objects in England, and the Prn.t^room of the Bnfsh 
 Museum contains many valuable specimens. 
 
 It would be foreign to our purpose to dwell longer on this subject, but we wonld refer our readers for further mformation to 
 the works of Cicogiiai-a, Duchesne, and Mr. Ottley. 
 
 VIII. — DAMASCENING.* 
 
 •■ By damascening is generally understood the art of cuttmg out thin plates of metal into ornauieiital patterns, and fixing them 
 upon another metal of a difi-erent colour, and usually of an inferior character, either by pressme or by grooves previously made to 
 receive tlicm It would appear that wo owe the invention of these processes to the East, tor, although mention of the ornamentation 
 of one metal with another frequently occurs in the classic writers, and one Glaucus, of Chios, is even mentioned as havmg practised it. 
 still it may be questoned if these notices do not rather refer to what may be called parcel-plating than to damascemng. 
 
 " The art of cutting out one piece of precious metal and fixing it upon a baser, no doubt obtained long before the time of 
 Glaucus, and mnst be referred even to the remotest periods, when the process of gilding, for which it is a substitute, was utterly 
 nnknown. Accordingly we find the most ancient specimens of which we have any mention to have been thus executed. In the 
 breastplate of Agamemnon, the armour of Acliillcs, and, indeed, whenever armour or similar objects are mentioned by Homer as con- 
 sisting of two distinct metals, this process must be understood ; except, perhaps, in some few cases where the description would 
 equally apply to gilding. In case 87 of the room devoted to bronzes in the British Museum are the remains of the celebrated 
 Etruscan car found near Penigia, which have been executed in this manner. They consist of one or two alto-rehevos in bronze, of 
 which the figures are about six inches liigh : the ornaments, such as the bracelets, boots, and drapery, have been formed by being 
 cut out of thin pieces of gold, which were then applied to the situation they were to occupy, and afterwards fixed by being 
 hammered into chasings cut for the purpose; and where this was impossible from the nature of the work, rivets were employed to 
 secure them. The gold moulding of another article (probably the lid of a box), which has been partly destroyed, shows the rivets 
 very distinctly. 
 
 • The same institution also possesses a figure (in Case 1 of the Egyptian Room) ornamented similarly with plates of gold. 
 
 There is also close to it a small pedestal, with an inscription hi hieroglyphics, which, with the ornaments of another statue 
 Case 12), have evidently been formed by making a groove in the metal, and then forcing a thread of silver into it. 
 
 " That the Enmans by no means ahowed this art to be dormant is proved by several interesting specimens, which have come 
 down to us in spite of the ' rf<7.r rrrm,.' The bronze statue said to represent Nero (but more probably of the time of Adrian, if 
 not later), which was found in Sufi-olk in 1790, now in the British Museum, and of which the thorax presents a beautiful specimen 
 of damascening, is a convincing proof either of theh- talents in that line, or of the encouragement they gave to the more skilful 
 artists of Greece. Here the last -mentioned process has been adopted, the inlaid metal being of two kinds, viz. silver oxidised 
 in such a manner as to become quite black, and pure silver. 
 
 " There are also several pieces of damascening in the Muscmn to which we mnst attribute a Roman origin, such as the small 
 pedestal in the Bronze Room and the tablet in the Gem Room, wliich is of bronze inlaid with gold, and in which the figures are 
 applied in the same manner as we shall mention when describing the Arabian manufacture. 
 
 '• But by far the most extraordinary specimens^ are the Contomeates, a species of medals on the use and age of which much 
 learning has been hitherto nnprofitably spent, and on which the common opinion is, that they are of the period between Constantme 
 and Valentinian, and that they were used either as prizes for the victors in the Circensian games, or as tickets to the seats, or worn 
 as charms by the charioteers. Some of them have the vi/la of the head (which is frequently of Augustus, Virgd, 'ftajan, or Nero,) 
 inlaid with silver; but more fre(|iiently the ornament consists of the letters | inlaid on the field on the right side of the face. 
 
 " Pliny has a singular passage relating to the art of inlaying silver, from which it would appear that when the object was but 
 partly covered with the precious metal it was said to be the ' Punicaua Species ;' when, on the contrary, it was entirely incrnsted, the 
 appellation of ' Deliaea' was given. 
 
 " During what may be properly called the dark ages, the art of damascening appears to have been nearly, if not completely, 
 lost to the Europeans ; the only exceptions are the celebrated gates of the Church San Paolo fuori le Mura at Rome, which were made 
 in 1070 in Constantinople. 
 
 " We mnst not forget tile exquisite articles which Irish ingenuity was producing about this time, where the larger plates of 
 metal are riveted on, whilst the lacertine lines are formed by threads being fixed hito grooves previously made to receive them. An 
 
 into th. iron cmoibla. Befor. thi. cool., bet it n liltlo. and w.m it « lillle, ,od «r«n b.al il, .r.d do Ihi. miil .t n ,a.to limaod ; for lie n.tnre of mello 
 i. .uoh, that if it i. .i™l, Willi, cold it i. immediaUv lirolc, «nd die. to ticc«, nor .honld il b. m»i. .o to glow, bocn.0 .t ni.lantl, Mnete. md 
 
 How. into Ibe «,ho.. Tb= nidlo being made Ibin. jml il into , deep and Ibick oop, and ponrmg water upon it, teoal, il «p mlh a ronnd bamm., mid .1 become, 
 very .mall and laKng it out, dry il. and pnl Ib.l wbiob i. line into a Boo..-,udl and elo.e it up, but Ibal wtieh eoaraei pl.c. agam m th. ve.»l and bra™ 
 
 jt, and being again dned, put il into anotli.r (piiU. . , 
 
 " Of Arr'ti'V «• Mo.-Wben vnn b.v. Ibn. ffled many quill., lake lli. gum which i. ealM p.mb»j and gnnd a small piece of I wilh wattr in lb" »m. 
 TOM, ,0 Ihi lb. water i. mad. seu-edj tnrbid from il, and Sn.1 moiten lb. pl.c. which jon wish to blacken with Ibi. water, and, lakmg the qndl, mb olT Ihe 
 ground niello with a light in.tramonl upon il carefully, until ynu have covered the whole, and do Ihi. over the whole. Then gather cscram-ol) hot coai, and 
 placing the ™ in them, cehdl, coyer them, .o that no coal be placed nor can fJl o,.r Ih. niello ; and when il 1. bquehed, hold lb. ya«> wilh lb. pmc.r. and 
 turn il from every .id, on which you ... il flow, and in thn. lumiug il round tale care that Ih. niello doe. not fall to the ground. Bui should il not be 
 completely raifecl at llie liv-l bealiii.i ajjdn moisten it, and .u,ieii>oBo (nl.llo) a« before, and lake great care that no further work i. lonmred. 
 
 On' roU.I,iwi v..."..- .1 ... a .1..™. ..l..!!.. -cmpe all the pit. carefully which a.', blackened irilh the m.llo wilh the cutting m.lramenl. Aflerwa.d, 
 
 - ■ . ...... ., . rub the mello. wetted ivith sabva. carefully and 
 
 you have a black .....1 ■. . . ,.m ( .iMiv b..- . ..t and almoht be .^craped with lb. nad, i 
 
 Smoothly everywhe,- I .n I ,♦**, ^ and it i. quite mooth. You dio have a piece of wood from th. Ume-lroe, of the length and Ihieknc.. 
 
 of the .maUeal finger. .l, v and smooUJv out. upon which you place lid. wot powder, which come, from the .tone and »hva m rabbmg, and with thi. wood and 
 the .am. powder yon rah the ni.llo a long time and lightly, and alway. add aaliva, that il may b. wet, untd it is made bnlhant everywhere. Then lake ^a. trom 
 the hollow of your ear and when you have wiped the nieUo clean with a fine linen cloth, you anoml it everywhere, and with goat or hart a okin you wdl hghlly 
 rub it until it IB made qmle bright." ■ ■ n 
 
 * This interesting notice of the Art of Damascenteg is fram the able pen of Mr. Wdliam Burgess, a friend and pupd of the author of this work. It origm..Uy 
 appeared m the "Journal of Design and JlannfacturM, vok iii. page 161. 
 
DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 li 
 
 exam ill iition of the crozier belonging to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and anotlier, the property of Dr. Rock, shown m the 
 Mediicval Exhibition at the Society of Arts iu 1850, will explain the niamifacture better than any description. 
 
 " The ring of Ethelwiilf, hitherto cited as a proof of the talents of the Saxons in the ai't of enamel, appears to give them just 
 claims to proficiency in the more difficult one of damascening. This ring, and another in the same room in the British Museum, 
 has had the ground bearing the inscription incised like a champleve enamel ; silver cut out to the forms has tiien been beaten 
 in, and the \yhole afterwards filed to a surface. But whilst the art was well-nigh forgotten in the West, the Arabs had obtained 
 a great reputation for their beautiful productions. Thcophilus, who probably wrote in the first half of the thirteenth century, 
 especially praises the Arabs for their talents in ornamenting the metals. The principal manufactories were situated in the various town 
 iu Mesopotamia ; Moussoul or Mosul, however, on the Tigris, appears to have been the chief locality. The articles, which were 
 principally bases or mirrors, made of fatten and other alloys of copper, and ornamented with silver, and sometimes with gold, were 
 thence exported to Damascus, which being the most opulent town in the vicinity, and possessing the greatest amount of trade, by 
 reason of its being the rendezvous of all the pilgrims from the north of Asia, on their way to Mecca, naturally received the largest 
 share of those exports. It was also the nearest market for the Crusaders and Latin Christians, who forthwith gave the name of the 
 emporium to the wares themselves. By this, it is not to be inferred altogether that Damascus had no manufactories of her own ; 
 the contrary was no doubt the case, but still they must have been of a secondary nature compared with that of sword-blades, for 
 which she was celebrated far and wide. 
 
 " In the museum of the Louvre is preserved a most beautiful vase of Arab workmanship, called ' La Vase de Vincennes/ 
 which St. Louis is reported to have brought to Trance with him on his retm-n from his ill-conducted and unfortunate crusade. It 
 was probably a present from the Sultan of Damascus, as Joinviile mentions an embassy from that prince to the Erench king ; and 
 from the inscription we learn that it was made by Mohammed, the son of Zin-Eddin. This vase has been ornamented in the fol- 
 lowing manner; — The surface of the figure was cut away slightly in the middle, but much more so towards the edges, where it left 
 a rabbet or undercutting. A thin piece of gold nr silver of the reqiured shape was then applied, and its edges forced into the 
 above-mentioned under-cutting, and by this means effectually secured. There was another mode of proceeding, which, however, appears 
 to have been less commonly used. The ground having been sunk by means of chiselling and engraving, the ornaments which were 
 left in relief were pricked all over with a sharp-pointed instrument, and then the thin pieces of metal were fixed thereon by 
 pressm-c. 
 
 " Although the protracted residence of St. Louis in the East had, no doubt, a great influence upon architectural ornamentation 
 in general, and on some branches of manufacture, yet it does not appear that this beautiful ai't was practised in Europe untQ at 
 least two centuries after his epoch. At last the art was taken up, and finally secured to Europe at the commencement of the 
 fifteenth centmy, by the cunning workmen of Venice and ililan. It is more than probable tliat the first-mentioned city took the 
 initiative, by imitating the products of Oriental industry, and thereby, instead of importers, became the manufacturers. But very 
 soon the capabilities of the art became better known, and Italy, which had been the first to introduce plate-armour, now perfected 
 the invention by ornamenting it in the most beautiful and durable manner. This addition to its ornamental resources was particularly 
 acceptable to Milan, then the chief mamifactory of armour, not only for Italy but for all Europe, and the extent to which it was 
 applied to arms (both offensive and defensive) may be gatliered from the fact, that among the Italians damascening, and lavoro 
 all' azzimina, were synonymous expressions. Not only armour, however, but various other articles, were ornamented with 
 damascening by the industry of the Italian artists. These works upon iron were formed by roughening the whole siu-face of the 
 metal with a fine graver or file. The ornaments, for the most part consisting of thin threads of gold, were then fixed by means 
 of pressure ; the whole was afterwards burnished, which restored the ground, where not covered by the gold, to nearly its original 
 polish. The shield belonging to the Queen, which her Majesty hberally contributed to the Mediaeval Exhibition at the Society of 
 Arts from the Guard-room at Wuidsor, is another example of this mode of treatment ; but though we may well doubt whether it 
 was executed by the immortal Benvenuto Cellini, as the figiu-es betray a decided French style, yet it is probable that the dama- 
 scening might have been executed by some Italian artist at the French court. It was not until a century later tliat France 
 began to excel in this art ; when the productions of Cursinet added additional lustre to the reign of Henri Quatre. 
 
 " But to return to the process of manufacture. When the pattern had many solid parts and few or no thin lines, only the 
 surfaces covered by those parts were roughened and the ornaments applied as before ; the labour of burnishing was thus saved. 
 
 " Very often in this case the gold ornaments were in relief, and would of course require chasing after the pressLU'e necessary 
 to make them adhere. There was yet another way which was occasionally used. It consisted in pricking the outline only of the 
 ornaments in such a manner as to make little raised teeth, to ^vhich the gold was then fixed by pressure. When, however, the 
 ground was a less intractable material than iron, the same process was employed which we have described as obtaining among the 
 Arabs, and which process there can be no doubt came from the East through the Venetians. This was also occasionally used even 
 on iron, especially in situations liable to wear, as sword-blades, for example, where the ornamental pattern requires to be on the same 
 surface with the ground. It is to this branch of the art that Cellini alludes in an ewly part of his Lffe, where he says : — ' Soon 
 afterwards I met with some Turkish daggers, the handles of which ivere of iron, as well as the blades, and even the scabbards were of 
 that metal. On these were engraved several fine foliages in the Turkish taste, most beautifully filled up with gold.' He then 
 imitated them, and observes, ' My performances were much finer and more durable than the Tiu-kish, for several reasons; one was, 
 that I made a much deeper incision in the steel than is generally practised in Turkish works.' The other reason was, that he used 
 a different kind of foliage, the Turks employing only the chicory leaves; whereas the vine and ivy were the favom-ites with the 
 Lombards, whilst the Romans, true to their antique traditions, principally made use of the acanthus. He also talks of some antique 
 iron rings being discovered inlaid with gold, which he also copied, and for which copies he received as much as forty crowns a-piece. 
 In his imitations of them, he says, he ' wrought some of these little rings, but made them of well-tempered steel, and then cut and 
 inlaid them with gold.' " 
 
m 
 
 DECORATIVE PROCESSES. 
 
 IX.- GILDING AND PARCEL-GILDING, ACCORDING TO CELLINI AND OTHERS. 
 
 In Chapter XX. of tl>o " Trattoto ddl' Orefiocria," Collmi dcismbes the method to be followed when it is desired that some 
 
 °mLl;:.:S^s11Z;!e;*e p,aees where he does .ot wish the gold to attach itself he shoold take «,at wheat 
 fl„..-dtM whieh is gathered fro™ the walls or projectrons of the interior of the mills where ,t ts ground Th,s he should uux r„to 
 thTsitanee of a sauee. and. using a ruiuiver bruslr, sho.dd lay ,t of a slight thiekness on all those places to be left t,ngdt ; he 
 h uld tt u dry it well by a slow e!.. and after,vards he may safely gdd. Bes.dcs this there ,s another method. Pound a prece of 
 snoLuu uuci J J is hettpr. wliifhcver be used, howei 
 
 should then dry it well by a slow fire, and atter,vards he may sa.eiy guu. i.»,u>,= .... - ' 
 
 hi and make it aa a sauce .rith hartsborn glue, or with fish-ghc. which is better; whrchcver be used, however, rt she d be so 
 u,u h mixed ,dth water as to ren,ove its strength, and use this as in the previous method. Havmg however, descnbe that wl cl 
 i Lt usefttl to the artificer, I shodd advise hun, when wishing to leave parts of the sdver ungdt, to use he wheat flour. 1 
 lief object should be to work his subject well. This tnattcr of gild.ng he may safely leave to those who.c business rt ,s ; he wril 
 thus avoid all the difficulties and delays attending it." . 
 
 Many modes of eovenug silver plate ,«th gold, and mixed metal, or latten," wrth sd.er, have becrr m use at var.ous tune. 
 AmaVams, formed of quioksifver and gold, and quicksilver and pure silver, „e applied m a state of pas e to the object proposed t» 
 be giTt or silvered, and the mercury being volatilized by heat leaves the precious metal deposited on the surface m a state of ti e 
 g eat' t purity; s metimes a piece of plate brushed with a little wir>brush so as to sUghtly roughen the surface rs made red hot, 
 ! d while in tLat state, gold or silver leaf being la.d upon it and rnbbed down with a bm^usher, perfect adhesron takes p ac . 
 Parc lgilding the effec of which we aU so much adruuc, may be most ingeniously executed by usmg qu.cksdver as a morda t. 
 Wy ng H ,n the forms required to be g,lt. Gold-leaf bemg laid upon it, the mercm, ,mmed,ately undcs wrth ,t, and the apph 
 'ta of heat carrying off the qorcksUver leaves the gold adhering to the silver only m those places ongmdly touched by the 
 
 mercurv. 
 
HISTORY-INTRODUCTION. 
 
 When we reflect on the multifarious uses to which metals are applicable in a highly- cultivated state of 
 society, and what important agents of civilization they have been, — as tools — as originating barter — as serving as 
 the medium by which trade was made to take the place of barter — as associating themselves with the first 
 approximation to ideal beauty in barbaric richness, and as gradually becoming from day to day more indis- 
 pensable to all, fi'om the highest to the lowest, we could not but look upon any history, which should actually 
 record the modifications of their use, as one in which was written a memoir of the social progress of the 
 whole human race. Such a history it is neither within our power nor our purpose to offer ; our aim being 
 to trace only those fluctuations of practice which connect themselves with the cultivation of a sentiment of 
 beauty, and which are based upon the imperative law of perpetual motion, prescribing eternal change as the 
 primary condition of a transitional state of existence. 
 
 In this imperfect record we shall endeavour to apportion the amount of obsei'vation allotted to each 
 period, by a scale of affinities to what we conceive to be the legitimate scope of artistic metal-work in 
 the present generation, rather than by the archEeological interest of the subject alone ; and thus, ^vhile the 
 traditions of the Italian "bottega" will be plentiful, our record of the works of the archaic and classical ages 
 will be reduced to the narrowest possible compass. 
 
 In the present chapter, which may be regarded as simply introductory to our main purpose, we shall 
 pass rapidly in review the circumstances which led to the ultimate practice of the art of metal-work in the 
 four principal countries of Europe, — Italy, France, Germany, and England. In thus adverting to national 
 importance in connexion with this subject, we cannot but express our regret at being unable to furnish a 
 proper amount of information respecting the metal-work of Spain; but little has been written on the subject, 
 and we have as yet had no opportunity of studying in situ. Should circumstances, however, "convene," we 
 may hope at some future day to be enabled to supply this Iiiattis, valde deflendvs. 
 
 The patriarchal and archaic ages are involved in so nebulous an atmosphere, that the keenest eye can 
 scarcely seize the instant at which vapour condenses into substance, and realities take the place of "myths;" 
 and therefore it is that any reference to the legends concerning Tubal Cain, Hepheestion, and Dadalus — the 
 far-famed demigods of metal-work mythology — can serve to but little purpose in the present investigation, 
 excepting to demonstrate the extreme antiquity of the manufacture of metals. From the description of the 
 riches of Abraham in gold and silver, the presents of jewellery offered by his servant to Rebecca at the well, 
 the silver cup given by Joseph to his brother, and the ornaments taken from the Egyptians by the Israelites, 
 we are fidly prepared to meet, on such an occasion as the construction of the Tabernacle, with a description 
 of works, indicating a long-continued and fully-developed practice of the arts of metallurgy. The extreme 
 antiquity of molten and graven images, iron tools, beaten work, brazen vessels, metal mirrors, iron beds, and 
 beautiful jewelleiy, may be demonstrated from the writings of Moses alone. As if in corroboration of that 
 portion of the great lawgiver's narrative which relates to Egypt, we find, in every European collection of any 
 importance, ample confirmation of his account, in the material evidence they offer of the perfect acquaintance 
 of the Egyptians with the most elaborate processes of metal-work. 
 
 The commercial relations of Phcenicia— the country to which the invention of glass is traditionally ascribed— 
 spread, we have little doubt, a barbaric species of enamel, not oidy throughout the countries having seaboards 
 on the Mediterranean, but even in those of the north of Europe and of Asia ; and we need not, therefore, be 
 
2 
 
 HISTORY— INTRODUCTION. 
 
 surprised to find that learned- Egypt was acquainted with almost every variety of the art of glass-making and 
 enamel at the earliest period. In the Britisti Museum, several necklaces may be seen formed of small orna- 
 ments made in gold filagree, and filled in with precious stones, and what appear to be pastes, wrought and 
 vitrified by processes corresponding with those subsequently made use of by the Byzantines and ancient 
 Irish. 
 
 In speaking of the metal-work of the Assyrians, Mr. Layard remarks, that "their earrings, necklaces, 
 armlets, and bracelets, were all of the most elegant forms. The clasps and ends of the bracelets were 
 frequently in the shape of the heads of rams and bulls, resembling our modem jewellery. The earrings have 
 generally on the later monuments, particularly in the bas-reliefs of Khorsabad, the form of a cross. In their 
 arms, the Assyrians rivalled even the Greeks in elegance of design. Ornaments, in the form of the heads of 
 animals — chiefly the lion, bull, and ram — were very generally introduced, even in parts of the chariot, the 
 harness of the horses, and domestic furniture." In this respect the Assyrians resembled the Egyptians. Their 
 tables, thrones, and couches, were made both of metal and wood, and, probably, inlaid with ivory. We learn 
 from Herodotus, that those in the temple of Belus were of sohd gold. From the difi'erence in the extent and 
 richness of the work executed in the fitting up of the tabernacle and the temple of Solomon, we learn how 
 much the art of metal-working had advanced during the interval between those two events. The casting and 
 graving of the molten sea, thirty cubits in circumference, would be no mean performance in the present day. 
 For the elaboration of the works of the Tabernacle, Providence had endowed one of the sons of the tribe of 
 Dan with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, " to devise curious works, to work in gold, in silver, and 
 in brass." It is an interesting coincidence that the mother of the prince of workmen, sent to Solomon by 
 Hiram, king of Tyre, was one of the daughters of the same tribe. We may imagine what the glories of the 
 court of Jerusalem must have been, when we are told that " all King Solomon's drinking-vessels were of gold ; 
 and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold : none were of silver ; it was 
 nothino- accounted of in the days of King Solomon." From passages in the book of Esther, in Herodotus, 
 Diodorus Siculus, and Athenssus, we learn to realise the gorgeous luxury of Ahasuerus and his court; and 
 on considering the pecnhar position obtained by Greece relatively to all other nations, and especially to Persia, 
 we can wonder little at the traditions which have reached us of the extraordinary and almost fabulous beauty 
 of the metal-work produced by a people whose philosophy was art, and whose art philosophy. 
 
 In endeavouring to convey some idea of the details of this most glorious school of art-manufacture, we 
 cannot do better than draw on the result of the researches of the learned Midler, whose work is now happily 
 brought within the reach of all Enghsh readers through Mr. Leitch's translation. Speaking of ancient Greek 
 art, it is observed, that "with regard to articles of metal — such as Hephrestus, the patron of all smiths, 
 manufactured in the highest perfection — Homer celebrates cauldrons, goblets, tripods, cups, coats of mail, and 
 shields, as partly of native and partly of foreign workmanship. Besides these, there are mentioned a great 
 number of metallic and other shining articles, which it was the custom to dispose in such a way as to produce 
 a striking effect. 
 
 " On one of these works of art, the HephaL'stian shield of Achilles, Homer even describes large com- 
 positions of numerous figures ; but the very extent and copiousness of such representations, and the little 
 regard that is therein had to what is really susceptible of representation, almost completely preclude the idea 
 that he describes human works of simUar compass. Here the mode of proceeding could have been no other 
 than this, — the metal, after being softened and hammered into plates, was wrought with sharp instruments, 
 and then fastened to the ground with nails, studs, or such-like." 
 
 Restorations of the shield of Achilles have been many times attempted,— in the last century by Boivin 
 and Caylus, in the present by Quatremere de Quincy ; and it is scarcely necessary to recall the most exquisite 
 work of one of the noblest artists who has ever lived, the cAef-d'ceuvre of the immortal Flaxman. 
 
 Working in vessels was brought to much perfection after the Homeric times by means of two great inven- 
 tions. Firstly, that of casting freely in moulds, which is ascribed to a Samian master, Rhsecus son of Phileas, 
 and his son Theodorus, and which was, no doubt, of great advantage to them in the making of goblets and 
 vessels, in the fabrication of which those artists were distinguished: they appear to have flourished in the 
 forty-fifth Olympiad; and, secondly, by means of the art of soldering, — a chemical junction of metals, in 
 which Glaucus of Chios — a contemporary of Alyattes, and, probably, a scholar of the Samian brass-caster — 
 acquired fame, and in like manner proved his skill by ingeniously-wrought vessels, especially the stand of a 
 
HISTORY— INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 crater at Delphi. This Glaucus was also, accordiii<r to Pausanias, celebrated for his skill in the art of 
 hardening and softening iron. 
 
 " The working of metals with sharp instruments is what the ancients called the ' toreutic ' art, with which 
 was also combined, according to the requirements of the task, a partial casting in moulds, but particularly the 
 beating out or embossing with punches. In this manner silver was more especially wrought in the fairest 
 times of Greek art, but gold and bronze also, and even iron in many districts. This branch of art was 
 employed on armour, especially shields ; besides the embossed work, a sort of golden design served as an 
 ornament to these, which was, probably, similar to the modern damask work Qtaitsia, lavoro all' agemina) : 
 moreover, chariots, in particular, were ornamented with embossed silver. Vessels were sometimes provided 
 only with ornaments of a vegetable form, — for instance, the large silver platters ; sometimes adorned with 
 mythic representations in relief (amglypta), which were in later times often movable (emhlemata cnista), and 
 might be employed in ornamenting different goblets, which were sometimes of gold. The fame of the masters 
 in this department, and the passionate desire of the Romans for the possession of such articles, are conceivable 
 to us from particular remains. The art of the toreutes was likewise put in requisition for ornamental furniture ; 
 and that of the worker in gold, which chiefly consisted in embossing gold plates and inlaying gold wire, is 
 closely connected with this branch of art." 
 
 " The most important silver vessels which have been handed down to us from the palmy days of antiquity 
 are the cup in the Corsini collection found at Antium ; the vase, with the apotheosis of Homer, at Naples ; 
 the so-called shield of Scipio (restoration of Briseis), found in 1656 at Avignon, in the Cabinet des Medailles 
 at Paris ; the bowl found in Perm, in Stroganow's collection (the contest for the armour of Achilles) ; the goblet 
 of Aquileia, at Vienna ; the vases from Falerii (with vegetable decorations) ; the rich treasure in vessels of a 
 temple of Mercury found at Bemay. The raised work in these is invariably embossed, and drinking -bowls are 
 placed inside the vessels. The drapery and armour are enhanced by gilding, as is also often the case elsewhere on 
 the Homeric representations. The so-called disci, also, are, for the most part, merely the inner surfaces of goblets." 
 
 The extraordinary delicacy and taste of the remains of Etruscan art, preserved in the museums at Rome, 
 Florence, Cortona, &c., clearly demonstrate the wonderful dexterity in manipulation, and the feeling for beauty 
 of design in metal-work, possessed by the priniffival Italians. Some specimen of every kind of object, from 
 those involving much of the highest and most abstract design to the humblest article of domestic use or 
 ornament, is to be found either in the above-named museums, or in those of Naples, Paris, London, &c. ; and 
 from a careful study of them, and of works such as those of Count Caylus, the Museo Borbonico, &c., a 
 perfect idea of both the earlier and later Roman magnificence may be acquired. 
 
 In the Etruscan museum formed by Gregory XVI. at Rome, and in the beautiful series of antiquities which 
 adorn the cabinets of the Cavaliere Campana, also at Rome, there exist numerous indications of the refined skill 
 with which the goldsmith's art, in particular, was cultivated by the Etruscan and other primseval races of Italy. 
 Ornaments for the head, formed out of thin plates of gold, punched all over with the most graceful designs, 
 and enriched with filagree, — circlets to bind around the brows, imitating wreaths of leaves and flowers, — 
 polished mirrors, the backs of which are engraved with compositions even more beautiful than those upon 
 the well-known vases, — chains of wire, plaited as delicately as those for which Trichinopoly is so celebrated, — 
 pins, rings, fibuliE or brooches, collars, armlets, and all other objects of personal adornment, which are worked 
 in the precious metals at the present day. are more or less completely represented in those valuable and most 
 hiteresting collections. 
 
 For the presen'ation of those relics, which contribute so much to our knowledge of the arts of that 
 ancient and curious population, we are indebted to the usual practice of consigning to the tomb with the 
 remains of the deceased many of those ornaments which had been worn during lifetime ; and thus, as it were, 
 by their association with decay, these precious objects have been endowed with a vitaHty which has enabled 
 them to escape that destruction which would have infallibly overtaken them, but for their comparatively 
 sacred connexion with the dead, and their concealment in the tomb. It is, indeed, unfortunate that no such 
 practice should have contributed to a preservation of those ornaments on which the Romans of both sexes 
 were recorded to have expended such almost countless sums. So great was the passion of the last-named 
 people for sumptuous expense and novelty, that it is to be feared that out of the vast amount of spoils of 
 works of art in the precious metals, which are recorded as having been poured into the Roman treasury, 
 and as having graced her successive triumphs, the greater portion was consigned to the melting-pot, either 
 
4 
 
 HISTORY — INTRODUCTION, 
 
 to be -wasted in procurins; for the emperors and nobles the most costly sensual delights, or to be wrought into 
 extravagant forms to minister to the caprice of the Livias and Faustinas of the day. When we consider, in 
 addition to such original sources of destruction of ancient types of form, the incessant pillage which took 
 place in later times by Goths and Vandals, and the ultimate Christian propensity to convert every emblem or 
 fancied emblem of pagan worship into more Christian shape, we can feel little surprised at the fact that 
 comparatively few relics of the skill of the Roman goldsmiths should have been preserved to our days. That 
 their art was in great demand we are assured by constant allusions in classical writers ; and that their skill 
 was proportionately great may be fairly inferred by analogy from the evidence we possess of the exquisite 
 dexterity with which every variety of object was wrought in bronze at contemporary periods. Numerous 
 inscriptions — such as " Aurifex Aug.," " Aurifex AugustEe," " Aurifex Tib. Cffisaris," " Aurifices Livije" — 
 evidence the fact that goldsmiths were specially retained for the imperial service ; and there can be no doubt 
 that enormous sums were lavished upon them. 
 
 While we have to lament the dearth of such relics as might enable us to form an idea of the perfection 
 of workmanship with which w'e may imagine the artisans of the Eternal City to have gratified the imperial 
 taste, among the abundant vestiges of the later periods of the empire which have been left in the provinces 
 and affiliated colonies, many specimens of the skill of the Roman goldsmith may yet be discovered. In examining, 
 however, the various fibulre and other objects, which bear in their general form, and even detail, evidence of 
 classical design, and which the inexperienced antiquai7 is apt to at once refer to Roman skill, it is but right 
 to recognise the peculiarities which frequently betray the handicraft of the barbarian, labouring to supply the 
 wants of his conqueror, and to accommodate his cunning to the taste of his lord and master. It is the more 
 necessary to exercise this discrimination, since many objects which appear at first sight to be of pure Roman 
 workmanship, frequently exhibit processes of enamelling and glass -inlaying which there appears good evidence 
 for believing to have been essentially Gaulish, probably of Phronician origin, and to have never been practised, 
 at least to any extent, in Italy itself. 
 
 In the museum of the "Studii" at Naples, the most copious collection of objects worked both in the baser 
 and more precious metals, are principally derived from Herculaneum and Pompeii ; and from a study of 
 them there can be no doubt that the student of design might derive many valuable hints, both as to the con- 
 gruity which should exist between the purpose of a vessel and its form, and the judicious application of oniament 
 at the most telling points of the contour. In commencing any such study, he would do well to fortify himself 
 by a careful perusal of the interesting remarks on ancient metal-work pubhshed in the " Art-Journal," by 
 Dr. Emil Braun, the celebrated Roman archieologist. 
 
 As the political power of Rome sunk into decrepitude, and the arts lost all their pristine fire, the old 
 Hellenic and Etruscan traditions became effete; and there appears no reason to doubt, that by the com- 
 mencement of the fourth century the goldsmiths of Rome were but little better off than their brethren the 
 sculptors, who were obliged to rob the bas-reliefs from the arch of Trajan in order to decorate that of the first 
 Christian emperor. It is probable that robberies of such a nature were frequent in the later periods of Roman 
 history, more especially of metallic ornaments made in the purest days of the art. The fact that the richer 
 portions of the decorations of vases were for the most part made separately from the vessels they were intended 
 to adorn, led frequently to their appropriation, and to their being aftenvards set in the same manner as gems, 
 and applied to adorn objects very dissimilar to those for which they were originally intended. This species of 
 appropriation began at a very early period, since, even during the Republican period, Cicero accused Verres of 
 abstracting the cmhlemata crusta from the vessels he had borrowed of the Sicilian families. 
 
 No two circumstances can be conceived better calculated to have effected a complete revolution in the 
 design and execution of every class of metal-work than the conversion of Constantine the Great to Christianity, 
 and his removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople in the year 330. In the writings of Eusebius, Pro- 
 copius, and others, frequent reference is made to the magnificent gifts which Constantine dedicated to the 
 service of the churches at Constantinople, and to the vast sums he expended to reward the labours of the most 
 skilled artificers of the time. None of these notices are, however, sufficiently detailed to enable us to form a 
 just idea of the objects so elaborated ; but, judging only from the fact that they probably resembled the 
 debased heathen ornaments of the same period, we, probably, have no very great reason to regret the meagre- 
 ness of their remarks. Ciampini has industriously collected and analysed the majority of these allusions, but 
 without eliciting any very important information on the subject. On the death of Constantine, it appears 
 
HISTORY— INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 that the goldsmiths reiiaid the favours lavished upou them by the monarch by rendering him the last oifices 
 required by humanity; since it is related that his body was exposed on a scaffold in a golden coffin, and 
 surrounded by a great number of golden chandeliers. 
 
 The most elaborate processes of metallic manipulation practised by the Komans were doubtless carried, 
 on Constantine's removal, to Byzantium; and the Greeks, grafting upon it their early-manifested love for the 
 mosaic art, speedily originated that peculiar style of enamel which may be correctly described as being only 
 a miniature mosaic picture. The destructive spirit of Mahommedanism, and a long series of wars, have 
 destroyed all evidence on the spot; and we are, therefore, thrown for indications of style on such specimens 
 as are yet preserved in the Western Empire. How thoroughly accordant any process involving the most 
 minute and laborious art was with the character of the Greeks may be imagined, when we know that on one 
 mantle or tunic were represented as many as 600 figures in embroidery; and when we find St. John 
 Chrysostom declaring, that " in his time [.-v.d. 400] all admiration was reserved for the embroiderers and 
 goldsmiths." 
 
 From the glowing accounts given by Procopius of the splendour of Byzantine architecture during the 
 reign of the Emperor Justinian, and more especially from our knowledge of the enomous sums lavished on 
 the construction of Santa Sophia at Constantinople, we are justified in beheving, that within its walls, which 
 glowed with gold and mosaic, such a collection of utensils appropriated for the service of the Church was 
 preserved, as the world has never since beheld. 
 
 If evidence is wanting as to the precise form of these vessels, we may, at least, gather some general 
 impressions concerning the magnificence of the precious objects contained in that wonder of the world ; since 
 we are told that it at one time boasted no less than 6000 gold candlesticks, — 2 of extraordinary importance, 
 each weighing 100 lbs. ; 24 copies of the Evangelists, with golden covers, each weighing 2 quintals ;» and 
 7 massive gold crosses, of 1 quintal each. Amongst all this quantity of superb jewellery we may readily 
 picture to ourselves the exquisite character of the enamels, and the elaboration of the filagree work. 
 
 It is recorded that many of these objects were directly adopted as types, both by the Spanish Moors, 
 the Russians, the Italians, and the Persians. Tliere appears, likewise, httle reason to doubt, that as much 
 of the architecture of India introduced by the Mahommedan conquerors was derived, through the last of the 
 above-named people, from that of the Greeks,f so, many of those beautiful forms, and that special dexterity 
 which makes the filagree work of the Oriental soonar, or goldsmith, so valuable in the present day, may be 
 but lingering traditions of the glories of the barbaric splendour of the court of Justinian. 
 
 From Byzantium, as a centre of intelhgence, diverged a succession of rays which assisted in dispelling 
 the darkness which followed the extinction of the old Roman fire in many of the countries of Europe. The 
 Moors, under the Abasside kahphs, and more especially under Haronn el Raschid, obtained much of their 
 knowledge of the polite arts from the Greeks. The great and powerful Alxlerahman, king of Cordova, hivited 
 a Byzantine architect to his court, when about to construct his celebrated mosque ; and many fragments and 
 representations of ancient Moorish armour, articles of personal adornment and domestic use, still attest by 
 their style, the manifest source whence much of the ornamentation, both of ancient Saracenic and Spanish 
 metal-work, was derived. 
 
 Throughout Russia, even in the present day, the forms and ornaments of objects both in gold, silver, and 
 bronze, still evidence the traditions of the design and peculiar technical processes of the Greeks, more par- 
 ticularly in those singular enamelled diptychs, enclosing memorials of the heroes of the old martyrologies, which 
 are sold as amulets in such abundance at the gi-eat fairs of the country. When we remember that the 
 primitive cathedral at Kieff, the second at Novgorod, and all the principal structures at Moscow, are known to 
 have been executed by Byzantine architects, and in direct imitation of monuments originally existing at Con- 
 stantinople, we must conclude that, in metal-work and its artistic design, the Russians derived many important 
 hints from the practice of the Eastern Empire. This conclusion is amply supported by the evidence furnished 
 through the great national work published by the Government on the ancient arts of the country. In that 
 splendid pubhcation, engravings will be found of a most interestmg series of objects of vertu, consisting of 
 the jewellery, crowns, mitres, collars, arms, armour, and other insignia, which have been worn by the successive 
 
 * The quintal weigba about 200 lbs. avoirdupois. 
 
 t Sec "An Histoiieal Essay on Architeeture," by the late Thomas Hope, ehapters xii. and xiii. 
 
6 HISTORY— INTRODUCTION. 
 
 czars, and by the most illustrious dignitaries of the Church, and princes of the empire. In all of these the 
 cunnins; of the Greek designer is predominant, and in the riches of filagree, enamel, gems set en cahachon, and 
 the most refined damascening, the technical processes which, if not originated, were at least adopted by him, 
 are incontestably stamped with that grace and perfection with which he alone could invest them. 
 
 The principal of the monuments of Byzantine ability yet remaining to excite our wonder and admiration at 
 the mechanical dexterity which characterises them, is the celebrated " Pala d'oro," or " Paliotto," of Venice, which 
 was made at Constantinople in the year 976, and which we shall have occasion to describe in the ensuing chapter. 
 It serves as a precious frontal to the high altar at St. Mark's, and, although considerably damaged and repaired, 
 it yet, in the more ancient portions, exhibits a wonderful neatness and briUiancy of execution. Tradition 
 relates that it was made in imitation of the antependium, or altar-covering, of Santa Sophia. A small portion 
 (formerly in the De Bruges collection) of this paliotto is now preserved in the Museum of Economic Geology 
 in London. In the treasury of the church at Scala in the kingdom of Naples, a very splendid mitre, enriched 
 with similar Greek enamels, still exists. It is related (si dice) to have been given to the convent by Saint Louis 
 on his return from the Holy Land. In the Public Library at Sienna in Tuscany, there is an exquisite cover for 
 a ritual, the work in which is probably the most beautiful and best preserved specimen now in existence of 
 Byzantine filagree. It dates probably from about 1100. We have engraved (Plate XLVII.) a very graceful 
 brooch, which originally formed a portion of the Hamilton gems, and which is now deposited in the medal- 
 room of the British Museum. 
 
 The Greek artists in enamel worked but little, if at all, out of their own country, since traces of their 
 handicraft, except in Russia, are very rare, and since all those articles of church decoration in metal still 
 existing that can be clearly proved to be of Greek workmanship appear to have been executed by commission 
 in Constantinople, and not by wandering artificers. 
 
 The principal influence exerted by the Byzantine goldsmiths on the nations of central Europe was effected 
 through their connexion with Limoges, an influence the peculiar characteristics of which wc shall indicate in 
 connexion with the developement of the art of metal-work in France. 
 
ITALY. 
 
 The historian Gibbon, when referring to the removal of the seat of Empire to Constantinople, has well 
 observed, that, " like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, the name of Rome might have been erased from the 
 earth, if the city had not been animated with a vital principle, which again restored her to honour and 
 dominion." This vital principle was, doubtless, manifested in the position which was assumed by the bishops 
 of Rome as arbiters of the entire Christian world ; since from the date of that assumption down to the era 
 of the Reformation, contributions from fhe wealth of the faithful flowed in an almost uninteiTupted stream into 
 the coffers of the Roman Pontiffs. It may be well, however, to remark that, before finally depriving Rome 
 of her former position as capital of the civilised world, the piety of Constantine had enriched her churches 
 with an almost fabulous amount of precious metals. Could we hut realise the nature and ornaments of 
 those gifts, which took the form of crosses, chalices, patens, burettes, censers, and other vessels for ecclesiastical 
 purposes, a considerable insight might be gained into the original types of those objects which we have 
 reason to beheve seiTed as models from which all subsequent productions were executed; but unfortunately 
 our principal authority, Anastaaius, or rather the real author of the work which passes under his name, has 
 regarded these offerings rather with an eye to their intrinsic value than to their merit as works of art or 
 antiquarian authorities. 
 
 There can be no reason to doubt that the munificent gifts of Constantine were the best the age could 
 produce; but the mere fact that the historian should have dweli in detail upon the matter rather than upon 
 the workmanship, justifies a beUef that "Materia superabat opus," — an impression strongly confirmed by the 
 unique remains of early Christain art preserved in the Museo Vaticano, which consist but of a few vases, 
 and the famous silver coffer found in 1793 on the Esquiline Hill, and figured by Visconti and d'Agincourt. 
 
 Before noticing any of the general descriptions of the magnificence of the decorations which were 
 lavished on the sacred buildings in the more developed stages of the Church, it may be well to notice briefly, 
 in detail, a few of the leading external features of her primitive rites and usages ; and we shall thus be 
 better enabled to realise subsequent modifications in form and arrangement. 
 
 When it is remembered, that the vessels originally used for the decoration of churches, and the adminis- 
 tration of the Holy Sacraments, were in evei"y case transmitted direct from Rome to the countries proselytised 
 by her missionaries, and that those very objects famished the models upon which the practice of Christendom 
 during the middle ages was based, it becomes exceedingly interesting to trace as far as possible their 
 primitive forms and uses. The most important among them were, — I. The chalice and paten, which are 
 among the articles still retained by the Reformed Church ; U. The cross, as an ancient and most holy symbol ; 
 III. The shrines, or depositaries for the relics of the saints ; and IV. The ciboria, or coverings for the altar 
 and the consecrated wafer. 
 
 I. The earliest chahces differed materially in size and shape, both from those which were made during 
 the middle ages and those which are in common use at the present time. So long as the discipline of the 
 Western Church permitted the communion of the faithful under two kinds, that is, lioth with bread and 
 wine, the chahce, instead of having a spreading foot and a small bowl, was a large and capacious cup, 
 corresponding, to a certain extent, with those two-handled vases which were depicted on the walls of the 
 catacombs by the early Christians, and from ^^hich, in their peculiar symbolical mode of representation, the 
 vine, emblematical of the Church, is represented as gi-owing.* Historical evidence is not wanting to show that 
 even prior to the conversion of Constantine, vessels of this description, which were supposed by the Roman 
 
 * See the figures and notices in Boaio, Aringlii, Seroux d'Agincourt, Raoid Rodiette, Maitland, the Padre Marcbi, &c. 
 
ITALY. 
 
 prefects to have been used for purposes of libation, had increased among the persecuted Christians to such 
 an extent as to have excited the cupidity of those magistrates.* M. the Abbe Barraud, in his interesting 
 memoir, " Sur les Cahces et les Patenes,"f has collected numerous authorities, proving the custom of multiply, 
 ing the sacred vessels to a great number, and hanging them up in the churches by their handles. Thus 
 we find in the "Liber Pontiticalis," in the life of St. Silvester (a.d. 314) mention is made of forty 
 chalices, each weighing one pound; of fifty, each weighing two pounds; and of twenty others, each weighing 
 twenty pounds, all of solid gold, presented by Constantine the Great to the churches built by him at 
 Rome. In the life of Leo III., mention is made of one which had been offered by Charlemagne which 
 weighed no less than fifty-eight pounds. In the life of Gregory III. another is indicated of which the 
 weight equalled thirty-four pounds. In the life of Leo IV. mention is made of ten great chahces suspended 
 in a circle, and of forty others placed between the columns of the altar weighing alltogether two hundred 
 and sixty-seven pounds. It is related in the hfe of Paschal I. (a.d. 817) that that Pope caused to be made 
 for suspension in his church forty-two, of which the total weight was two hundred and thirty-one pounds. 
 
 These large chalices have now become of extreme rarity, having been entirely superseded by such as 
 were adapted for a single recipient of the sacrament, from the end of the eleventh century, when the laity 
 were refused participation in the cup, which previous practice had sanctioned as their right and privilege. 
 
 Of the substances of which the early chalices were made, commentators give a goodly list, including 
 silver, copper, tin, wood, horn, glass, &c. ; but wherever circumstances admitted, the example of Rome, and the 
 canons of the Church, demanded that the bowl, at least, should be made of one or other of the precious metals. 
 
 It may be readily imagined, that while such large vessels were in use as chahces, the patens, or patena, 
 which served to cover the chalice, and to receive the host, were of con-esponding dimensions. They appear 
 to have been round dishes from the earliest ages, and frequently ornamented with the sacred monograms, and 
 other emblems. They were made in gold and silver, and occasionally of the two metals united; one serving 
 as a rim to the other. The golden rim was often adorned with engraved gems and precious stones. Thus 
 Bulengerus tells us,J: that "Constantine made a paten out of the purest gold, in weight fifteen pounds, 
 together with a tower (for the resenation of the host), and a dove (or pix, emblematic of the Holy Spirit), 
 and adorned it with gems, hyacinths, and chrysoprases, as well as with white pearls to the number of two 
 hundred and fifteen." The Abbe Barraud enumerates many more of even greater weight similarly decorated, 
 from the first ages of the recognised Christian Church down at least to the death of Charlemagne, who 
 himself presented one weighing no less than thirty pounds to the Basilica of St. Peter's at Rome. At the 
 period when the form of the chalice was changed, the paten was diminished in size, and at the present time, 
 while in the usage of the Reformed Church it remains a goodly dish, in that of the Roman Catholic Church 
 it is usually made small and simple in decoration. Specimens of chahces and patens are engraved in Plates IV., 
 XII., XXI., XXX., XXXII., XL., XLIL, XLVI., and XLIX. 
 
 II. Ciampini adduces ample evidence to show the popularity of crosses m the time of Constantine, and 
 there exist descriptions of their frequent fabrication in the precious metals, both as fixed and pendent ornaments 
 in the churches of Italy and Byzantium. Sozomen, in the middle of the fifth century, mentions crosses as 
 frequently laid upon the altars in his time; and Evagrius alludes to those in silver given by Cosroes to one of 
 the churches of Constantinople in order that they might be fixed upon the altar. In the second Council of 
 Nice (a.d. 786) it was resolved, that the cross as well as the images of the Blessed Virgin, the angels and 
 saints, were to receive the lesser sort of worship (DuUa), not the greater {Latrid), which was reserved for 
 the Trinity alone. The use of the cross in processions was no doubt derived from the primitive standard of 
 Constantine, the origin and nature of which is thus described by Ciampini, 5 quoting Eusebius : " After Constan- 
 tine had been commanded in a vision by night, to make a standard after the likeness of the burning cross 
 which he had seen in the heavens at mid-day, he summoned artificers, the most skilful that could be found, 
 and caused a precious cross to be made, and enriched with gold and jewels ; which cross was surmounted with 
 a crown, inscribed with the monogram of the Greek letters X and P intersecting one another, which letters 
 the Emperor also wore upon his helmet. From the arms of the cross was suspended a purple banner, 
 covered with precious stones and gold embroidery, glorious to behold." The Rev. Bernard Smith informs us 
 " that the custom of adorning crosses with jewels continued from this time. Charlemagne, among the gifts 
 
 * Prudentiua, Hym. ii. de CoroEia. + rubllahed at Caen, 1842. t Ld^. 'i- " Donariia Poutificiim." 5 " De Sacvis zEdificiis," &c. 
 
ITALY. 
 
 which he offered to the churches in Rome, presented to the Basihca of Constautine a large jewelled cross 
 with violet-coloured stones, which the Pope ordered to be used in Utanies, according to the wish of tlie pious 
 donor. The value of this cross caused it to be affcenvai'ds stolen. Pope Leo IV. caused another large one 
 to be made in its place of the purest gold, adorned with pearls, and purple and green stones, in accordance 
 with the ancient use of the Church of S. Mary Major, at Rome." 
 
 When St. Augustine was despatched by Gregory VI. in 597, to convert the Saxons, among the few 
 ecclesiastical ornaments with which he provided himself to attract the admiration of the people and furnish 
 forth the primitive services of the Church, was a silver cross ; and few who remember the graphic description 
 given by Bede of the manner in which the httle company advanced into the presence of King Edwin 
 " furnished with divine, not with magic virtue, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of 
 our Lord and Saviour painted on a board, and singing the litany," can fail to recognise the beautiful 
 simplicity of that symbol which had been adopted as the seal of martyrdom, from the apostolic ages of 
 the Church. 
 
 The first introduction of crucifixes was at the latter end of the seventh century (a.d. 680), when in 
 the sixth general Council of Constantinople, it was decreed, that Christ should be painted in the form of a 
 man upon the cross, in order that his death and passion might be set forth to the eyes of Christians in a 
 more powerful and effective manner. Examples of crosses are engraved in Plates VIII., XVI., and XLIX. 
 
 III. The " scrinia," or shrines, in which the relics of the samts were presei-ved were originally httle more than 
 cofhns. While the worship of the faithful was confined to the celebration of their sacraments in fear and trembling 
 in the recesses of the catacombs, the tomb of a martyred saint usually formed the altar upon which their 
 holy rites were celebrated; clinging to the relics in death, as they had been attached to the person during 
 life, there can be little doubt that even during the ages of the fiercest persecution, an assiduous care was 
 shown by the surviving Christians to preserve the remains of those blessed martyrs by whose teaching the 
 congregations had been supported, and by whose example each was in turn armed to suffer. Driven from 
 one retreat to another, means were yet taken to translate the relics of the saints to the new place of worship, 
 and on a rude slab placed over the coffin, the same rites were celebrated, which had been originally consum- 
 mated on the actual tomb. Hence arose the practice of forming portable " scrinia," " feretories," or " rehquaries," 
 which, on the ultimate ascendancy of the Church, were placed beneath the altar slabs of the basilicas, as 
 they had been beneath those of the catacombs. With the increased wealth of the faithful, came the anxiety 
 to do honour and reverence to the remains which had been hallowed in their eyes by association with the 
 most trying incidents of those days of fear and trembling. Hence the most gorgeous receptacles were 
 constructed to receive and to envelope the bodies, and portions of the bodies, of those who had been most 
 venerated. No altar was considered sacred unless it was enriched by one or more of these precious 
 "scrinia," and so permanent a hold did this original practice take upon the Church, that even up to the 
 present hour, there is not an altar in any country under the influence of the Bishop of Rome, which 
 cannot boast the possession of some relic of the early ages of the Church. The original type of the coffin 
 form has never been lost sight of, and in the ckasses d'Atitel, and Bahuts de Limoges, of the twelfth and thirteenth 
 centuries, as well as in the florid shrines of Cologne and Aix-la-Chapehe, and even in the Renaissance tomb of 
 St. Sebald at Nuremberg, we meet with a strict adherence to the original form of the prototype. 
 
 It appears highly probable that an anxiety to veil these precious " scrinia," when placed beneath the 
 altars, from the vulgar gaze, led to the execution of those gorgeous metal-work frontals to which we shall 
 have occasion to allude, in noticing those which were designed at Mdan, to conceal the resting-place of St. 
 Ambrose ; at Venice, that of St. Mark ; and at Pistoia, that of St. James. Specimens of the usual varieties 
 of rehquaries are given in Plates VIII., XIV., XXL, XXIV., XXVIIL, XLIV., and XLIX. 
 
 IV. Tlie primitive cihorium consisted of four columns supporting a domed roof, which covered over and 
 protected from dust the altar and its sacred rehcs. On the summit of the convex or outer surface of the 
 dome was fixed a cross ; from the highest point of the concave or inner surface was suspended a chain, sup- 
 porting a metal figure of a dove (emblematical of the Holy Spirit), so made as to open for the purpose of 
 receiving the consecrated wafer wdiich was deposited within. Between the columns were hung richly- 
 embroidered curtains, which might be drawn so as to encircle the altar ; and both from the cihorium itself 
 and from the roof above it hung numerous lamps. 'ITie primitive ciboria were frequently constructed of the 
 most precious marbles, occasionaUy of solid metal, but more frequently of other materials, entirely overlaid 
 
ITALY. 
 
 with plates of gold and silver. These original altar-coverings, though denuded of their gorgeous decorations, 
 may yet be seen in many of the most ancient churches of Italy. The pecuUar domed form of the upper 
 portion of the ciborium is supposed to have exercised a considerable influence upon the history of art ; since 
 to a desire to expand its golden vault into a vast and crowning covering for a high altar, it has been alleged 
 we are indebted for the construction of the gorgeous dome of Santa Sophia at Constantinople, an example 
 which has in turn excited the emulation of the architects of Ravenna, Venice, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Paris, 
 and London. The domed altar-covering is interesting on another hand, as having supplied the type for the 
 form of that pecuHar vessel which even now bears the name of ciborium, and which has served from a very 
 early period to the present time, in the Roman Cathohc Church, for the reservation of the host. ITiis vessel, 
 the lower portion of which resembles that of a chalice, is invariably covered with a domed lid surmounted 
 by a cross, and has retained in evei^ country and up to the present time the same interesting conventional 
 characteristics. Specimens are engraved in Plates IV., XXI., XXXII. 
 
 Neither the wars of Belisarius, nor those of Narses, or the Lombards, prevented the Roman Pontiffs from 
 gradually heaping up more and more treasure in the Basihca of St. Peter. The Goths and Lombards were 
 Christians ; and the papal anathemas pronounced against sacrilege were equally dreaded by them and by 
 their Byzantine opponents. Fresh accessions of offerings took place, when the pohcy of Charlemagne led 
 him to obtain the support of the Pope to his somewhat doubtful title ; and the following account of Ana- 
 stasius, showino- us the condition of St. Peter's at the commencement of the ninth century, while it conveys 
 a strong impression of the donors' liberality, almost sui-passes our belief. "The chapel," it is observed, 
 "was preceded by a portico of twelve columns of porphyry, alabaster, and other most rare marbles, the 
 intercolumniations being closed by a grille or raihng of bronze. From this portico to the tomb of St. Peter 
 the pavement was covered with sheets of silver of the weight of 150 lbs. The entablature surmounting 
 the columns was enriched with bas-reliefs in silver, representing, on one side, our Saviour surrounded by his 
 apostles, and on the other the blessed Virgin accompanied by holy women. The whole was crowned with 
 a profusion of silver lamps and candelabra, weighing 700 lbs." The crypt in which the body of the 
 saint had been actually deposited was even more richly decorated than the chapel which was immediately 
 over it, and its gorgeous trappings are thus described by Dr. Batissier :* — " The railing which surrounded the 
 tomb was made of silver, as well as the candelabra which illuminated it : the columns and arches were adorned 
 with precious hangings and golden cherubim. On entering, the first object which presented itself was the 
 massive cross of gold, weighing 100 lbs., given by Belisarius, who had caused his victories to be represented 
 on it. The whole of the crypt was covered with sheets of gold by Pope Leo III., a.d. 795. For the 
 pavement alone 453 lbs. of metal were employed. Upon these sheets were engraved different events taken 
 from the Old and New Testament. Around the crypt there had been from very remote antiquity silver 
 statues of the Saviour, of the apostles, SS. Peter, Paul, and Andrew, and, doubtless, of the four evangelists. 
 Adrian I. replaced these silver statues by gold ones. The tomb itself was a work of gilt bronze, on which 
 was erected a cross of massive gold, weighing 160 lbs., given by Constantine, who had caused an inscription 
 commemoratmg the fact to be engraved upon it. These were not the only riches of this magnificent temple; 
 the high altar of the Basilica was covered by Adrian I. with sheets of gold, weighing 597 lbs. The ciborium, 
 at first of silver, was replaced by one of sdver-gilt, ornamented with four columns of silver, the whole 
 weighing as much as 2704^ lbs." 
 
 It is deeply to be regretted that the devastations of the Saracens, in 846, caused the destruction of all 
 this gorgeous collection, and that successive robberies and changes have destroyed all tangible evidence of 
 the character of the workmanship of these primseval objects of sacred use. It is equally to be deplored, that 
 every vestige of the ordinary types of contemporary secular metal-work should have been swept away from 
 Italy, and that the gifts of TheodoUnda, queen of the Lombards, to the cathedral of Monza, together with the 
 crowns of Agilulph, her husband, and that of Chariemagne, should be the only relics of all the centuries 
 intervening between the classical ages and that of the last-named sovereign. 
 
 But for the plunder which the treasury of the cathedral of Monza underwent from the French, its 
 collection of relics of ancient Lombard skill in the fabrication of jewellery would have been invaluable. Among 
 the most curious and interesting of the remaining objects may be mentioned what is commonly known as 
 
 " ArchKologie Nationale." Paris. 
 
ITALY. H 
 
 Queen Theodolindas " Hen and Chickens," a species of tray of silver gilt, upon which is a figure of a 
 hen suiTounded by seven chickens, all busily occupied in pecking at grains of corn. The hen's eyes are 
 made of rubies. Much speculation has been indulged in as to the purpose and symbolical meaning of this 
 strange ornament It has been supposed by antiquarians* to represent either the arch-priest (a titular 
 dignity without jurisdiction) "and chapter of the Church of Monza, or the seven provinces of the Lombard 
 kingdom. The appbcation of such allegories is most obscure; and the probability is that this gift of 
 Queen Theodolbida was in fact only a plateau, or ornament for her banquet-table." 
 
 The iron crown of Monza has long been celebrated from its having been used as the imperial crown 
 from at least 1311 to the coronation of Charles V. Tradition relates that it was presented to Queen 
 Theodolinda by Gregory the Great, and that the iron plate which serves as its lining was a portion of one of 
 the nails with which our Saviour was fixed to the cross. The outer rim which covers the iron presents 
 some peculiar characteristics more particularly in the flowers, which are effectively, though coarsely, enamelled 
 upon it. Unfortunately the crown of Agilulph, the form and details of which were still more interesting, and 
 which long constituted one of the greatest curiosities of the treasury of the ancient Lombard Metropolitan 
 Church, was removed by the French, and carried to Paris ; where its existence of more than 1200 years 
 was at last terminated, in 1804, by the robber who stole it out of the Cabinet des MedaiUes, and subsequently 
 melted it down. Its loss is, however, the less to be regretted, as it is known to have undergone many very 
 considerable reparations in the fourteenth century. The crown of Queen Theodolinda, which stiU exists at Monza, 
 is remarkable more for the reliques and jewels by which it is adorned than for any merit in its execution! 
 It, as well as that of Charlemagne, which we shall have occasion to mention in reference to French history, 
 has hitherto been attributed to Byzantine, and not to Italian artists. Now it may be well to inquire how 
 far this opinion is borne out by existing facts, and whether, after all, it is not probable that this crown and 
 the majority of the objects preserved at Monza may not have been made in Italy. 
 
 Now we know that the Greek Exarchs who had been appointed by Justinian, were only expelled a short 
 time before the conquest of Italy by Charlemagne, so that through them alone, during 300 years, we may 
 imagine the Italian workmen abundantly supplied with models for imitation ;— we know that numerous Greek 
 workmen were constantly employed at Rome in the execution of mosaics, paintings, and other arts, and that 
 there was therefore no scarcity of instructors we know that it is scarcely probable that the jealousy of 
 the Greek government would have permitted such a jewel as a rival imperial crown to have been made 
 within its territories : and we find no evidence of essentially Byzantine handicraft in their fabrication, with 
 the exception of a certain quantity of filagree enamel. 
 
 One peculiarity, which may be remarked with regard to what may be called the Italian use of filagree 
 enamel, rather corroborates the opinion to which we would incline— it is, that while in those objects which 
 we know to have been manufactured at Byzantium the enamels covered a large surface (much as mosaic was 
 applied), and actually constituted the object produced, where we may infer that Italian goldsmiths fabricated 
 the article, the enamel was sparingly introduced, and set independently of the object, much as gems or 
 pearls would be. If once we admit as a theory, what there is no reason to doubt, that it may have been 
 the practice at Constantinople to manufacture small pieces of filagree, or " cloisonne" enamels, and export them 
 for the purpose of being worked up as gems by the class of foreign jewellers known as "inclusores gem- 
 marum," we have at hand a ready explanation of many anomalies, such, for instance, as the occasional, though 
 very rare, use of cloissonne enamel in early French ecclesiastical vessels ; as that existing between the setting 
 and the enamel-work of the celebrated Alfred jewel ; and that which may be traced between the rude execution 
 of some of the Lombard goldsmiths' works and the dehcate vitrified pastes which decorate them. 
 
 Thus we do not hesitate to ascribe the execution of the noble "Paliotto" of Milan to an artist of a 
 different country from the one who carried out the gorgeous altar frontal of Venice, although the identity of 
 the processes by which the filagree enamels were executed in both would, prima fade, afford ground for a 
 supposition that they were of common origin. These two inestimable treasures in the history of the 
 goldsmith's art, the former representing, as we believe, the climax of perfection to which the Lombard 
 school attained, and the latter the "trial piece" of the Greeks, merit an especial notice, and in examining 
 the former we cannot do better than avail ourselves of the experienced and able guidance of M. Labarte.-j- 
 
 • Murray'. " Hand-book for Northern ltd,," 143. f " Ctalogue d«s Objet. qui composent la Collection Debruge Dnmenil," Paris, 1847. 
 
12 iiji-ui. 
 
 In the year 836, the Archbishop Angilljert II. gave this magnificent offering to the cathedral in expiation 
 of a profanation of the rehcs of St. Ambrose —he haying abstracted a tooth belonging to the saint to wear 
 in a ring. Tlie object consists of an altar entirely detached, standing beneath a magnificent ciborium of the 
 same period. ITie front of this altar, which is covered with gold plate, jewels, and enamel, is occupied with 
 the figures of our Blessed Lord, the twelve apostles, and six bas-reliefs relating to the life of Christ ; the sides 
 are decorated with rich crosses worked in precious stones, with blue and white enamel. The back (which 
 with the sides is only in silver, with the more prominent parts in gold) presents a series of bas-reliefs, 
 principally relating to the acts of St. Ambrose. Two of them are exceedingly interesting —the one showing 
 the saint receiving the offering from Angilbert, and the other representing him as occupied in blessing the artist 
 by whom this splendid frontal was executed, and whose name is presei-ved to us by the following inscription : 
 _"V. Volvinius Magister Phaber me fecit." All the figures are worked out of plate with the hammer, and 
 bands containing jewels and cloissonne enamels are used to separate one subject from another. This mass 
 of gold and jewellery is stiU in good preservation, and testifies the advance of art by the excellency of the 
 figures, the fomis, free movements, and draperies of which, coincide with tliose of the ancient Lombard school 
 of sculpture, rather than with tlie traditional severity of the Greek types.* 
 
 When regard is had to the promise of improvement held out by this master-work of the period, it 
 becomes the more disappointing to find that continual internal quarrels and the wars of the Saracens and 
 Noi-mans had so interfered with artistic developement in Italy, that the Venetians were obliged to have 
 recourse to Constantinople to obtain workmen sufficiently good for the purpose of providing a precious frontal, 
 worthy of their patron saint. Although ordered as early as 976 by the Doge Orseolo, no less than 126 years 
 elapsed before it actually adorned the high altar of St. Mark's ; the design consists of numerous figures of 
 samts and other personages, among which the most curious are those of the Doge Fahero and the Empress 
 Irene. The various groups principally illustrate a legendary life of St. Mark. The whole are executed in 
 filagree, by a delicate gold ribbon, the edge of which shows as a gold thread defining every line, and dividing 
 each portion of the drapery, &c. into a httle cell into which a coloured vitreous paste is introduced. No 
 conception can be formed of the labour which must have been bestowed in the elaboration of this extraor- 
 dinary specimen of Greek enamelling. The formation of the inscriptions alone, some of which are in Greek 
 and some in Latin, presented formidable difficulties. 
 
 Tlie extreme fragility of such delicate work may be inferred from the fact, that the Pala, or, as it is 
 usually called, the " Pahotto," was scarcely completed ere the work of repair began. Under Faliero in 1105, 
 under Pietro Zani in 1209, and under Andrea Dandolo in 1345, it received reparation, embellishment, 
 and additional ornamentation; the many canopies of Venetian Gothic surmounting the figures bearing 
 eloquent though silent testimony to the successive innovations wdiich have been made upon the integrity of 
 the original design. 
 
 As a work occupying a sort of intermediate position between the Lombard style of the altar frontal of 
 San Ambrogio and the Greek Pahotto of St. Mark's, we may notice that in the Record-room of the Chapter 
 of the Cathedral of Citta di Castello, is still preserred the curious silver altar front presented by Celesti- 
 nus II. in 1143 to his native city. D'Agincourt ascribes it to Byzantine workmen. It is richly decorated 
 with enamel. 
 
 The two centuries succeeding that at the close of which the order was given for the magnificent Paliotto 
 of Venice, were chiefly remarkable for their works in bronze. Although the earliest of these, the gates of 
 San Paolo fnori le Mura at Rome.f were ordered to be supplied from Constantinople by the great Hildebrand 
 during the Popedom of Alexander II. (1073), and although they bore the name of the Greek founder 
 " Stauracius," it is still questionable whether the Italians received the art of casting in bronze from Germany, 
 Sicily, or Byzantium. It is possible that these gates were specially ordered from Byzantium, not so much 
 on account of the excellence of the Greek casting, as for the sake of the peculiar damascening, or inlaying 
 with silver wire, which was introduced to heighten their effect, and which the Greeks at that time practised 
 most successfully. 
 
 We know that works of bronze of a contemporary period exist at Augsburg and Merseburg in Germany, 
 
 * A cavcfd outline en-^raving of the "Pala d'Oro" is given ia D'Agineourt, aod an elaborate coloured lithograph in Du Sommerard. 
 t D'Agincourt givea an elaborate aeries of plates illustrating the art of these gates, which were destrojed at the burning ot the Basilica 
 in 1884. 
 
ITALY. 
 
 13 
 
 and that various old writers cited by the Duke Serradifalco distinctly praise the Saracens, who then 
 partially inhabited Sicily, for their skill in working in metals ; and thus it is pretty clear that the inhabitants 
 of Sicily and Germany were both ahead of those of Italy at that period. From wherever the art might have 
 been derived, it did not fail when once introduced to make rapid progress, and the churches of the lower 
 part of Italy, as well as those of the Island of Sicily, boast even at the present day the possession of a 
 greater number of works of this description than can be found in any other country. Dr. Kugler* traces 
 their gradual improvement from the rigid Byzantine style of the centre doors of St. Mark's at Venice, 
 through the works of Uberto and Pietro di Piacenza, who fabricated the gates of the Lateran (1198), and of 
 Bonanno di Pisa (1180), who executed the gates of Pisa and Lucca, down to those completed at Florence 
 by Andrea of the gi-eat family of the Pisani. The remarks made by the Doctor on this branch of art are 
 so full and comprehensive that we venture to give thera in extenso. 
 
 " Italian sculpture," he remarks, " appears without any substantiality until the beginning of the twelfth 
 century. The ornamental works which were required for the decoration of churches, were principally done at 
 Constantinople. In this style, for example, are the remarkable gates of San Paolo fuori le Mura at Rome. 
 They were cast in Constantinople, in 1070, by ' Stauracius the Founder,' as the inscription informs us, and 
 the doors in the Sanctuary of Monte Gargano (Kingdom of Naples, Province Capitinata), and those in St. 
 Mark's at Venice, which are on the right side of the principal entrance to the church, were no doubt 
 similarly executed. The latter must have been brought directly from the Church of Sta. Sophia at Constanti- 
 nople. To these works may be added a considerable number of bronze doors of the eleventh and twelfth 
 centuries, which exist in those parts of Italy in which the Byzantine influence was predominant, so that we 
 may suppose most of them to have been partly executed abroad, and partly by Greek artists in Italy. We 
 possess but little information concerning the majority of thera. Some are only adorned with ornaments, 
 without figures. To this class belong the principal door of St. Mark's at Venice, quite in the Byzantine style, 
 but with Latin inscriptions; and farther, in Lower Italy and Sicily, those of the Cathedral of Amalfi (1062), 
 those of St. Salvatore at Atrani (1087), those of the Cathedral of Salerno (about the same time), those of 
 Canosa of the twelfth century, those of the Cathedral of Troy (two of them of the years 1119 and 1127), 
 those of the castle chapel of Palei-mo, those of the Cathedral of Benevento (the Church of St. Bartolomeo 
 also possessed bronze doors of the year 1150), those of Ravello, and those of Trani, — two of them are dated 
 1176, the other with the name of the artist Barisanus. Tlie cathedral of Monreale in Sicily possessed two 
 bronze doors, one of which is inscribed to have been cast by the above-named Barisanus, and contains 
 twenty-eight panels of figures of apostles and saints in relief, which are distinguished by a decided dignity. 
 The other was cast by the Pisan Bonannus in 1186. The same Bonannus cast, in 1180, a bronze door for 
 the principal entrance of the Cathedral of Pisa, which was destroyed at the end of the sixteenth century. 
 The execution of another which stands at the side of the cathedral, is ascribed to him. In the representations 
 in relief in the latter, we can trace no advance in artistic developement. Still more rough and unformed are 
 the bronze reliefs of the portal of St. Zenone at Verona, concerning the age of which nothing is known. Tlie 
 bronze door which leads to one of the side-chapels in the baptistery of the Lateran Basilica at Rome, is also 
 very worthy of remark, although it only contains, in addition to engraved architectural representations, one 
 figure in relief, but this is surrounded by very remarkable ornaments. This work was executed, according to 
 the inscription about the beginning of the thirteenth century in the year 1219. Tlie artists are called 
 the brothers Hubertus and Petrus, of Piacenza." 
 
 During the whole of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries considerable progress had been made in working 
 the precious metals, and traces may be discovered of a school of goldsmiths of great ability existing at 
 Florence, Sienna, and generally throughout Umbria, at an early period. Upon some of the few curious 
 chalices and other objects, upon which their art was exercised, and which have survived to our days, we 
 occasionally meet with indications designating the artist by whom they were fashioned; as Peter, the son of 
 Nicholas, the son of Andrew, of Sienna, or Todi, or wherever the locality may have been. Unfortunately, 
 however, such records throw but little light on the lives and customs of those who engraved them, and 
 individual characteristics are blended in the uniformity of conventional productions. As in course of time the 
 goldsmiths, the first artisans whose pursuit mainly allied them to art, grew into artists, they, as artists, gave 
 
 * In p. 497 of the " Kuiistgeshichtc." f See the ingenious hypothesis of the Duca di Serradifalco, in reference to the nationalily of Bonannus. 
 
14 
 
 ITALY. 
 
 way to the impulses which moved them, and imagination was allowed a wider field in which to create new 
 forms and ty^Des. Happily to record the lives of such prime movers in dispelling darkness became a labour 
 of love to those capable of admiring great men ; and hence, as the brighter lights appeared, their characteristics 
 were noted, and thus the history of early Italian art becomes very little else than a series of biographies of the 
 different goldsmiths who successively turned painters, sculptors, engravers, &c., without altogether forgetting 
 their original trade ; and the series which commences with Giovanni di Pisa terminates only with the decline 
 of art in the seventeenth century. 
 
 The influence of the new life thus given to art communicated itself to the products of the worker in 
 metals to so great an extent as to almost revolutionise all preceding forms; and in order to at all realise 
 the efforts of the great men of the middle ages to whom we shall shortly have occasion to allude, it 
 becomes necessary to dwell briefly on the contemporary types of the ordinary objects on which their skill was 
 exercised. 
 
 It need scarcely be observed that the Church was the great patron of the goldsmith, and that his 
 labours for the laity were but of secondary importance as compared with those he was incessantly called 
 upon to execute for the clergy. The humblest church boasted at least its gilt chalice with a silver bowl 
 and enamelled foot and knop ; its paten, with repousse, or enamelled centre ; its small ciborium, with niches and 
 figures of the saints ; its reliquary, with crystal sides ; its thurible or censer, bristling with little turrets and 
 traceried openings; its pix, " de opere Lemovicense its pax, engraved in "niello;" its burette or ampulla, 
 of onyx or crystal set in filagree ; its processional cross, with transparent enamel ; its chrismatory, of refined 
 workmanship ; and its lamps and candlesticks, with lights constantly burning around the principal altars. 
 Where episcopal dignity was involved, much greater richness was essential. No bishop was suitably equipped 
 without a precious mitre, with delicate goldsmith's work and inlaid gems ; without a pastoral staff, bearing 
 the image of the patron saint and rich in canopies and niches ; without a splendid morse or fibula, to bear 
 upon his breast and fasten his cope or dalmatic ; and a ring, set with an antique gem or stone, *' en cabochon," 
 to wear over his embroidered glove. His cathedral would have been deemed poor indeed if its chapels were 
 not enclosed by elaborate grilles of ironwork, frequently painted and gilt ; if its high altar did not boast its 
 great ciborium, or baldacchino, and its " grande chasse," or ark, no longer a simple cof&n, but a miniature 
 cathedral, enclosing its most important relics ; and if on festa days that high altar was not decorated with a 
 gorgeous frontal or antependium, glowing with jewels, enamel, and niello, and embodying in a series of bas- 
 reliefs the most important events in the legendary history of the saint to whom it was dedicated. 
 
 It was to the execution of works such as these that the principal portion of the surplus of the vast 
 revenues of the Church was devoted, and, no doubt, in those days, when no Government securities existed, 
 it was a highly profitable investment, since it was invariably found that the more highly decorated the shrine, 
 the richer the offerings and the greater the devotion paid to the saint. 
 
 Let it not be imagined that because the clergy monopolised so large a share of the services of the gold- 
 smiths, that the laity were altogether bad customers. A reference to the works of the early painters of the 
 Siennese, Florentine, and Venetian schools, will suffice to show the splendour of the costumes habitually worn 
 by the aristocracy, and the quantities of jewellery with which they delighted to adorn their persons. Take, 
 for example, the courtly gallant as he is represented in a fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli, or a " teinpera 
 painting" by Gentile da Fabriano. In his berretta, or velvet cap, is stuck his " enseigne," or cognizance; 
 around his neck is suspended a massive gold chain, with either a cross or a medallion of his patron saint 
 attached to it ; his fingers are loaded with rings ; about his waist is bound his " baldrick," or jewelled 
 girdle, through which are passed his sword and " coltello," or dagger, both with carved and gemmed 
 handles. Tlie trappings of the horse are scarcely less imposing than those of the cavalier. The noble 
 Florentine dame is to the full as richly tricked out. Her luxuriant " treccia," a few coquettish curls of 
 which are allowed to escape, is confined in a delicate caul of reticulated gold-wire, at every intersection of 
 the threads of which a pearl or gem is set; around her brow is bound one of those exquisite gold, silver, 
 or enamelled garlands the fabrication of which created the fame of Tomaso, the first of the Ghirlandaios ; 
 from each ear hangs a pearl ; and on her neck and bosom reposes the chain which is connected with the 
 jewels which extend down the front of her dress ; from her narrow jewelled girdle are suspended her chaplet 
 of beads, of pearl or filagree, and her rich " almoniere," or alms-bag. Money in those early days of 
 monopolies poured in abundantly to the good citizens of Florence, Pisa, Sienna, Venice, Arezzo, Naples, &c.. 
 
ITALY. 
 
 15 
 
 as well as to the nobles, whose hands were as free to spend their plunder as they were strong to grasp 
 it. Such were the masters under whose patronage in Italy meagre conventionality grew into art, and such 
 the works upon which the great "orefici" of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries lavished their skill and 
 ingenuity. 
 
 To resume the thread of our narrative, we find that when Vasari informs us concerning the enamels upon 
 silver with which Giovanni di Pisa ornamented the altar at Arezzo, he ascribes the year 1286 as the 
 date of their execution. At this distance of time it is. of course, perfectly impossible to determine whether 
 Giovanni di Pisa was, or was not, the inventor of the art of painting silver reliefs with enamel ; certain it 
 is, that he and his pupils are found executing numerous works of this kind, and that the same process 
 continued to be practised for more than two centuries with the greatest success, until at last it was gradually 
 forgotten and lost. 
 
 In the history of the execution of the great altar-frontal of the Baptistery of Florence we find recorded 
 that of nearly all the contemporary goldsmiths of that city. Some time prior to his death, in 1330, Clone, 
 one of the best artists of his time, and father to the great Oixagnas, Andrea and Bernardo, had executed 
 some beautiful bas-rehefs for this altar, which had been commenced in the preceding century ; and on its 
 destruction in 1366, these were found to be of sufficieirt merit to be retained on the new one, which latter 
 was not completed until the year 1478, and is yet safely preserved in the " Gardaroba " of the Duomo at 
 Florence. Upon the large statue of St. John in the centre, and the fourteen bas-reliefs representing his 
 histoi-j', of which this monument is composed, the most celebrated sculptors and goldsmiths of the time were 
 successively employed; and the names of Ghiberti, Orcagna, Antonio del PoUaiuolo, Andrea del Verocchio, and 
 Bartolomeo Cenni, are sufficient guarantees for the excellency of the work. It is an interesting fact, that all 
 the original account-books, containing the orders, agreements, suras paid, &c., for the work still exist in the 
 Gardaroba, and may be freely inspected.* The statue of St. John was executed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, 
 and although characteristic, by no means approaches in vigour and expression the portion completed by Pollaiuolo. 
 The architecture and canopy-work of the part last executed are both sharply and cleanly finished. 
 
 Scarcely less interesting as a treasury of autographs, written with the chisel by the hands of several 
 generations of art-workmen, is the altar of San Giacomo at Pistoia, which was both begun and finished a 
 little earlier than that of Florence. In it we may see very nearly the same arrangement with respect to the 
 large statue of the patron saint; and the bas-reliefs representing incidents in his life, which are arranged 
 around it. 
 
 From its early possession of the rehcs of St. James, which it now shares with Compostello in Spain, 
 the shrine and altar of Pistoia had received the costly oblations of saints and sinners. These offerings 
 tempted the cupidity of Vanni Fucci, who carried them off, and for the crime was consigned, by Dante, at 
 least, to the tortures of an Inferno. f In order to replace this loss it was that the execution of the existing 
 altar-frontal and super-altar was undertaken. The earliest portion, which consists of the figures of the 
 Apostles and a Madonna, which stands at the altar, and evidences the school of Giovanni Pisano, was presented 
 at the close of the thii'teenth century by an artist whose name has now disappeared. The " tavola " at the 
 side of the altar, with fifteen scenes from the New Testament, was finished by Andrea di Jacopo d'Ognabene. 
 In 1353, GigUo di Pisa finished the statue of San Giacomo, which was over the altar, in an excellent style 
 rivalling that of Andrea Pisano. The tavola " at the left side of the altar, containing mostly scenes from the 
 Old Testament, was undertaken by Pietro of Florence; that on the right, with scenes from the New 
 Testament, was carried out by Leonardo di Ser Giovanni of Florence. These are admirably designed, and 
 correspond with the works of Andrea Orcagna, which they even occasionally surpass. 
 
 The shrine of St. Atto, and the statues which decorate it, four saints, an Annunciation, and other subjects, 
 are partly by Pietro d' Arrigo, a German, settled at Pistoia between 1387 and 1390, and partly by Brunellesco, 
 whose statues of the prophets are of great beauty. The later portions are enriched with elaborate Gothic 
 
 + For notices of these documents see lliiQiohr's "Italicnischc Forschungen.'' 
 "t Vanni replies to the questioning of Dante: — 
 " I' non posso negar quel ehe tu chiedi ; 
 
 In giu Bon messo tanto, perch' I' fui 
 
 Ladro alia Sagreslia de belli Arredi; 
 
 B falsamente gia fu apposto attrui." — Inferno, xxiv. 134, 138. 
 
16 
 
 ITALY. 
 
 work in pinnacles, niches, canopy-work, &c. The translucid enamels upon silver are especially admirable, 
 and those of the four Evangelists (Tlate XLVII.), as well as several representing angels, are charming 
 specimens of that graceful art. Various methods of manipulation have been adopted in working out the 
 figures and relievos; the early are generally executed in " repousse," 'or beaten up out of thin plates of silver, 
 the latter cast and chased up. It was finished in 1398 by Nofri di Buto, a Florentine, and Atto di Pietro 
 Braccini of Pistoia, who worked together and on the friendliest terms. 
 
 An allusion to the translucid enamels on silver which decorate the altar-frontal at Pistoia leads us 
 naturally to the very remarkable shrine which all authors agree in citing as the most brilliant specimen of this 
 kind of work. 
 
 The Cathedral of Orvieto contains the splendid reliquary of the "corporale di Bolsenna," a relic connected 
 with the " miracle of Bolsena," commemorated by Raphael. It is of silver, and weighs about 400 lbs. It 
 represents the elaborate facade of the Cathedral, is decorated with the most brilliant enamels, and was 
 executed in the year 1338, by the famous Ugolino Veri of Sienna. It is one of those objects considered of 
 such special sanctity as to be but rarely allowed to be exposed, and we have, therefore, only to trust for our 
 impressions as to its beauty of design and execution to the descriptions of the Padre della Valle and the 
 prints of d'Agincourt. It is, however, perfectly clear from the latter, that the subjects of the enamels, which 
 principally rei^resent the legend of the miracle and the Passion, are well composed, and, no doubt, from the 
 extraordinary reputation they have acquired as the masterpieces of that style of decoration, equally well 
 executed. "When we remember the style of art manifested by the contemporary Limoges enamels, we must at 
 once recognise the infinite superiority of the Italian school. 
 
 In 1345, Pietro and Paolo d'Arezzo were employed upon one of those silver heads in which the piety of 
 the Roman Church has often enshrined the relics of saints. In this case the ornaments were executed in 
 the most delicate enamels, and Vasari tells us that the two brothers were " the first who successfully carved 
 and finished by chasing similar works upon a large scale." 
 
 A work of a somewhat similar class constitutes the chef -d' mare of Andrea Arditi. This silver head 
 incloses the skull of San Zenobio, in the Cathedral of Florence, and is in its turn inclosed in a magnificent 
 bronze chasse by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The workmanship of the head is exceedingly good, though not entirely 
 free from a certain quaintness. 
 
 The interesting Cross we have engraved in Plate XVI. is valuable as illustrating the amount of skill 
 necessary to prepare the metal for the reception of the vitreous pastes. The enamels having been dislodged 
 by time or violence, leave the little medals beneath exposed. Tliose who remember the peculiar style of the 
 bas-reliefs with which Orcagna has decorated the lower part of the Tabernacle at Or San Michele, will not 
 hesitate to ascribe this precious relic, which is now preserved in the Museum of Economic Geology, London, 
 to the period of the purest Italian enamel-work. 
 
 A few lines may here be profitably devoted to the history of another process, which was frequently 
 brought to bear on the decoration of objects of sacred use, and more particularly of "paxes," or those small 
 plates of metal which were handed round by the ofticiating priest to receive the kiss of peace. As. we feel 
 incompetent to convey a better general idea of the subject than was given by Mr. George Isaacs, in his 
 lucid, though necessarily brief, notes to the Catalogue of "Works of Ancient and Mediseval Art, exhibited 
 at the House of the Society of Arts," London, in 1850, we shall first quote them, and then follow up the 
 subject by a few illustrative and corroboratory notices. 
 
 Mr. Isaacs remarks that " among the materials formerly employed to assist in the decoration of metal- 
 work was one composed of an amalgam of silver and lead (or of silver, lead, and copper), blackened by the 
 aid of sulphur, and receiving from the colour thus given to it the term nigellum, afterwards corrupted to niello. 
 This nigellura, or niello, which was employed by the ancients — a fact not generally known— is occasionally 
 mentioned in documents from the seventh century to the thirteenth, at which latter period it was greatly 
 appreciated. The process used in its application was identical with one of those bestowed on enamel 
 incrustations. The object intended to be ornamented with niello (ordinarily of silver, but sometimes of gold 
 or copper) had incised upon it the required design, into which niello was inlaid in small grains, and afterw'^ards 
 fused by the action of fire, and polished. Originally, the channels in the metal were cut broadly, and of an 
 equal depth, giving to the entire work, after the introduction of the niello, the appearance of a rude picture, 
 the outlines only of which were formed sometimes by the metal and sometimes by the niello. Eventually, the 
 
ITALY. 
 
 17 
 
 designs on the metal were engra%^ed with great delicacy, and, where needful, were carefully shaded by lines. 
 The origin of taking paper impressions from metal plates is ascribed to the practice of Finiguerra, a Florentine 
 goldsmith, who, in the middle of the fifteenth century, was in the habit of taking impressions from plates he had 
 engraved, for the purpose of ascertaining their fitness to receive the niello. Some few of these old impressions 
 still exist, and equally with the plates themselves are styled 'nielli.'" 
 
 It may be remarked, with regard to the composition of niello, that borax was of great use as assisting 
 liquefaction under heat, and insuring adhesion. With respect to its antiquity, Anastasius, the librarian, informs 
 us, in his life of St. Sylvester, that on the tomb of St. Peter, in the old Basilica at Rome, was raised a cross 
 given by Constantine, of gold mosaic, weighing 150 lbs., whereon was engraved an inscription attesting the 
 donation, "ex litteris puris nigellis in cruce ipsa" which Dr. Batissier* assumes as an ancient authority for 
 niello. D'Aginccurt mentions that in an inscription on a vase forming part of a toilet service of the fourth 
 century, found in Rome in the year 17!)3, to which we have already alluded, the letters are engraved in the 
 metal, in the manner called by the Italians "niello," by the Latins 'Miigenum."f The recipes which we have 
 already quoted, for the manipulation of niello, from the works of Theophilus, the " Mappas clavicula," 
 &:c., leave no doubt as to its common use in the Middle Ages. The application of niello in broad grooves, as 
 mentioned by Mr. Isaacs, is well illustrated in a snperaltare, or portable altar, formed of a slab of jasper on 
 a basis of wood, the whole mounted in silver ornamented in niello, which was exhibited at the Society of 
 Arts in 1850. The subjects at the four corners are the Elements, and those at the top and bottom are the 
 Agnus Dei and the Dove. This work is an Italian production of the thirteenth century, and is in the posses- 
 sion of the Rev. Dr. Rock. It has formed the principal subject of an interesting paper by Mr. Albert "Way 
 on portable altars, and has been well engraved in Mr. Delamotte's work on the " Medieval Exhibition," and in 
 the "Journal of the Archteological Institute." 
 
 Small round "plaques," or plates, with such subjects as the busts of saints engraved upon them, having 
 a rude attempt at shading indicated by incised lines hatched or " tratteggiate," and then filled up with niello, 
 are common ornaments of the chalices of the early schools of Italian goldsmith's work. These small orna- 
 ments were frequently inserted, either instead of, or alternately with, gems, in the feet and knops of chalices, 
 monstrances, &c. Their workmanship by no means equalled that subsequently bestowed upon the "paxes." 
 In some of these latter, which Finiguerra executed, as we are told by Cellini,]; availing himself of the designs 
 of Antonio Pollaiuolo, a very rare excellence in composition and drawing was attained. Although many are 
 attributed to Finiguerra, and apparently on good grounds as to style, there are only two specimens of silver 
 paxes undoubtedly produced by him. The earliest, now in the possession of the British Museum, formerly 
 in that of Sir Mark Sykes, was§ unquestionably executed before the year 1450, and from it no impression in 
 sulphur or on paper is known, llie second, which is now in the cabinet of the Grand Duke of Florence, 
 was preserved in the church of San Giovanni at Florence, and for its execution the artist Finiguerra 
 received sixty-six golden florins in the year 1452 ; of it both prints and sulphur impressions exist. Of the 
 latter a very beautiful one is preserved in the Print-room of the British Museum. 
 
 It is right to notice that our national collection possesses the earliest print existing from a copper 
 or silver plate; its drawing is beautiful, and it dates with apparent certainty from the year 1440. As a 
 curious illustration of the mutability of fashion in matters of taste, we cannot refrain from anticipating a 
 little in point of time, and from quoting the commencement of the second chapter of Benvenuto Cellini's 
 "Treatise on Goldsmith's work." Speaking "of the art of working niello, and of the method of making 
 it," he remarks, "in the year 1515, in which I devoted myself to the acquisition of the goldsmith's art, 
 that of engraving in niello was almost entirely abandoned, and at the present time it is all but extinct 
 among the workmen in Florence. But I, hearing continually how admirable that branch of industry had 
 been in the days of the old artists, and especially how Maso Finiguerra, a Florentine goldsmith, had 
 excelled in it, set myself assiduously to follow in the footsteps of that great master; and not only was I 
 anxious to learn to engrave for niello, hut to acquire the method of making the niello itself, so as to be 
 able to work in that department of business with greater confidence." 
 
 * " Arcliaiologie Nationale," p. 360. 
 
 t Seroux d'Agincourt, " Histoire de VArt par sea Monuments" {Scul/ilure). See also Visconti, " Su di Un' Antica Argcnteria." — Roma, 1793, 
 in 4to. 
 
 i "Trattato dell' Ore6ceria, nel Prcemio." 
 
 § Says Mr. Diamond, in his Letter to Sir Heni-y Ellis, printed in the " Arcbfeologia," vol. .\xxi. 
 
18 I'fA"' 
 
 The fifteenth century may with propriety be designated - the bronze age" of Italy, for during it we 
 executed a series of works, many of which equal, if they do not surpass, the most remarkable productions 
 of the classical ages. It is a somewhat curious phenomenon, that while theories of art continue comparatively 
 undeveloped, gold" and silver are in the ascendant; and those who are skilled in the fabrication of vessels and 
 ornaments in those metals, are regarded as the most eminent of artificers. As a knowledge of art begins to 
 diffuse itself, a larger field for the operation of the artist is demanded; in baser metals he can carry out ideas 
 impracticable in the more precious; and thus to the age of gold succeeds the age of silver, and to the age of 
 silver the age of bronze. So it was in Greece, and so, doubtless, in the best days of Rome; and thus 
 modern Italy worked out its cycle of recurrences. 
 
 From the period at which the elements of intellect, stirred into action by the Pisani, commenced their 
 struggle against material influences, we hear little more of works of such gorgeous though semi-barbaric 
 splendour "as the shrines and precious frontals we have lately described. The same spirit of rivalry of men 
 ^vho in one century contend which shall load the altar of their patron saint with the greatest weight of 
 precious metal, in the next will be found strugghng as to which shall retain the services of the most 
 accompHshed artists, and enrich the state with the noblest monuments. 
 
 We now approach this period of transition in Italy, or rather in Northern Italy; and in the next few 
 pages we shall hope to trace the power of some of those men who, by the magic of their potent skill, could 
 practise alchemy, and make the vulgar bronze of more intrinsic value than twice its weight in gold. 
 
 The fame of Bartoluccio Ghiberti has been obscured by that of his more fortunate pupils, his son Lorenzo 
 Ghiberti, and PoUaiuolo surnamed il Cronaca : Vasari describes him, however, as being one of the most skilful 
 workmen of his time, and we know that his assistance was most valuable to his son in the execution of the 
 celebrated gates to which we shall now allude. 
 
 In the year 1401, the Company of Merchants of Florence determined upon the execution of a door in 
 bronze, for the Baptistery of San Giovanni, to rival that of Andrea di Pisa. They determined on a competition 
 of seven artists, each of whom was to submit a panel of the door finished in bronze, embodying a given 
 subject,— the sacrifice of Abraham. The winner was to receive a commission for the work. 
 
 We shall now pass rapidly in review the principal of the competitors. Brunelleschi, the celebrated 
 constructor of the dome of the cathedral at Florence, began his career as a goldsmith ; and, in addition to the 
 statuettes of the prophets we have had occasion to commend in the altar-frontal at Pistoia, he has left behind him 
 the veritable trial-piece submitted in competition with Ghiberti. lie, as well as Donatello, who was also of the 
 seven, bad the generosity to confess that their work was surpassed by that of the youthful Lorenzo Ghiberti. 
 
 Donatello was an artist whose extraordinary energy and vigour led him to excel in every department of 
 sculpture. His works were generally carried out on a large scale, and to him belongs the honour of executing 
 the first equestrian statue in bronze, worthy to rank with the Marcus Aurehus of antiquity, since at least the 
 age of Constantine. It is in front of the Church of St. Anthony of Padua, that this grand statue has been 
 placed. Vasari thus tells the story of its execution;* " It happened in that time," says he, "that the Signoria 
 of Venice, hearing of the fame of Donatello, sent for him, in order that the memory of Gattamelata should 
 not pass ' away from the city of Padna. Whereupon Donatello went there with a good-wdl, and made the 
 bronze horse which is in the Piazza of San Antonio. In it he has expressed by his art most livelily the 
 fire and quivering of the horse, and the lofty soul and courage of the rider. In it Donatello showed himself 
 so perfect a master, in the execution of a large casting, in proportion, and in excellence, that of a truth he 
 may be compared to every ancient artist in knowledge of movement, design, art, proportion, and dihgence." 
 ITie Paduans were delighted with the sculptor, and, after manifold entreaties, he was induced to remain with 
 them for some time, and to execute for them a variety of bronzes ; many of which still remain to attest the 
 justice of all that the enthusiastic Vasari advances in his favour. 
 
 Another of the competitors distanced by Ghiberti was Giacopo della Querela, an exquisite artist, who 
 appears to have been so much discouraged by the result of the contest as to have subsequently abstained 
 as far as possible from the employment of bronze, although, when quite young, he displayed great talents for 
 working in that material. 
 
 Of the remaining artists who took part in the competition.—Nicolo d'Arezzo, Francesco da Valdambrina, 
 
 * Vasari, Vita di Doiiato, Scultore Fiorcntino. 
 
ri'ALY. 
 
 19 
 
 and Simone da Colle, — neither stood any chanee by the side of those ive have ali-eady noticed. Having 
 therefore, disposed of the vanquished, we may proceed to relate tlie acliievements of the victor, prefacing our 
 remarlts with a few words on his style as an artist. 
 
 Through all that Ghiberti executed there runs a strain of grace and beauty which has, perhaps, never 
 been equalled. Great powers of selection of the harmonious in form and rejection of the crude and awkward 
 are constantly in exercise, and no defects of composition or execution are passed over by the eye or hand of 
 the sculptor. The qualities in Ghiberti's disposition we may most admire are his incessant labour to make 
 everything as good as it could be, and his perfect sympathy with those natural laws of convention which 
 limit and define the effects peculiar to the material with which he deals. The picture given of his mode of 
 preparing for the competition affords an unquestionable indication of the indomitable, though quiet, power of 
 his character. His design was studied and drawn, and altered and redrawn, and modelled and drawn again, 
 and remodelled and altered, until the utmost simphcity and beauty were combined : then, when the casting 
 was made, every little imperfection was smoothed down, and every tenderly-modelled surface and texture 
 brought out, until at last the whole appeared, as Vasari says, to have been rather modelled "by a hreath" 
 than by casting and chasing. Never was there an artist who more perfectly understood the finesse of 
 execution of which metal-work is susceptible, and, as a corollary, how clear it therefore becomes that a corre- 
 sponding refinement in composition can alone be tolerated with such elaborate detail. 
 
 Dr. Kiigler,* following Vasari's account, tells us that the v\'ork of Lorenzo was confessed to be the best, 
 even by the concurrence of his competitors; and he was much indebted for this success to his previous 
 education as a goldsmith, since his bas-relief was chased up with all the delicacy of a fine piece of jewellery. 
 From 1402 to 1424 he was engaged upon the first gate, which involved the execution in basso-rehevo of no 
 less than twenty compositions from the New Testament, and a series of figures of the Evangelists and the four 
 Doctors of the Church. In these, to a certain degree, he was obliged to follow the arrangement and style of 
 his predecessor (Andrea di Pisa) ; however, hi the execution of the principal door, which he afterwards 
 undertook, and which occupied him until his death in 14.51;, he completely departed from the old style, and 
 introduced that peculiar mixture of classic and Christian art which so highly delighted Michael Angelo. 
 Ghiberti did not confine himself solely to working in bronze, since he acquired, in addition to the reputation 
 he had gained in that art, the name of being not only one of the best glass painters and draughtsmen of 
 the day, but the utmost distinction as a jeweller. Vasarif tells us of a morse he made for Pope Martin, an 
 intagho he set for Giovanni di Cosimo di Medici, precious mitres made for the Popes, and an infinity of 
 exquisite specimens of deUcate art full of the most graceful concetti. 
 
 Whilst engaged upon the first gate, Ghiberti still found time to execute several bronze statues for the 
 exterior decoration of the church of Or San Michele at Florence. That of St. John the Baptist in 1414, the 
 superb St. Matthew in 1419, and St. Stephen between the two periods. Two reliefs for the font in the 
 Baptistery of St. John at Sienna also belong to the manner of this time, — one represents the baptism of 
 Christ, the other St. John led before Herod. Immediately after the completion of the first gate, Ghiberti 
 received a commission to execute a similar work, which was destined for the principal door of the Baptistery, 
 the production of Andrea Pisano being moved to the second side-door. The second gate contains, in twelve 
 large panels, scenes from the Old Testament, and surrounding them are numerous figures, heads, and highly 
 graceful arabesque ornaments. The commission for the work was given to Ghiberti in 1424. The principal 
 reliefs were finished in 1447. The whole was not completed until a year after his death, in 1486. 
 Contemporary with this his greatest work, from the year 1439, Ghiberti executed the bronze sarcophagus of 
 San Zenobio in the cathedral at Florence, which, in the reliefs representing the miracles of the saint, exhibits 
 the same fine character of form and drapery which is to be remarked in the gates. We must also mention, 
 as one of his works, a sarcophagus of the saints Proteus, Hyacinthus, and Nemesis, now in the Museum at 
 Florence. This is rather ornamental than sculptui-esque in style. We have engraved some few specimens of 
 the skill of Ghiberti in Plates XI., XVIII., XXVI. 
 
 To Ghiberti, in the same direction of art, succeeded a younger master, who has also left many chstin- 
 guished works for the admiration of posterity. Luca della Robbia, born about 1400, and referred to as living 
 in 1480, was a most industrious artist. He executed many important commissions in marble and bronze, but 
 his works in burnt-clay, to which he gave a glazed surface, are most numerous. 
 
 * " Handbueh der Kunstgeshichte." f " Vita di Loreazo Ghiberti." 
 
2D ITALY. 
 
 It is not, however, to these that our sympathies must now be directed, but rather to the great viovk in 
 bronze in which he has rivalled his great contemporary Ghiberti. The gates of the Sacristy of the Cathedral 
 of Florence, executed between 1446 and 1464, contain in twelve panels the figures of the Madonna, 
 the Baptist, the Evangelists, and the four Fathers of the Church, beside each of which are two angels. 
 The figures "possess a simple dignity and beauty which remind us much of Ghiberti. In some points, 
 especially in the solemn disposition of the drapery, Luca surpasses him." Such is the opinion of Dr. Kiigler 
 upon this fine specimen of metal-work. It is to be remarked, that the style of finish in the chasing of the 
 two artists is very different. Ghiberti's is that of a jeweller, Delia Robbia's that rather of a sculptor; for 
 instance, in the little heads which project alike in each, hau- which by Ghiberti would be indicated by a 
 quantity of fine lines gracefully curving into one another, by Luca is indicated by a quantity of little 
 masses carefully raised up and modelled so as to produce the same effect, without actually working it out. 
 
 In the celebrated bronze door executed by Sansovino, about eighty years later, for the Sacristy of St. Mark's 
 at Venice, the manner of Luca has been very closely approached. The particular in which most advance appears 
 to have been made in the interval which separates the two works, is the acquisition of a free command over the 
 application of the classical conventions, which attach with propriety to the several degrees of relief, and which 
 were founded by the ancients on profound obseiwation and study.* A just appreciation of the skill with which 
 Sansovino has contrasted his round and flattened modelling,— exactly apprehending the extra degree of force which 
 is necessary to insure clearness in the main lines of the composition, in a material of so deep a colour as 
 bronze, as contrasted with that which would be requisite to produce a corresponding effect in marble, or any 
 luminous substance, — could not fail to prove most serviceable to those who would desire to reproduce works 
 of similar excellence in the present day. With Sansovino closed the series of those artists who, in Italy, treated 
 bronze in a distinctive and metallic manner. We shall presently have occasion to notice those sculptors in 
 whom the strong developemeut of will, "the sidjjective power," induced a comparative forgetfulness of the 
 demands of matter, or of the " object," and who, occupied solely with the idea of embodying some of their 
 own conceptions as rapidly as possible, dashed their thoughts into clay, without especially troubling themselves 
 whether they were to be subsequently reproduced by others, in marble, stone, wood, or metal. Up to the 
 middle of the sixteenth century the artist and the workman had been one and the same, and alike honoured; 
 hence much of the rare old excellence: after that period the artist became a patrician who designed, the 
 workman a plebeian who executed. Hence at once arose an estrangement which gradually widened, until 
 the artist made all his designs after some vague general model of a heau ideal, and the workman having 
 only his assistance on rare occasions, dropped into a jog-trot habit of collecting stock commonplaces, which 
 at last degenerated into a system of mannerism and copying, taking the place of design altogether, and 
 raising up a formidable barrier to all modern progress in the Industrial Arts. 
 
 Before resinning the subject of goldsmiths' work, it may be well to glance at the more common objects 
 in iron, brass, and bronze, the remains of which prove to us that in those days no object was sufficiently 
 insignificant to escape artistic modification. Inclosing many private chapels in the different churches of Italy, 
 exquisite grilles are yet to be found, evidencing the accomphshtnent of the smiths who executed them. In 
 the fabrication of many of these, artists of eminence were employed. Thus, on the return in the middle 
 of the fifteenth century of Simone, brother of the great Donatello, to Florence, after having been engaged 
 with Antonio Filarete in the execution of the bronze door of St. Peter's at Rome, he was immediately 
 commissioned to prepare the elaborate railing which surrounds the chapel in the Cathedral at Prato, in which 
 the " cingola," or girdle of the Vugin, is preserved. The extremely beautiful iron griUe we have engraved in 
 Plate II., from the north transept of the Church of Sta. Croce at Florence, is probably an unique specimen of 
 the perfection of medieval smiths' work in Italy. It bears the date of 1371. In a similar, though not quite 
 so perfect style, are the screens (portions of which are engraved in Plate V., figs. 1, 2, and 3) of the Chapel of 
 the Palazzo della Signoria at Sienna, and of one of the side-chapels in the Church of the Sta. Trinita at Florence. 
 The ironwork surrounding the tombs of the Scahgeri at Milan, introducing the hdder (the family cognizance), 
 is well known : portions of it are engraved in Plate V., figs. 3, 4, and 5. In addition to the examples cited 
 above many more might be quoted, but prmcipally in the north of Italy. After the year 1500, a more 
 simple style of wroug ht-iron raUing, illustrated in Plate V., figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and Plate XXXIII., became 
 universal throughout the country. 
 
 * Eastkkc, " Contributions to the Literature of the Fine Arts," 
 
ITALY. 
 
 21 
 
 The pendant lamps usually destined for burning before the representations of the Madonna, saints, &c., are 
 always exceedingly graceful objects. Those engraved from St. Mark's at Venice, Plate XXII., the Cathedral at 
 Perugia, &c., are both simple and pleasing. The cresset lights, lamps, and rings for securing horses, which 
 are frequently affixed to the angles of old palaces, both at Florence and Sienna,* frequently betray very 
 elaborate design, and an execution rivalling the antique in sharpness and' precision of drawing. Of locks, 
 door-handles, and similar objects, though here and there a few good ones are to be met with, on the whole 
 Italy cannot stand a comparison with France, Germany, or England. 
 
 The bronze knockers of Venice and Bologna have long been celebrated ; a few of the best of these have 
 been selected, and form the subjects of Plate VII. That from the Pisani Palace is the most famous of its 
 kind, and may possibly date from the latter days of Sansovino. 
 
 "Within the limits of the present work it would be impossible to condense an account of the Tarying 
 skill of those masters, by whom the dies for the coinage of Italy have been cut, such as could convey any 
 just ideas upon that most interesting subject. We can only observe, that many of theni were executed both 
 by the masters of whom we have, and we shall, make mention, and express our earnest hope that Mr. James 
 Morant Lockyer,f or some other equally well- qualified gentleman, will shortly furnish us with the artistic 
 history of Italy as it is recorded on the national coins and medals. We shall, however, offer a few remarks 
 on the peculiar medals which were generally cast in brass, or beaten up out of plate, delicately chased up 
 and finished, and then wom in the hats of the nobiUty, and occasionally of their immecUate dependants. Many 
 of these "enseignes" were of extreme beauty, and rivalled in perfection the antique coins from which they were 
 imitated. On the obverse was usually the head of the distinguished individual in whose honour they were 
 struck ; on the reverse were many different representations or emblems referring to that person. Without 
 possessing the fineness of the later coined medals, the works of this time are very frequently distinguished by a 
 spirited lively conception, and a pleasing naive rendering of ancient types, in the subjects represented. Many of 
 those who were formerly called sculptors, were also die-sinkers and medal-makers ; such was the case wdth 
 Donatello and several of his scholars, Michelozzo, Vellano, Bertoldo, and others. The Veronese, Vittore Plsano, 
 or Pisanello, was celebrated as a painter, whose pictures incline decidedly to the German style. In the latter 
 part of his life he appears to have devoted himself exclusively to producing medals. They range in date 
 between 1429 and 1449. The likenesses which they contain are executed with great refinement and individuality. 
 The representations of animals, which we frequently meet with on the reverse, appear wonderfully full of life, 
 varied, and often boldly foreshortened. One of the most distinguished of the scholars and successors of 
 Vittore in the medal department was Matteo Pasto, also much distinguished in figures. 
 
 We may also name as excellent masters in this branch of art, who flourished about the middle of the 
 fifteenth century, Antonio Marescotto of Ferrara ; Giovanni Bolda, and Gentile Bellini, both painters in Venice ; 
 Giovanni Francesca Eugola of Parma, distinguished for his close imitation of the antique ; Sperandio of 
 Mantua, who flourished towards the close of the century, w4io was distinguished as a poet; and, lastly, some 
 few artists whose works extended to the sixteenth century, and w^ho already approached the refined develope- 
 ment of the time, — such as Vittore Camelio (of whom we must remark, that he was the first to cast medals 
 in steel), the Veronese Giuho della Torre, Giovanni Maria Ponadello, and the celebrated painter Francesca 
 Francia of Bologna (originally a goldsmith). To the above-named might be added a long list, in addition 
 to whose recognised w'orks many exist by imknown masters. This cursory siurey, which has been 
 principally derived from Dr. Kiigler, may suffice for a branch of art possessing chiefly a local interest, — one, 
 however, the modem gem-engraver and die-sinker would find it not without profit to study. 
 
 That style of design which is generally understood by the term Gothic, had but a short-lived existence 
 among the Italians ; since, while they were among the latest to resign themselves to its pointed and angular 
 influence, they were the earliest to return to an imitation of the antique. Hence, in their goldsmiths' work, we 
 have found the vessels for the service of the church long retaining their primitive Greek and Lombard Archaic 
 type, and late to adopt the niche and canopy, the traceried openings, and pointed finials, which accompany the 
 ordinary mediaeval form of such objects ; and hence it is, that during the fifteenth century, just while the 
 chalices, ciboria, monstrances, &c., were arriving at their fully-developed state of florid Gothic, the orders, 
 pediments, round arches, and antique ornaments crept into fashion; shrines and reUquaries grew into temples, 
 
 * See the engravings to the Architectural Society's publications. 
 
 ■f This gentleman possesses a collection of Italian coins of the most interesting description, and has studied the subject with zeal and ability. 
 
32 
 
 ITALY. 
 
 pricket-candlesticks into candelabrii, and every object employed in the churches gradually assumed a more 
 secular aspect. During the period that this change was taking place, we cannot but remark an altered 
 system in the mode of employing the talent of the goldsmith. Instead of the great works upon which he 
 was directed to spread out his plates of metal so as to dazzle the untutored eye, his powers were concentrated 
 upon the production of small objects, enriched with elaborate work, fitted for the enjoyment of the connoisseur, 
 and valuable rather for the purity of the jewels, and the quality of the labour, than for weight or imposing 
 aspect. On larger works in silver, the principal of which were basons and salvers for secular use, which 
 were characterised as "grosseria," a less amount of attention was bestowed than on those exquisite pieces of 
 " minuteria," in which popes, cardinals, and nobles, equally delighted. It is thus that we find a distinction 
 made in the excellent "Trattato dell' Oreficeria" of Benvenuto Cellini, equivalent to that with which we 
 separate silversmiths' from goldsmiths' and jewellers' work. It is to be remembered, that in the old days 
 no such difference either in practice or in the artificial classification of guilds existed. 
 
 One of the most interesting passages in the work of Cellini is that in which he records his admiration 
 for his great predecessors in his art ; and as it takes up in some degree the thread of our narrative, we 
 give our readers the benefit of it : — 
 
 " I will now speak of those men who, by following the principles of this art, arrived at the most noble 
 results, such as (under the protection of Cosimo di Medici), Donatello the sculptor, Filippo di Ser Brunellesco 
 the architect, and Lorenzo Ghiberti who executed the wonderful bronze gates of San Giovanni Batista in Florence ; 
 for these most excellent artists, all, from the beginning practised in goldsmiths' work. In company wdth 
 those who have already become renowned through the pens of many worthy writers, we will also (so that 
 they may not through the injustice of their age lose their deserved praise) mention those who followed this 
 art only, viz. Antonio del Pollaiuolo, a most excellent goldsmith, and of such merit in the art of designing, 
 that not only the other goldsmiths made use of his designs, but many sculptors and painters of his time 
 obtained reputation by availing themselves of them. To him must be added Maso Finiguerra, who, adopting 
 the designs of the aforesaid Antonio, had no rival in engraving in niello. Also Amerigo Amerighi, unsurpassed 
 in enamelHng; and Michel Agnolo da Pinzidimonte, who had no small reputation for jewel setting, and gained 
 much praise for his workmanship, which was equally good in niello, in enamel, and in chasing : but much 
 more famous than these were Piero, Giovanni, and Romolo del Tavolaccino, three brothers : they were 
 unequalled for excellence of design in setting jewels in pendants and I'ings ; they were also much esteemed for 
 chasing, and basso-relievo. The reputation of the art was increased also by Stefano Salteregli, Zanobi del 
 Lavacchio, and Bastiano Cennini, the latter of whom executed for a long period the coinage of the money of 
 Florence. Piero di Nino was also a goldsmith, though he only worked in filagree, in which he excelled all; 
 as did also Antonio di Salvi, an excellent worker of heavy plate, and Salvadore Pilli, whose skill in enamels 
 was very great. But why have I omitted Lorenzo dalla Colpaia, and Andrea del Verrochio ? the former of 
 w^hom, while exercising this art, turned his attention to watchmaking, in which profession he worked with so 
 much ability and care, that he gained the praise of the most skilful of that profession in Italy ; and the 
 latter, who, though he had practised goldsmiths' work till a mature age, was accounted singiUarly meritorious 
 in sculpture. 
 
 " Not less worthy of praise than these most noble Florentine artists are some ultramontane goldsmiths, 
 who have worked with very great skill in the art; amongst whom was Martino Fiammingo,* and although 
 he followed the manner of his country, he had nevertheless very great taste and skill in engraving on copper 
 with the graver, and in niello. But Martino Fiammingo is left far behind in the art of engraving by the 
 most excellent Alberto Duro, who, not satisfying himself with engraving in niello, turned to print engraving, 
 and with so much skill, that I beUeve up to this time he has not been surpassed. Of this date were also 
 Antonio da Bologna, and Marco da Ravenna, both goldsmiths, who contended with Alberto in engraving, and 
 gained great praise therein." 
 
 It appears singular that in the passage above quoted Benvenuto should have altogether omitted the 
 mention of two artists of great reputation, viz. Fi-ancesco Francia, and Ambrogio Foppa, better known as 
 Caradosso. To the last-named, however, he makes full reparation in other parts of his work. From Vasari, 
 however, we can fortunately supply Cellini's deficiency. 
 
 + Probably Martia Schiliigantir, better knowu aa Mai-titi Schbn, whose wonderful ccusor is a maaterpieee of ornamental engraving. 
 
ITALY. 
 
 23 
 
 Francesco Francia, so well known in his later years as a painter contemporary with Raphael, gave all his 
 capabilities to the study of goldsmiths' work from a very early age, and according to his biographer's account, 
 " all that ever was done in that art he did, and better than any other." This is strong praise, certainly ; but 
 there are many corroborative circumstances to confirm its justice. Unfortunately, all his best works were 
 executed for his great patrons, the family of the Bentivogli, and perished in the troubles which subsequently 
 befell that princely house. All those exquisite translucid enamels and delicate nielli, together with the medals 
 and jewels, with which Francia adorned the nobles, spiritual and secular, of his native town, Bologna, have all 
 disappeared ; and we can now only imagine how perfect those productions must have been fi-om the refine- 
 ment and exquisite sentiment of his pictures. 
 
 Of the talents of Caradosso, Cellini speaks in terms of the highest admiration. As an enameller, he is 
 honourably mentioned ; but as an executant of figures in the round, beaten up out of sheets of gold or silver, 
 and so soldered in the seams that no mark whatever could be seen, he is placed first of all. 
 
 In every variety of minuteria, Benvenuto remarks, " Caradosso of Milan has surpassed every goldsmith 
 I have ever known. In the time of Popes Leo, Adrian, and Clement, he made many excellent works. This 
 worthy artist, in addition to his talent in his profession, possessed remarkable kindness and gentleness. But 
 still, from bestowing the greatest study and care on his works, he was never enabled to complete his com- 
 missions so quickly as those desired for whom he worked. From his love of his art, and his anxiety for fame, 
 he was enabled to recognise how difficult it was to unite perfection with rapidity, and to gain reputation and 
 at the same time execute a large number of works." His greatest work, a magnificent inkstand, mentioned by 
 Sabba* as being preserved at Milan, alone occupied him, according to that author, twenty-six years, and is 
 characterised by him as truly divine. Some of the peculiar processes practised by CeUini, and described in his 
 treatise on goldsmiths' work, he acknowledges to have learnt from Foppa, and describes the improvements 
 he made upon them. 
 
 Among the varieties of work, it frequently fell to the share of Caradosso, Cellini, and a few other artists, 
 to execute, was one involving the greatest amount of dexterity and fancy. It was that of setting gems and 
 crystal, jasper and onyx vases, in enamelled and exquisitely- chiselled mountings. We may, therefore, take 
 occasion to note the manner in which occasion was given for this kind of work, some of the choice specimens 
 of which are now the most valued ornaments of the principal museums and private collections of Europe. 
 Vasari tells us,f that it was not until the popedoms of Martin V. and Paul II. that gems of any value were 
 cut in Italy ; hut that from that period the art flourished, more particularly under the patronage of the great 
 Lorenzo de Medicis, the "Magnificent." The collection of precious stones made by this prince, and by his 
 son Piero, supplied the principal material upon which the talents of the most renowned gem-engravers of the 
 period were employed. The principal of these were Giovanni Bernardi da Castel Bolognese, Valerio Vicentino, 
 and Matteo del Nassaro. By them many charming objects in agate, crystal, lapis lazufi, &;c., were wrought 
 into both elegant and grotesque forms, and then consigned to artists in metal-work to be mounted in gold. 
 
 The cabinet of gems of the Grand Duke of Florence is unrivalled in the possession of a variety of these 
 treasures of art, on which the most exeiuisite enamelling has been attached by the ingenious processes we 
 have detailed by Benvenuto. 
 
 There are few works better known and more generally interesting than the Memoirs of Celhni, as related 
 by himself; and it is from his own portrait, thus daguerreotyped by himself, that we have become so famihar 
 with him as a man, that we are apt to almost forget his qualities as an artist. 
 
 He was born, a.d. 1500, at Florence, — at a time and in an atmosphere in which all the vices and ferocity 
 of civilisation and barbarism were practised conjointly, without the virtues and morahty of either. His life 
 appears to have been pretty equally divided between his works of art and his exploits as a spadassin, or bully. 
 That he was a passionate, and often an ill-advised man, will readily be granted by every one; but, at the 
 same time, allowance must be made for the state of society in which he lived. It appears that he studied, 
 as a youth, under Michael Aguelo and Antonio di Sandro at Florence. The first work of the execution of 
 which he makes mention in his life was the buckle of a girdle in silver in basso-reUevo, with cupids, masks, 
 and foliage. After several journeys to different places he at last settled himself at Rome, in the year 1523, 
 where he i-emained until the year 1537, and during that period acquired great reputation in all the various 
 
 Kicordi, overo Ammacstranienti di Monsignor Babba Castiglione, 1562. 
 
 t Vita di Valerio Vicentino, &c. 
 
24 
 
 ITALY, 
 
 branches of his art. Among his most celebrated productions executed at that period were the pontifical morse 
 of Clement VII. ; a precious book-cover for the Emperor Charles V. ; a chalice with the theological virtues, 
 and several coins and various medals, for Clement VII. It was at this time, also, that, according to his own 
 account, he acquired for Italy the art of damascening. Having obtained possession of a small Saracenic dagger, 
 the blade of which was ornamented with inlayings in gold, he set himself busily to work, about the year 1524, 
 until he had elaborated a process by which similar effects could be produced. Of the success ultimately 
 attainable by his process no one can doubt who has ever had an opportunity of examining the splendid shield 
 attributed to him in the possession of her Majesty the Queen, — an object which, if not by Cellini, is, at least, 
 a capo d'opera of the Milanese school. 
 
 Vibrating frequently between Rome and Florence, Cellini contiived to execute works of importance — such 
 as die-sinking for coins, &c. — for the Dukes of the latter city, as well as for the Popes of the former. 
 
 In consequence of his ungovernable temper and violence, he at length fell under the displeasure of the 
 Pope; and, after having been confined nearly a year in prison in the Castle of St. Angelo, in 1537 he set out 
 for France. Of his works, w'hile residing in Paris under the protection of Francis I., we shall render an 
 account in an ensuing chapter. 
 
 After a residence of five years he quitted France, having on this occasion contrived to incur the ill-will 
 of Madame d'Estampes. From this time (1545) until his death he resided at Florence, and was engaged 
 in making a variety of jewels and statues for the Duke of Tuscany, and more especially his large group of 
 Perseus and Medusa. This splendid work in bronze is still to be seen in the Loggia dei Lanzi in the Grand 
 Square of that city, and upon it his reputation as a sculptor principally rests. 
 
 A full list of all the various works he executed, of which he makes mention in his writings, is given in 
 the Milanese edition of 1811, with references to those passages in which he elaborately describes their form 
 and composition, and in many cases, the processes by which they were fabricated. 
 
 It is infinitely to be regretted, that of the great number of works thus enumerated but very few remain. 
 Almost all of his jewels and chef-d'cpiivres in silver and gold have entirely vanished, and there are not above 
 two or three which bear the reputation of indisputable authenticity. These are, — the salt-cellar at Vienna, two 
 jewelled cups at Florence, and a few coins and medals. It is true that several collections and museums 
 possess pieces wdiich are considered more or less likely to have been of Cellini's workmanship; but we must 
 recollect that during his life there were other artists working in the same style, and, as he himself more than 
 once confesses, at least equally skilfully. 
 
 In the British Museum is a cup, which is generally connected with the name of Benvenuto ; but, unfor- 
 tunately, although of marvellous execution, the whole style of the ornament would tend to assign its fabrication 
 to a slightly later date. CelUni died in 1571, after having for more than fifty years enriched the world with 
 the fruits of his genius. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to dismiss the subject of the position occupied by Cellini in the history of metal- 
 working without noticing a singular coincidence which occurred in his life. In his style, in his mode of study, 
 in his sympathies, the antique reigned supreme : to him the old traditions of Christian art were abhorrent. It 
 may, therefore, be regarded as a curious accident, that by his very hand the precious treasures of old church- 
 plate, which had accumulated in the possession of the Popes for centuries, on which the labours of the old 
 masters of the craft had been bestowed as on a sacred work, and for which the oblations of the faithful had 
 paid countless sums, were all relentlessly consigned to the melting-pot to reheve the temporary distress of 
 the pontiff, Clement VII. The gems were torn from their filagree settings, which were all broken up : the 
 result of the operation was a mass of pure gold, weighing no less than 200 lbs. 
 
 Doubtless, did we but possess memoirs as graphic as that of Cellini of some of his contemporaries and 
 followers, we should find much valuable information, but, as it is, we must be content with httle more than 
 a catalogue of names. 
 
 M. Labarte notices the following Italian goldsmiths, who, preserving the traditions and the style of 
 Cellini, distinguished tliemselves in the sixteenth century. The principal of these were Giovanni da Firenzuola, 
 very skilful in the manufacture of table utensils and works properly designated cose grosse ; Luca Agnola, 
 a good designer, the best workman known to Celhni when he returned to Rome in 1523; Piloto, named by 
 Vasari as very skilful; Picro, Giovanni, and Romolo del Trovalaccio, who were unequalled in the art of 
 mountmg precious stones in rings and ear-rings; Piero di Mino. famed for his works in filasrree; Lautizio 
 
ITALY. 
 
 S6 
 
 cU Perugia, who excelled in seal-engraving; Vicenzio Danti, who, in his youth, before devoting himself 
 exclusively to sculpture, had produced exquisite specimens of goldsmiths' work. Nor must we omit Girolamo 
 del Prato, the pupil and son-in-law of Caradosso, who laboured at Cremona, and was styled the Celhni of 
 Lombardy. A wonderful piece of jewellei-y, which was presented by the people of Milan to Charles V. 
 on his first entry into that city, is attributed to hini. This artist was skilful in niello, and excelled in the 
 execution of statuettes and small figures in silver, also in medallion portraits, in gold and silver, of which 
 the resemblance was perfect. Girolamo floiu-ishcd before the middle of the sixteenth century. The famous 
 Giovanni di Bologna executed in Italy, for the Medici, bas-reliefs in gold, preserved in the cabinet . of gems 
 in the gallery at Florence, and which may be regarded as specimens of goldsmith's work of great merit." 
 
 It would be unjust, to the reputation of Italy, if -we were to omit mention of that very remarkable band 
 of artist-workmen by whom the richest and most luxurious princes and nobles of all Europe were supphed 
 with arms and armour. With the manufacture of such objects, the names of Andi-ea di Ferrara and Negroli 
 of Milan must ever be honourably associated. The richest suits of plate were frequently covered all over with 
 the most elegant arabesques beaten up out of the steel and elaborately chased. Occasionally, their arabesques 
 were heightened by the most refined enrichments in damascene-work of gold and silver wire. Sometimes the 
 whole equipment was wrought in delicate flutings and polished like a mirror. In the celebrated collections of 
 the Ambras Museum, at Vienna, the Armeria Reale, at Madrid, and the Griine Gewolbe, at Dresden, are 
 preserved some of the most beautiful specimens of Milanese workmanship now existing. 
 
 The name of Giovanni di Bologna must ever stand at the head of the school of sculpturesque bronze-workers 
 to which he belonged. That school Donatello may be almost regarded to have founded, in the execution of his 
 equestrian statue of Gattamelata, and his group of Judith and Holofernes in the Loggia dei Lanzi at Florence. 
 Pohaiuolo's beautiful monument to Pope Innocent VIII. hi St. Peter's may be in most respects regarded as a 
 specimen referable to this school. Andrea Verocchio rivalled Donatello's greatest work by his celebrated statue 
 of Bartolommeo CoUeone, which stands in the Campo in front of the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo at Venice. 
 Fine it certainly is, but it wants the almost awful resolve of its great prototype. Verocchio, if in all respects 
 he has not the credit of being a first-rate metal-founder (his own casting having failed to his infinite morti- 
 fication), possessed the far higher honour of having been the instructor of Michael Angelo. This great 
 artist, although not personally particularly interested in metal, yet exercised a very powerfiil influence upon 
 its fortunes, since his genius impressed itself so forcibly upon the minds of his disciples as to determine the 
 precise conventionalities adopted by them in working in bronze. The statue of Pope Paul III., which was 
 modelled by Guglielmo della Porta, with, it is said, the assistance of Michael, is executed in that material, 
 hut, for aught of variety in its treatment, it might just as well have been in marble as well as the remaining 
 figures of that celebrated monument. In the design of the fountain of the "Tartarughe" at Rome, the figures 
 of which were modelled by Taddeo Landini, Giacomo della Porta has been more successful than Gughelmo. 
 Another fountain, of much larger dimensions, that of the Neptune at Bologna, is certainly the most 
 imposing work in bronze executed by Giovanni di Bologna; it was completed in the year 1664, and displays 
 considerable ability both in design and elaboration : aU its 20,000 lbs. weight of metal are, however, out- 
 weighed in value by the celebrated statuette of the Mercury by the same artist in the cabinet of bronzes at 
 Florence. Nothing can be imagined more perfect than the idea of that winged messenger, and the exquisite 
 manner in which it has been worked out. Tlie exaggerated and colossal style of Michael Angelo was not 
 well suited to be reproduced in bronze, and thus it is that this figure, in which Giovanni has boldly eman- 
 cipated himself from the mannerism, if it may be so styled, of the heroic, is infinitely superior to any other 
 work in bronze of the same period. Probably the mechanical processes of casting and finishing large bronze 
 statues were never carried to greater perfection than by Tacca, who worked frequently in conjunction with 
 Giovanni di Bologna. It could serve but little purpose to direct the student's attention to any of the numerous 
 commemorative statues which swarm in the churches and piazzas of Italy; some are certainly better than 
 others, but few of them offer any very remarkable features of excellence.* 
 
 It is rather in the minor works in lironze of the time of John of Bologna that cliaractcr and merit are 
 to be found; some of these are very pleasing, and have become objects of great demand in this and other 
 
 * Unti], indeed, we come to modern days, in which the Baron Marochetti'a statue to Emauuel I'hilibert, duke of Savoy, at Turin, has asserted 
 unquestionable claims to the most attentive con side ration. 
 
26 
 
 ITALY, 
 
 couuti-ies. In ornamental works in bronze occasionally many pretty specimens were executed, and among 
 the candelabra of the Roman, Venetian, and Padnan altars, much richness and beauty are to be found. In 
 Plate III. we have engraved a small candelabrum, v\'hich, allowing for difference of scale, presents some 
 features in common with those gigantic and superb ones executed by Riccio for the cathedral of St. Anthony 
 at Padua and the church of the Salute at Venice. 
 
 As nothing had been more favourable to the works in metal for domestic use than the Renaissance, so 
 nothing was more fatal for those of a religious character. These latter lost all the severity and spirit of 
 their forms, and were made by degrees to more and more closely resemble the sacrificial vessels of antiquity. 
 At the same time it is to be remarked that, never were more charming jewels made for personal decoration ; 
 never were those jewels in purer taste, or more elegantly adorned with little figures and enamels ; never was 
 armour enriched with more beautiful damascening; and never, in any period of the world, did the vessels 
 for the table display more real and genuine art and luxury. 
 
 As at length came the age of the Reformation, of the religious wars, and of the Jesuits, the Popes had 
 no time to act the part of cognoscenti and virtuosos ; on the contrary, they were hardly able to maintain their 
 position in dignity ; and when at last their position became more secure, not even the talents of the Society 
 of Jesus could recall lost art, or breathe new life into its dead bones. 
 
 Thus we find the most extraordinary stimulants resorted to, "to feign the virtue if they had it not," 
 and fearful was the consequent waste of the base and precious metals and valuable materials of every kind. 
 Charlatans arose who by a "bravura" of execution dazzled the eyes of those around them. A brilliant 
 draughtsman passed for a painter; a rapid modeller, a sculptor; a pretty sketcher, an architect; and any 
 body who could cast or stamp metal-work, a goldsmith. 
 
 The extraordinarily facile taste and invention of the Roman schools of the seventeenth century, of Bernini, 
 Borromini, and others, as may be readily imagined, exercised a powerful influence over the design of the 
 more elaborate metal manufacture of the period, and in the celebrated work of Giardini, the " Promptuarium 
 Artis Argentarise," pubMshed in 1750, the fluttering forms and draperies of the former master, and the inter- 
 minably broken and crooked scroll-work of the latter, triumph in unmitigated vulgarity. 
 
 The bronzes executed by Bernini became special objects of admiration. The enormous and extraordinary 
 baldacchino, or covering, to the altar of St. Peter's, served as a model for imitation in the cathedral at 
 Perugia and in many of the other churches throughout Italy. 
 
 During the last century, although a considerable impulse was given by the introduction of some few 
 mechanical contrivances to facilitate the production of elaborate work, and although quantities of gold and 
 silver plate, bronze, and ironwork, were executed, stiU no very great excellence characterised the designs or 
 objects executed in either material. Perhaps the best of all were those made for the iron hand-worked 
 grilles, and ornamental railings which especially abound at Venice and in the principal towns of the north 
 of Italy. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 The year 426 is memorable as being the last whicli ivitnesscd the occupation of the British soil by the 
 legions of Rome. It is true that, for nearly the whole of those 426 years, the inhabitants of this island had 
 been more or less in a state of subjection; but even that servitude had not been without its advantages, and 
 the Briton of the epoch of Valentinian was a very different being, as regards civihsation, from the half-naked 
 savage described by CiEsar. Under the auspices of such men as Suetonius, Agricola, and Severus, considerable 
 progress had been made in the arts of agriculture and architecture, as well as in working the various metals. 
 
 From the account given us by Ciesar,* the mineral riches of the country would appear to have been, if 
 not unknown, at least but little used by the natives. It is very possible, however, from the shortness of his 
 stay, that many of his general accounts of circumstances are but of local application. The number of those 
 tools or weapons called celts, which have been found in almost every part of the country, and which are 
 usually cast in brass, prove that, whether the materials of which they were made were obtained by importa- 
 tion or by any other means, they must at all events have existed in very considerable quantities. 
 
 Many copper coverings of shields, of various shapes, have been discovered; these are ornamented with 
 numerous small bosses beaten up, and separated by concentric circles.f The ancient inhabitants of this 
 island were equally proficient in working gold torques for the warriors and gorgets for the priests, and 
 there is every reason to believe that they possessed the art of enameUing, as practised by their brethren in 
 Gaul and Scandinavia.}: The Romans, doubtless, introduced many skilful artificers, and taught the Britons 
 the use of numerous tools; since it is only by snch an hypothesis that discoveries like that made near Ely 
 in 1838, where pure Roman art is found in conjunction with barbaric enamel, can be satisfactorily explained. § 
 This discovery is by no means an isolated instance. 
 
 In attempting to estimate the character of archaic goldsmiths' art, it will be essential that some general 
 conclusions on the subject of enamel should be arrived at; and as we do not know that we can afford a clearer 
 indication of the leading features of primitive enamelling than has been already given by Mr. "W. H. Rogers,|| 
 we shall adopt his remarks. That gentleman observes, that " a profound darkness hangs over the 
 history of this art in Europe. No annals describe, and no discoveries furnish, specimens tending to prove 
 that the Greeks, Etrurians, or early Romans, practised it or were aware of its existence. Even authors 
 who dedicate a portion of their works to artistic research supply nothing on the subject, and the first 
 classical authority, in which an allusion to the process occurs, is to be found in the obscure and often- 
 repeated passage of Philostratus, who says he had heard that the barbarians of the ocean were able to fuse 
 colours upon heated brass, and that the operation rendered tliem as hard and durable as stone." By the 
 people "of the ocean" Philostratus could only have meant to indicate the inhabitants of our island, some of 
 the originally Asiatic tribes settled in the north of Gaul, or the Western Scandinavians. Now, with regard 
 to the latter people, Herr Worsaae has given, as the result of his experienced labours, a conviction that they 
 wei-e totally unacquainted with enamel, and that of their remains discovered under so many circumstances 
 
 * "Nascitur ibi plumbum album ia mcditerraneis regioiiibuSj in maritimis ferrum, sed ejus exigua est copia: icre utuntur importo." C^sae 
 
 De Bella Gallico, Hb. v. cap. xii. 
 
 t At Goodrich Court there exists one with three bosses, decorated with a lacertine ornament. 
 
 X See the admirable works of Professor Worsaae, and the " Guide to Northern Archaeology," edited by the Earl of Ellesmere, in which numerous 
 weapons and other objects, corresponding in atyle of art with the ancient British, will be found carefully figured and minutely described. 
 
 § This vessel is described in the " Archirologia," vol. sv. It was found near Prick Willow, in the Isle of Ely; the handle was enamelled, and 
 had the maker's name, Boduogenus. 
 
 [] "Journal of the Arcbaiological Association," vol. iii, p. 282. 
 
28 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 nothing has heen brought to light in opposition to such a conclusion. The Gauls, both in their defensive 
 and peaceful pursuits, were well known to the Romans ; and Pliny expatiates, in particular, on the skill of 
 the Bituriges in the use of metals, yet he is silent with reference to enamel, of which one specimen at least, 
 if it had been employed among them, would necessarily have been found to reward the investigator's anxiety. 
 
 " It remains to speak of the ancient Britons. Ctesar attempts to give a careful detail of their customs and 
 religion, but makes no alliLsion to the art of enamelling ; while no fragments, beyond four circular ornaments 
 in the local museum at Warwick, and an analogous relic discovered in Pegge's barrow (all resembling the 
 decoration of the Durham book, executed at the end of the seventh century), have been cited as late examples 
 of the barbarous works mentioned by Philostratus." 
 
 " We venture to assume, upon the authority of existing memorials, that enamel as appUed to metal was 
 revived in Europe not much before the third century, after which period specimens became prevalent in the 
 Roman empire, and especially in its provinces. Those discovered in Britain more immediately interest us. 
 The class to which they belong has been called champ-leve by French antiquaries, and may be thus briefly 
 described: — A piece of metal is made in the desired form; the proposed pattern is then traced upon it in 
 thin lines, and the intermediate spaces sculped or tooled out for the reception of enamel, which is afterwards 
 inserted in a powdered state and fused by the action of tire. Fibula; so enamelled are not unfrequently 
 found in the neighbourhood of Roman encampments, since the Roman soldiery in Britain greatly employed 
 them. They are usually of a circular form, but occasionally exhibit that of the letter S; of such kind, two 
 have been found in Yorkshire, and one of unusual beauty is preserved in the medal-room of the British 
 Museum. Some are of the age of Severus, but those of later date are easily distinguishable in their designs 
 by numerous curves and circles, well-turned scrolls, and ornaments representing Amazonian shields. The 
 beautiful bronze vessel, discovered in one of the Bartlow-hill barrows, has been too ably described by 
 Professor Faraday to require more than an allusion to it as the most remarkable specimen of Roman 
 enamel ever brought to light. It may, however, be interesting to add that, on a careful analysis, that 
 gentleman found that of the three colours it displays, the blue was the result of cobalt, and the red and 
 green of copper." 
 
 From the character of the miijority of such remains of Romano- British workmanship, there can be 
 little doubt that British art at the end of the fifth century was but a debased imitation of that of Rome 
 or Constantinople. At length came the Saxon invasion ; the Britons were driven to a remote corner of the 
 island, and art was forgotten in the general confusion, and in the privations to which they were exposed. 
 
 The long and obscure period of the Saxon Heptarchy is elucidated by only one contemporary author of 
 great merit ; it is from the venerable Bede that we learn the important fact, that, with the exception of 
 some slight intercourse with Rome, the tide of civilisation, for nearly 400 years, flowed uninterruptedly from 
 Ireland. It is true that in various parts of England a few gold ornaments have been found decorated, more 
 or less, with pieces of red glass or rude cloisonne enamel ; but these, it is to be obseiwed, are of exactly the 
 same manufacture as those found in the tomb of Childeric of France, and may have been importations from 
 Rome or Byzantium. With regard, however, to other processes of jewel-working, it may be observed 
 that the ring of Alhstan, bishop of Sherborne (a.d. 800), with many other remains which have been 
 discovered, principally in tumuli, prove that the native art of champleve enamelling was never altogether lost. 
 " We also leai'n from the venerable Bede, that when Gregory the Great dispatched Mellitus Paulinus and 
 others to assist Augustine in the mission of converting the Saxons, they brought with them many sacred 
 vessels, which, no doubt, sen'ed as the primitive types from w'hich the forms, &c., of all subsequent church- 
 plate were derived : before 700, w^e find that the travelled Wilfred invited many foreign workmen to England, 
 and was in the possession of large quantities of plate and jewels. King Oswald, in 631, is related by Alcuin 
 to have endowed churches with every variety of goldsmiths' work ; and it is remarkable, that Eddius distinctly 
 describes costly work in gold and gems to have been executed by inchisores gemmanm, or jewellers, and 
 speaks of them at that time as common and ordinary artificers. Bede mentions that Bishop Benedict, 
 in 676, imported many sacred vessels; and from his time down to the year 800 we meet with constant 
 accounts of most princely donations, the great majority of the component parts of which are described as 
 having been made by native workmen."* Hence "we may infer, that before the dissolution of the Heptarchy by 
 
 * From an interesting article on Saxon Jewellery by the Rev. W. Pegge, in the "Archieologia," vol, iv. p. 10. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 29 
 
 the talents or good fortune of Egbert, the goldsmith's art was in a most flourishing state; and the 
 opus Ancflicum, or Anglicanmn, in the words of an old author, was celebrated even in Italy. As to the veritable 
 remains of this epoch, there is scarcely a single work on archeology which does not afford numerous 
 illustrations of the spoils of the Saxon barrows : from these we find that the champleve and opaque enamels 
 were still in use, and that the lacertiue ornaments, which the importation of Roman art had caused to 
 disappear among the Britons, were again extensively employed.* It is still doubtful whether if is to this or to 
 another peculiar species of enamelling that the term opus Ilihernicum is to be referred. ^ The variety to which 
 we allude, and which is mo.st commonly met with in Ireland, though occasionally in England and France,f 
 consists of a species of mosaic executed in enamel pastes, in different colours, without any intei'vening strips 
 of metal. Almost all the Irish antiquities are made in bronze with silver ornaments ; these ornaments consist 
 of lacertine patterns, executed, either by repousse, i.e. beaten up from the back, or by threads of metal forced 
 into grooves made to receive them. The enamels are often of a circular shape, and have probably been made 
 up bit by bit and connected by a flux, which, becoming fusible at a lower temperature than that which w^ould 
 be requisite to liquify the various strips of enamel, binds them all together sufficiently securely to admit of the 
 whole being ground down to an even face and polished. 
 
 We have before remarked, that the English nation was in all probability well versed in the nrt of the 
 goldsmith at the time of the dissolution of the Heptarchy and the accession of Egbert. Of the encouragement 
 afforded by Egbert himself we have little or no account, but William of Malmesbury, in his "Vita Pontificum," 
 describes a shrine given by Ethelwolf, his son and successor, to the Abbey of Malmesbury, which " in anterior! 
 parte ex solido argento jactis imaginibits, in posteriore vero k'vato metallo miracula figuravit:" he also adds, 
 " fastigium crystallinum rex Ethelwolfus apposuit scrinio in quo nomen ejus Uteris aureis est legeri." Now the 
 term " jactis imaginibus " most probably indicates " cast work," and is opposed to " levato metallo " or 
 incised work, and from the expression " fastigium crystallinum," we are, no doubt, to understand that the crest- 
 work was in the form of an inscription, and decorated with crystal balls. We have, moreover, contemporary 
 evidence that Ethelwolf sent his youngest son (Alfred) to Rome, lived there himself for a whole year, and 
 on his return married a French princess. Whether the art of filagree enamelling was introduced at this 
 time, or in that of the great Alfred, is exceedingly uncertain, although the inscription;]: on the jewel found 
 at Athelney, in Somersetshire, and now preserved hi the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, gives us reason to 
 believe that it was certainly practised in England during the reign of the latter king ; from that time down to 
 the Conquest we are assured by repeated discoveries that the art, so far from degenerating, rather improved. 
 
 As it has long been a contested point among antiquarians whether the Alfred jewel may be regarded as 
 of English or foreign execution, we shall dedicate a few lines to the subject, pointing out, firstly, the state of 
 the art of enamelling previous to the year 870; secondly, what information is to be obtained from contemporary 
 authors ; and thirdly, what internal evidence is afforded by the jewel itself 
 
 Firstly : Almost all the enamelled articles which can be attributed to a date prior to that of Alfred have 
 either the opus Hiheniicum, or the opaque champkve pastes, common to all the northern nations.§ Those 
 comparatively very rare articles which are enriched with cloisonne enamels, are for the most part found in 
 connexion with Greek or Byzantine remains ; such are the ornaments described in the thirtieth volume of the 
 " Archa-ologia," which consist of Roman coins set in a border of the sealing-wax red enamel so often met with. 
 Similar ornaments and decorations have been discovered in Denmark and Norway, and it is the opinion of 
 the antiquaries of those countries that they were imported from Constantinople by the varingers, or body-guard 
 of the Greek emperors, who were for the most part Danes or Saxons. 
 
 * It is by no means improbable that in such instances it was derived from Ireland, for not only at that period, but for long after it, every 
 object of Irish art was more or less ornamented with similar lacertine figures, which are often executed in a rude species of damascening. See the 
 Cross of Cong, the Lisniore Crozicr, the Caah or Cuthaeh, the Doumach Airgid, the Meeshac, and the Lcabhar Dhimma. 
 
 t The Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, the collections of Dr. Petrie, the Rev. Mr. Butler, and other distinguished Irish antiquaries, 
 contain many admirable specimens of Hibernian enamel. A highly-interesting specimen of a similar kind of work, found in the bed of the river 
 Witham, near Lincoln, was exhibited in the museum of the Archseoiogical Institute held at that town. Lord Talbot de Malahide has engraved a 
 few choice fragments found at Lagore, in the county Mcath, after a drawing by the author of this work.— See vol. vi. p. 105, of the " Transact ion a " 
 of the Institute. 
 
 I The mscription is as follows: — "i^ Aelpred mec heht gevvbcan." On the obverse is a rude portrait of the king, and on the reverse an 
 elegant florcated ornament, both executed in cloisonne enamels. This interesting object has been minutely figured and described, both by Mr. Albert 
 Way and Mr. Henry Shaw: the former, in vol. ii. of the "Journal of the Archseoiogical Institute;" the Utter, in his "Dresses and Decorations." 
 
 § The ring of Ethelwolf (respecting the origin of which there is no doubt), whether it be filled in with black enamel, iiielio, or damascening, is 
 unquestionably executed by the champleve process. 
 
30 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 From these facts it appears probable that, before the reign of the great Alfred, the native workmen did 
 not make cloisonne enamels, and that any which may have been found in this country, and which are referable 
 to a date prior to that epoch, were imported from the East. 
 
 Secondly, As to contemporary authorities, Asser, to whom we are indebted for almost all our information 
 I'especting Alfred, tells us that *' the knig continued, during his frequent wars, &c., to teach his workers in 
 gold and artificers of all kinds." We next find him founding a monastery at Athelney, and in this monastery 
 he collected " monks of all kinds from every qiiarter, and placed them therein. First he placed there, as Abbot, 
 John the priest and monk, an old Saxon by birth; then certain pi'iests and deacons from beyond the sea." Now 
 we know that in Ireland, Germany, France, and Italy, the arList-monasteries were flourishing at this time ; 
 might not some of these " foreign monks " have been Italians or renegade Greeks, and have occupied their 
 time in teaching the art of cloisonne enamelling to their Saxon companions ? This hypothesis will appear 
 less improbable when we consider, — 
 
 Thirdly, the internal evidence of the figure itself. It has all the appearance of being the work of a 
 beginner only; the features are remarkably coarse and rude; the fingers are entirely omitted; and the drawing 
 of the whole is exceedingly barbarous, as compared with many of the illuminated MSS. of an even earlier period. 
 
 Very different in style from this is the fibula found in Thames Street, in 1839.* There the figure is most 
 beautifully executed, and is surrounded by the high edging of filagree specially recommended by Theophilus. 
 Mr. Roach Smith believes it to be of the same date as the Alfred jewel, and if so, it would go far to prove 
 that the former was but the attempt of a tyro. As to the Hamilton fibula (Plate XLVII.), now in the British 
 Museum, the same authority tells us that nothing is known about it, but that it is believed to have been 
 discovered in Scotland ; and although there is no attempt to represent the figure, the cross and other ornaments 
 are so beautifully drawn and executed as to make it appear to be of later date than either of the before- mentioned 
 specimens. On the whole we feel justified in concluding, that it was just about the time of Alfred that the 
 Saxons learnt the art of cloisonne enamel; that it was from the Eastern Empire that the art originally came, 
 whence it was imported into this country ; and that Alfred's jewel, differing as it does in many respects 
 from contemporary Byzantine work, is most probably one of the early productions of a native artificer under 
 the instructions of a foreign master. 
 
 Passing over Edward and Athelstan, the successors of Alfred, concerning whose patronage of the arts but 
 little is known, we find that the following six reigns are but the history of the life of St. Dunstan, who, like 
 St. Eloi of France, was at once a goldsmith and a royal minister. 
 
 From the period of his death, which occurred in the year 988, to the Conquest, the total absence of peace, 
 and the incursions of the Danes, confirmed the truth of his political predictions. With regard to his skill as 
 a goldsmith, but little tangible information is to be gleaned, although in after times he became the patron 
 of the trade, and enjoyed the same honours in England as St. Eloi did in France. The saintly legends 
 relate that it was while working at his forge that the enemy of man took occasion to tempt him in the form 
 of a beautiful woman. That occurrence, however, is related to have taken place in his early life, and possibly 
 as he grew older, his avocations of bishop and statesman left him but Httle time for this employment; for, 
 unlike St. Eloi, we hear of few or no works which may be attributed to his handicraft being preserved in 
 any of the great monasteries. Almost the only instance in which we can trace any record of the kind is the 
 following notice of the royal property of Edward I., and respecting even that there existed many doubts: — 
 " Unus anulus auri cum saphiro qui fuit de fabrica S"' Dunstani tit credehatur."f We are also informed 
 that he made a bell, and several other things. 
 
 At this distance of time, and in the total absence of any of the original works, it is perfectly impossible 
 to say anything respecting the artistic merit of St. Dunstan; but the very fact of the monk becoming the work- 
 man will prove that, if there were no regular artist monasteries as in France, at least the art of metal- 
 working was not neglected in the Engfish cloister. 
 
 The chroniclers have been exceedingly sparing of their information on the subject of our inquiry during 
 the Danish doiuinion in England. Of Canute we know httle or nothing, beyond the general fact that both 
 he and his wife Emma were great benefactors to the churches,]; and almost the only object of any note 
 
 * Engraved in vol, xxix. of the " Archseologia." 
 
 t See Topham'a wardrobe account, 28 Edward I., published by the Antiquarian Society. 
 
 J Possibly Bonie of the gifts conaisted of jewelled tabulfc, like that presented in 9G9 by Aldwin, earl of the East Saxons, to the church of Ramsay. 
 
ENGLAND, 
 
 recorded is the present made by Earl Godwin to Hardicaniite, which consisted of a ship beaked " with gold, 
 having eighty soldiers on board, every one of which had two bracelets on either arm, each weighing sixteen 
 ounces of gold ; on their left shoulder they carried a Danish axe, with an iron spear in their right hand," 
 &c. Possibly the celebrated silver cup found near Lancaster in 1815, and described in the eighteenth volume 
 of the " Archa^ologia," may be referred to somewhere about this period, more especially as Saxon and Danish 
 coins were discovered inside. The engraved figures and ornaments, which are remarkably spirited, have the 
 appearance of being copied from Roman pottery. 
 
 The protracted residence of Edward the Confessor at the Norman court had the effect of introducing 
 the fashions of that country into England, and during the^twenty years he sat upon the throne, the jewellery 
 and goldsmiths' work were no doubt modified by a new impulse. 
 
 Before dismissing the subject of Saxon goldsmiths' art, we will quote the foUomng passage from the 
 parliamentary inventory of Charles the First's effects, as showing what were, in all probability, the characteristics 
 of the ancient regalia : — " Queen Edith's crown, formerly thought to be of massey gold, but, upon tryall, 
 found to be of silver gilt, enriched with garnet, foul pearl, sapphire, and some stones, weighing 50^ oz. = 16/. 
 King Ellfred's crown of gold ivire-work, sett with slight stones and two little bells,^ weighing 79.J oz. at 3*. 
 per oz. 1000^." (sic.) As the articles themselves have been destroyed and no drawing remains, it is impos- 
 sible at the present time to say with any certainty whether these crowns had any just claims to the title 
 which they bore ; however there is every probability, from the circumstances of the filagree and little bells, 
 that they really were of Saxon manufacture. Our information is equally scanty respecting the reigns of the 
 two first Williams and Henry I. ; we read, indeed, that Abbot Theodwin, who died in 1070, gave to the 
 cathedral of Ely a precious "tabula" for the altar, which is thus described in the second book of the 
 "Liber Eliensis:" — '"He also caused to be made a tabula of gold and silver and of admirable workmanship, 
 in the middle of which was a throne with the image of God, and round it, in a circle, silver images, entirely 
 gilt, and here and there zones adorned with precious stones. It was thought to be the chief of all the 
 riches in the English kingdom." 
 
 After the death of Theodwin, the king's officers were sent to take an inventory of the plate. Sec, then, 
 in possession of the abbey ; but as it merely contains a dry list of chalices, thuribles, and altar -vestments, it 
 is not worth extracting. 
 
 We are told by the great Suger, archbishop of Paris, that Henry L was in possession of a vast number 
 of drinking-vessels, splendidly decorated with jewels ; and in the division of the treasure after his death these 
 fell to the share of Thibaut, Stephen's brother, who gave them to certain abbeys, by whom they were sold 
 for 400 livres to Suger himself, who was, by melting them down, enabled to complete his celebrated 
 golden crucifix.f The reign of Stephen was far too turbulent to allow the least encouragement to the gold- 
 smith, and at a time when almost every church was plundered, and men openly complained that God 
 and his saints were asleep,":]: the smith and the armourer were far more useful to society. 
 
 During this and the ensuing reign we have some splendid specimens of the skill and design of the 
 Norman blacksmiths on the doors of St. Alban's Abbey; St. Mary's, Leicester; and at Sempringham Church, 
 Lincolnshire. Of such elaborate ironwork there would appear to have been two distinct styles in use ; in 
 the first, the maiii strap which holds the door together, and by which it is hung, is placed between two 
 others in the form of a semicircle (Plate XXXIV.); in the other, these secondary straps take the form of 
 flowing curves (Plate IX.), and contain the germ of those beautiful foliated hinges which w^e so much admire 
 in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (Plate XIII.). The door is, in either case, generally edged with 
 rather a wide band of iron going all round it. 
 
 Concerning metaWork during the reigns of Richard I. and John but little information is to be obtained : 
 we know, however, that many of the churches were obliged to sell their plate to effect the ransom of the 
 former. The latter was particularly fond of bedecking himself with jewellery ; and more than one instance is 
 mentioned in Matthew Paris of his anger being assuaged, or his favour obtained, by presents of this description. 
 The loss of all these personal riches while crossing the Wash is thought to have had no small influence in 
 hastening his death. His son Henry HI. is almost the only king in our annals who loved and patronised art 
 
 * In the fibula described in the 29th volume of " Aicliieologia," the figure has a crown with two small appendages, which may possibly represent 
 the hells. 
 
 t This fact ia mentioned by Suger in his work, " De rebua gestis in aufl, adminiatratione." J Vide the "Saxon Chronicle." 
 
 M 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 for its own sake, and fortunately there exist numerous rolls of expenses connected with his reign, which supply 
 us with a superabundance of information respecting the yarious important works undertaken during its conti- 
 nuance. From them we learn that the great work of his life was the building and adorning of the Abbey of 
 Westminster, and that his riches were lavished with a most unsparing hand upon the new shrine of Edward the 
 Confessor, the crowning ornament of that noble building. This " Feretrum"* was begun at an early part of his 
 reign, and was hardly completed at the time of his death. Odo, or Otho, the goldsmith, appears either to 
 have superintended the work or lent funds for its execution; thus, in 1241, we find the king directs payment 
 through him of a sufficient sum of money for the support of the goldsmiths working at Westminster, or, as it 
 is elsewhere worded, "ad operationes pheretri beati Edwardi." In 1267, political troubles obliged Henry to 
 pawn the ornaments of the shrine, and the inventory gives us a tolerably good idea of his liberality ; we there 
 find the images of gold, ornamented more or less with jewels, varying in value from 601. to 300?., equal to about 
 3000?. : some of them represented kings, and others angels. There was one of the Virgin and Child, worth 200?., 
 another of St. Edmund, and another of St. Peter trampling on Nero : there was a fine sapphire, worth lOOl. ; 
 and a great cameo, in a golden case, with a golden chain, worth 200?. : probably this last was intended to 
 vie with the great cameo in the Sainte Chapelle, at Paris, whither it had been brought from Constantinople 
 by the Emperor Baldwin II. It was not until 1269 that Henry solemnly translated the body of the Saint 
 from the old place unto the golden shrine, " quod ei paraverat." As we shall often have occasion to refer to 
 the Rolls of Henry HI., we cannot fail to be struck with the oft-repeated mention of Odo the goldsmith 
 and his son Edward; and it consequently becomes more than a question of curiosity to ascertain what part 
 they took in those works in connexion with which their names are so often brought forward. It appears 
 probable that both father and son acted rather in the capacity of bankers than either of working goldsmiths, 
 " imaginators," or painters, although from the instructions given to them from time to time, and recorded in 
 the various rolls, it would appear, at the first glance, that they were practically engaged in all those capacities. 
 The family was one of high antiquity and wealth, one of them having been moneyer to Edward the Con- 
 fessor. The name of Odo appears in Doomsday Book as holding lands in Essex and Suffolk, probably in fee 
 for the hereditary office of "chief moneyer," which was confirmed by Ilem-y I. to the son of the Fitz-Odo 
 of the Conqueror's time. The hereditary ofiice involved the responsible duty of seeing to the preparation 
 of the mint-dies, and superintending the purity and striking of the coin of the realm. As money-lenders 
 and general agents it appears unquestionable, from the nature of their transactions and matrimonial alliances, 
 that they must have driven a thriving trade. 
 
 Next in importance to the Odos, Henry's principal goldsmith appears to have been William of 
 Gloucester. He it was who made the silver statue for the tomb of the Princess Catherine in 1257 (the 
 year of her death). The statue has long since disappeared; but if it was anything like the original, who 
 is described by Matthew Paris as being "facie pulcherrima," we have every reason to regret its loss. In 
 1264 he is ordered to find gold for the decorations of the King's Chamber, and from this roll we learn that 
 he was a citizen of London. He also received in the 42d of Henry III. twenty marcs for making a precious 
 cloth for the altar of the blessed Edward, and 60s. to repair a "turribulnm" (or censer). We also read of 
 one " Elijas Aurifaber." 
 
 The whole of Henry's munificent presents to the Abbey of Westminster have entirely disappeared; the 
 altar-frontal, which is still presei-ved, demands no notice from us, as it no longer displays any of its once 
 precious metal-work, and as the entire subject has lately been so admirably illustrated by the ability and 
 research of Professor Donaldson, Mr. G. G. Scott, and Mr. W. Burgess.f As to Henry's bronze effigy, 
 there is every reason to believe that it was not executed until after the death of his daughter-in-law, Eleanor, 
 queen of Edward I., who died in 1290; for in the account of her executors, published by the Roxhurghe 
 Club, under the able editorship of tliat accomphshed student of the arts, hterature, and customs of the middle 
 ages — the late Mr. Hudson Turner, we find one WilUam Torel engaged upon the effigies of a king and a 
 queen: that this king was Henry is the more probable from the fact that both the figures betray the same 
 style of workmanship, and from the absence of any statue at all upon Edward's own tomb. And, again, in 
 the 18th of Edward I. (1290), there is a payment made to Master Henry, of Lewes, for the iron-work of the 
 
 * See the notices given by the late lamented antiquary, Mr. Hudson Turner, i[i the " Roxhurghe Club," 30, 27. 
 t In several meetings of the Koyal Institute of British Architects, Session 1851-3. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 38 
 
 tomb of King Henry. Now, if the work had been begun on Edward's return from Italy, it must have been 
 in hand for sixteen years, which is not very probable.* 
 
 As regards the workman Torel, Mr. Turner appears disposed to believe that he was an Itahan, 
 founding his belief upon the supposition that Torel is only a corruption of Torelli, the name of the celebrated 
 Florentine family; and that it was the opinion of Flaxman that these effigies had been executed by some of 
 the scholars of Nicolo Pisano, who died in 1260. Mr. Turner likewise hints that he was probably the 
 same as Wilham the Florentine, whom we find employed as a painter in the latter years of Henry HI. ; 
 but this appears, on many accounts, highly improbable. 
 
 Now it appears to us that these ingenious arguments are, after all, little more than pure conjecture. 
 The first is disposed of by the fact that one Torel holds lands in Lincolnshire, in Doomsday Book, 
 and in the same authority, Toroldus occurs in the accounts of Essex and Suffolk. In the " Excerpta e 
 Rotuhs fininm," we find in 6th Henry III. (1222) entries respecting certain lands in Essex and Hertford- 
 shire, belonging to one IVUVuim Torel, whose father also, a ll'illiam Torel, was then just dead. There appears, 
 therefore, every reason for believing that William Torel, citizen of London, and artist to these two tombs 
 belonged to this family. 
 
 As to the assertion of Flaxman, that the style is Italian rather than native, it is disproved by the 
 similitude of these figures to contemporary ones, which we know are of English art. The draperies are 
 identical. There is no trace of the Giottesque type in the features ; and the architectural ornaments in connexion 
 with the effigies, such as the canopies over the heads, have all the characteristics of the Enghsh school. 
 
 The before-mentioned accounts are remarkably curious, and afford us the most complete information 
 respecting the progress of the works. Among other things we learn that Torel executed all the lax^e effio-ies 
 of the qneen, which were placed on the tombs in Lincoln Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Church 
 of the Blackfriars, London ;f and that these were, first of all, modelled in wax in the usual manner. We 
 have also the price of the metal, 1700 pounds for 1\l. 13s. ai.; and another account tells us that the place 
 where the effigies were made was the burial-ground of the Abbot of Westminster. The queen's executors 
 purchase 350 gold florins " de mercatoribus de Lucca" for the gilding. Master Thomas Hokyntone, "le char- 
 pentier," makes the hoarding and puts up the " co-opercidum," which was painted by Walter of Durham, the 
 king's painter; and, finally, William, "le pavour," makes good the paving, and Master Thomas de Leghtone, 
 the smith, puts up the beautiful " ferramentum," which we still so much admire. 
 
 But Torel was not the only artist capable of casting in brass. William of Suffolk modelled (in wax) 
 and cast most of the small images for the sides of the Lincoln and Blackfriars tombs ; % and Master Alexander 
 of Abingdon, and Dennynge de Reyns (possibly a Frenchman), also executed some of them in wax, althouo-h it 
 does not appear that they were ever cast. 
 
 Time has left us but few works of art more touchingly beautiful than these two effigies in Westminster 
 Abbey, and the more credit is due to Torel, as they appear to be rather ideal representations than true 
 likenesses of the persons represented. We also know that Henry had several personal defects, of which we 
 find no traces in the statue ; and both he and Queen Eleanor, when they died, were far more advanced in age 
 than a consideration of the effigies would lead us to imagine. The figures are in a species of alto-rehef, and 
 the draperies are remarkably well cast, especially that of the king, which is exceedingly broad and graceful; 
 the eyes are not recessed as we see them in the antique. The hands are beautifully proportioned, and their 
 action simple and dignified. 
 
 In the same abbey, not far from the effigy of Eleanor, is another metal tomb, of nearly the same date 
 but of very different workmanship, and as it is the only one of this style of art still remaining in England, 
 a short notice of it may not be unacceptable. 
 
 William de Valence, half-brother of Henry HI., was killed by the French at Bayonne in 1296, and most 
 probably his tomb was brought over to England along with his body, if not made in bis lifetime. The latter 
 fact is by no means improbable, since precedents for such a practice were not wanting at that period. We 
 
 * In tie Pell "Eecorila of the E.xchequer," edited (in English) by T.Devon, p. txiiv., is this entry,— "17 Edward I. To Hugh lie Kendale, 
 n6s. 4i<J. for erecting a certain honse in the bnrial - place of the Abbot of Westminster, in which the statues of Queen Eleanor and Kmg Henry 
 are being made." This is eonelusive. " 
 
 t That at Blackfriars, where the heart was bui-ied, was probably destroyed at the Reformation. The Lincoln effigy, which covered the viscera, 
 remained until the Great Rebellion. 
 
 X The Westminster tomb baa shields in the panels, and therefore would not require figures, 
 
34 ENGLAND. 
 
 know that in 12(i7 the effisty of Walter Mertou, bishop of Rochester, had been made and brought into 
 Eno;land by Magister Johannes Limovicensis, iind that for its eonstrnction he was paid 40/. 5s. Orf. If the 
 effigy was made during the hfetime of the Earl, it is by no means improbable that the same artist was 
 employed in both cases. 
 
 There is, first of all, a stone altar-tomb, then a wooden box, the sides of whieh have been decorated 
 with niches and statuettes ; this supports a table of wood on which the efBgy of the deceased is placed, and 
 whieh is the only part still retaining its plating of copper. The fact of the shield being placed upon the hip, 
 and of the surcoat being powdered with small escutcheons, instead of having the arms emblazoned all over it, 
 is a sufficient proof of the French origin of this monument ; as to the efBgy itself, it is rudely can-ed in oak, 
 and upon it are plated thin sheets of copper, rather less than one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The junctures 
 of these plates are concealed by strips of filagree, so disposed as to form the hems of the garments and the 
 joinings of the mail ; that forming the sureoat is the only one at present remaining, but the positions of the 
 others are inchcated by the nails. The pillow, girdle, belt for the shield, and shield itself, are most beautifully 
 enamelled, and amongst the colours we find a grey, of rather rare occurrence. Theie is a certain stiffness 
 about the whole drawing of the figure* which gives it no small semblance to the raised statuettes so often 
 found upon the Bahills or Coffirs, and which contrasts most unfavourably with the contemporary works of 
 Torel. 
 
 During the whole of the reign of Edward I. and part of that of his successor, an immense quantity 
 of Limoges work was imported into England. This may be partially accounted for by the fact that Edward 
 at the beginning of his reign was in possession of the districts of Limousin, Saintonge, and Agenois, which 
 had been ceded to him by treaty ; and when his tomb was opened, at the begimiing of the last century, the 
 body was found dressed in royal robes, the stole of whieh was ornamented with quatre-foils of filagree-work, 
 while the sceptre had the fohage and the dove covered with enamel. We also know that at this time Richardni, 
 the " Emaileur de Londres," was living at Paris, possibly for the purpose of learning his art. 
 
 The Household Roll of the 28th Edward I., whieh was published under the editorship of Mr. Topham, 
 by the Antiquarian Society, furnishes us with a very long and copious list of the quantity of plate and 
 jewels then in the king's possession. By far the most numerous of the articles mentioned are the " scyphi," 
 which appears to have been a common term for every sort of drinking-vessel, including both hanaps and 
 bowls. We also find a great many "firmacula" (brooches) and "picheri." Among the curiosities is a shell 
 (cokilla) given to the king, "per mercatores de Luk," and two spoons signed with the Paris mark, "set. de 
 quodam (lore glegeU " (supposed to have been the fleur de lys). We also hear frequent mention of Adam 
 Aurifaber, who on one occasion went into foreign parts to inspect a certain " capellum auri," and of his son, 
 "Filium Ade Anrifabrum Regis," who made two silver dishes, "pro interferculis " (side-dishes). This Adam 
 of Shoreditch appears to have been the principal goldsmith employed by Edward, for we find him on one 
 occasion binding books to the value of <il. 13s. 3(1. ; and again, one of liis bills is presen-ed in the Tower, 
 amongst the items of whieh is a " group in silver of a child riding upon a horse, the child being a likeness of 
 Lord Edward, the king's son." This group was gilt, and cost seventy-two shiUings. William Farringdon, 
 goldsmith, of London, supplied the pitcher of gold, enamelled and set with precious stones, which Edward 
 presented to his queen on the feast of the Circumcision, and it was also from him that the king and queen 
 bought the jewellery wdiich they gave, as presents to the nobles of their court, and offerings to their patron 
 saints. 
 
 Edward II., although reigning but for a short time, was, we are told, very extravagant; and were the 
 accounts of his expenses extant we should no doubt find much information: we can, however, only regret 
 their loss, and content ourselves with noticing those works of the same period that are extant in baser materials. 
 
 It appears that bronze was used for many other purposes besides monumental figures, and a good many 
 pots and ewers of that metal have come down to us with inscriptions in Lombardic characters ; these 
 characters are generally put on separately, in the same manner as we see in old bells. There is an ewer 
 engraved in the " Archfeological Journal" with the words "Venez lavez;" and a hunting-pot, in the fourteenth 
 volume of the " Archasologia," has the words " Vilelmus Augetel me fecit," and above, "Je su pot de graunt 
 honlieur — viande a fere de bon saohnr." 
 
 * The features and hands are particularly clumsy and coarse. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 86 
 
 We have already seen that it was Master Thomas de Leghton who made the grille for Queen Eleanor's 
 tomb at "VYestminster ; and in the accounts we find him charging the expenses for its carriage from Leghton 
 to London, and his own and his men's expenses while there. It is curious that the door of the church 
 of Leighton Buzzard is still decorated with some very beautiful hinges, which are given in this work 
 (Plate IX.), from a drawing of Mr. Gibson's. Tliere can be little doubt, from the style of the details of the 
 work, that they were executed during the same time that Master Thomas flourished, and were, no doubt 
 by his hand ; indeed, from the time of the introduction of the pointed arch, the design of the iron-work 
 had been gradually improving, and the doors of St. Mary's, Norwich, the Chapter House of York, the hall 
 of Merton College, Oxford, and some specimens in Chester Cathedral, are probably among the finest examjjles 
 of iron-work of any description or of any age. 
 
 All these examples consist of two parts, — firstly, the hinges from which the door is hung, and secondly, 
 the stiffner, the use of which is to keep the boards together. The welding point is generally concealed by 
 a bar of iron, or an ornamental leaf, and the scrolls themselves have either an angular section, or else 
 are marked by a channel sunk between two projections, as at Merton College, Oxford (Plate XXXIV.). 
 
 With regard to those small objects in metal, which may be comprised under the general term of door- 
 fittings, much might be said ; but it is hoped that an examination of the series of illustrations of this branch 
 of the art w-ill furnish sufficient evidence as to the fluctuations of style in the execution of such articles. 
 
 We shall content ourselves, therefore, with quoting the able notice of the subject contained in the 
 " Glossary," the publication of which has reflected so much credit on Mr. Parker of Oxford. It is there 
 remarked that in mediEcval monuments "the handles and knockers on doors are also made ornamental. The 
 former, especially when of a simple character, are usually in the shape of rings with the spindle going 
 through the centre of a circular escutcheon ; but sometimes they are of other forms. Tliose of Early Enghsh 
 and Decorated date are almost always rings, and they seldom have any ornament about them beyond, 
 occasionally, a few spiral lines, arising from their being made of square bar of iron twisted; and sometimes 
 a small flower or animal's head on each side of the end of the spindle to keep them in their places. A ring- 
 handle on the vestry door of St. Saviour's, Southwark, of the early part of the seventeenth century, has a pair of 
 creatures like lizards on it, with their heads next the end of the spindle, and their tails curled round the 
 ring. When not made in the form of rings the handles are ornamented in various ways, frequently with 
 minute patterns of tracery. The escutcheons are occasionally made with a projecting boss, or umbo, in the 
 centre, and sometimes have a few branches of foliage round them ; but they are more usually ornamented 
 with a minute tracery, or with holes pierced through them in various patterns. Sometimes the whole 
 escutcheon is cut into leaves; the end of the spindle is not imfrequently formed into a head. Leighton 
 Buzzard Church is an example, in which it is a hand. The knocker attached to the door of Durham 
 Cathedral for the use Of those who demanded admittance, or claimed the privilege of sanctuary, still remains. 
 It is a grotesque head holding a ring in its mouth." 
 
 We may especially direct attention to the beauty of the fittings of a door in St. George's Chapel, AVindsor, 
 (Plate XXIX.), as perfect specimens of Enghsh workmanship. Much of the good effect of many such objects 
 is obtamed by the simple method of perforating sheets of iron in patterns, and then placing them one 
 over the other, and thus by the accumulation of geometrical or flowing forms procuring the appearance of 
 great complexity. 
 
 In Sir F. Palgrave's very interesting publication of ancient calendars and records, w-e have some curious 
 information respecting the contents of the treasury of several of our kings. The series commences with 
 Edward II., but as there is nothmg in it of any particular interest we will pass it over and come to that taken 
 in the time of Edward III., when William of Wykeham delivered up his trust to the Bishop of Rochester. 
 After the mention of the Regalia, the inventory proceeds to describe a number of things better suited for a 
 
 museum than a treasury. Amongst them were the golden rose, given to Edward I. by the Pope, the 
 
 gauntlet worn by King John of France when taken prisoner, — and the dagger with which Edward I. was 
 wounded at Acre ; a great deal of the plate was enamelled, hut most of the objects were silver gilt. Many 
 of the cups are of jasper, crystal-glass, or still rarer substances, such as " ceuf de griffon," or ostrich egg, and 
 "noite neigre," or cocoa-nut. There are also eighteen girdles mentioned, as well as a "frouutel chapellet de 
 Parys," and "leur couronne d'or," and a girdle " dc la vielle mande" (manierc), which might not impossibly 
 mean filagree-work. Edward had also a large quantity of relics and some ivory statues : his private jewels 
 
appear to haye been kept in an interior chamber of the Tower, while the regalia were contained in a chest 
 in the treasury of the cloister of Westminster; these latter, however, were often in pawn, on one occasion 
 to the Mayor and Commonalty of London, for as much as 4000i Edward himself was continually giving 
 presents, and in the Issue Rolls of 39th Edward III.,* we find an immense quantity of gilt and enamelled 
 plate purchased of Thomas Hessey, goldsmith of London, for the king's use, and delivered to divers knights 
 and others coming in the retinue of the Earl of Flanders. 
 
 The celebrated Lynn cup must be referred to this epoch, and not to that of King John of England,t 
 according to the common tradition. It is httle hkely to have been of English workmanship, since the trans- 
 parent enamels are separated by strips of metal in the Itahan manner; and although the ltdian processes 
 appear to have been known in France, there is no authority for supposing that they were ever practised m 
 this country. There is, probably, no specimen of Enghsh enamel more perfect than the weU-known crozier 
 of Waiiam of Wykeham, presei-ved in New College, Oxford. In both design and execution it manifests 
 excellent taste, and bears no indication of any other than the national style. It has been carefully engraved 
 in Carter's " Antient Sculpture and Painting." The celebrated Bruce Horn is probal^ly of the same date, and 
 is decorated in a similar manner. 
 
 With respect to the relative popularity of enamel in England, we cannot but be struck, on a perusal of 
 the ancient jewel inventories preserved in the Exchequer Records, with the abundant and universal employment 
 of the "eymell," as it is called, during the reigns of the Edwards; and the comparative rarity of its occur- 
 rence in later periods;— thus the inventories of the jewellery belonging to Edwards II. and III., contain the 
 mention of probably two hundred distinct enamelled vessels, both of contemporary and "de la vieiUe fa9on," 
 while few of the subsequent collections appear to have comprised more than some half-dozen specimens. 
 
 It appears to have been between the 17th of Edward II. and the 12th of Edward III., that the Nornian- 
 French word "eymell," or " emayllee," became converted into the English "enaymelle," and " enaymelez," as 
 the words are thus spelt in the documents of the several periods. For example, in the " inventory of royal 
 jewells," 17th Edward II., we find the expression, " Un poot d'or, od un tuel garni de divs escuchons 
 eymell des armes de Pnce,— od un image taiUe au pomel— du pois Ixxii., s. 1. d., du pris 2111 h. xv. d. ; 
 m that of Henry VI., we find also " a cuppe of silver of the olde makyng enameld the covcle garnysshed w' 
 lyons;" and agahi, 2 ewers of silver and "one gUt, that oon enamelled w' tharmes of Inglond and F'unce and 
 that other w hcrtes:" again, much later, in inventories of the jewels of Henry Vlll., "item, a chaUce of 
 golde w- a patent (paten) enamyled w' the Ti7nytye upon the patent, and Mari and John, wayinge loz. 
 iiiq^rts." 
 
 Tht tomb of Edward III., in Westminster Abbey, is a sufficient proof that the art of casting in bronze 
 was successfully carried on by some of the scholars of Torel; and in this case the effigy is a portrait, and it is 
 not improbable that the face was executed after a cast from life. The httle figures at the sides, although 
 of considerable merit, are by no means equal to the effigy ; indeed they have too much the appearance of 
 having been cast from wooden patterns. The panels of the lower tomb contain copper shields with the 
 bearings in champleve enamels, and the execution of the architectural canopy at the head of the figure is 
 remarkably sharp and spirited. 
 
 In Canterbury Cathedral, the bronze tomb to the memory of the Black Prince bears, in point of art, 
 some analogy to that of his father. The shields in the panels, and some of the accessories of the figure, 
 such as the baldrick or sword-girdle, and spurs, are decorated with enamels ; and the effigy itself is entirely 
 relieved from the table on which it rests, in that respect being unlike most of the precedhig ones, which 
 are but alto-relievos. 
 
 The will, extracts from which may be found in Stothard's "Monumental Effigies," contains mhmte directions 
 respecting this tomb, which was executed nearly, if not exactly, in conformity with those injunctions. Unfor- 
 tunately the artist of these two figures is not known, but they are both of them, especially the Prince's, most 
 exquisitely finished. 
 
 The next in the series are the effigies of Richard II. and his queen, Anne of Bohemia, which we know. 
 
 • Devon's "Issue Rolls," p. G2. t v y \. e V 
 
 t It is most probable that tlie legend had its rise in tbe possible fact tb.t tie cop had onee been in the possession of K.ng John ol^tra.ee 
 This e,,p has been well engraved, both b, John Carter in h.s Anient Scolptnre and Vainting in England," and in Mr. Henry Shaw s Anfent 
 
 Furniture." 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 37 
 
 from contemporary documents, were executed in his lifetime; for, in the eighteenth year of his reign, 
 "Sir John Innocent paid another part of a certain indenture made between the Idng and Nicholas Broker 
 and Geoffery Prest, coppersmiths of London, for the making of two images, likenesses of the king and queen, 
 of copper and laton, gilded upon the said marble tomb." 
 
 There are other clauses in the indenture, from which we leani that they had a " patron "* of the king 
 and queen's likenesses to work from, and accordingly the features of both the statues bear unmistakeable 
 evidence of being portraits ; that of the king, however, is by far the best, the drapery is better cast, and the 
 execution altogether more careful : both are in a species of high relief, and have been made separately from 
 the bronze table on which they are placed. The arms in each are deficient, as well as a large portion of the 
 canopy and all the small side figures. The documentary evidence of the patronage afforded by this king to 
 the goldsmiths is much the same as that of his predecessors, and generally consists of such entries as the 
 following:! — "To Adam Thorpe, goldsmith of London, for engi-aving a brass seal, ll. I3s. 4rf., and Richard 
 Brok, also goldsmith of London, for the price of a cup and silver ewer, 6^. 16s." 
 
 There are no descriptive inventories in England hke the contemporary ones of the Dukes of Anjou and 
 Orleans in France ; but, in their absence, we shall not be mistaken in concluding that Richard possessed similar 
 objects, as we know that he was much connected with France in the latter part of his reign, and that he was 
 one of the most extravagant monarchs we have ever had. Froissart tells us how he presented the king 
 with an illuminated book of poems, with silver-gilt clasps and bosses, and for which he received in return an 
 hanap filled with 100 nobles, which, the historian rather naively observes, "Were then a great service to 
 me, and will be so as long as I live." 
 
 During the reigns of the sovereigns of the house of Lancaster, art of every description seems to have 
 been upon the decline. The statuary of the monumental effigies gradually grew coarse in style and formal 
 without being ideaUsed, and the only portions which were well executed were the details of the architecture. 
 There can be scarcely any doubt that the goldsmiths' work participated in this general debasement, though Httle 
 or none remains for us to judge from, as the treasures of the Church were all dissipated at the Reformation, 
 and the private stores melted to provide subsidies in the various revolutions; in some few, however, of the 
 parish-churches of England a few chalices and patens are still preserved, but their style is by no means such 
 as to make us regret the disappearance of the rest. The greatest production of the age was probably the 
 eifigy of Henry V. in the chantry at "Westminster, the wooden figure of which was covered with silver plates ; 
 the head of the same material, which, we are gravely told, was quite solid, but which, in all probability, was 
 only cast hollow, is known to have been stolen at the latter end of the reign of Henry VIII. 
 
 We have also an effigy of bronze of nearly contemporary date, namely, that of Richard Beauchamp, 
 earl of Warmck, who died in 1435; Dugdale quotes the contract between his executors and John Essex, 
 marbler, William Austin, founder, and Thomas Stevens, coppersmith, which is dated 13th June, 32d Henry VI. 
 (1453): "William Austin, citizen and founder of London, covenanteth to cast and make the image of a 
 man armed of fine latten, garnished with certain ornaments, viz. with a sword and dagger, with a garter, 
 with a helm and crest under his head, and at his feet a bear muzzled and a griffin ; perfectly made of the 
 finest latten according to the patterns:" he was also to make of the finest latten fourteen embossed images of 
 lords and ladies, in divers vestures called weepers ; to stand in housings (niches) made about the tomb : a 
 hearse was also to be made, to staud on the tomb above the principal image ; and also certain images of 
 angels and escutcheons of arms. It is to be regretted that this effigy, upon which no expense seems to have 
 been spared, partakes of the general dechne of art that took place about the time it was executed. It is 
 true, that the armour and details are well worked and faithfully rendered; hut the hair is very hny and 
 feeble, and the features coarse : in fact, it is but the common type we see in all the effigies of the period. 
 As to the weepers, the less that is said about them the better, for they are entirely out of proportion, the 
 heads and hands being much too large, and the drapery heavy and ungraceful. Henry VI. appears to have 
 been possessed of some valuable jewels, for, besides the regalia, we hear of a ship of gold, called the 
 "Tiger," valued at 4000/. 10s.; there is also a lectern of silver; a tablet of gold with a jewelled image of 
 St. George; the foot of the same tablet having twelve hons enamelled white, "somtyme given unto the kino- 
 
 * "Item, cont patron ad similitudines di regis et re"" sub q' forma iidem tcncntiir, item opus ^Me." 
 ■f Devon's " Issues of the Exchequer. " These extracts are not verbatim. 
 
jg ENGLAND. 
 
 by Queen Johane." We also read of a jewel which had been bought of John Rollyngswerd, a German 
 merchant and servant to the Archbishop of Cologne, for 2000 marcs; also a cup of gold covered with 
 "kermery" work, and many other jewels which have nothing particular about them. The same observation 
 will apply to the inventory of the regalia taken on the 26th of June, 1st Edward IV. This reign, however, is 
 remarkable as being one in which the goldsmiths first obtained then- charter of incoqMration ; for although 
 existing as the fraternity in Henry II.'s time, when they were fined for not being legalised, and although 
 Richard II. granted them several privUeges, it was not till 1462 that they became a regular company, with 
 the privilege of inspecting the gold and silver ware all over the realm. It is also during this reign that we 
 find an extensive commerce carried on with Flanders, which was then the workshop of the world. It was 
 from thence that Edward obtamed much of his jewellery, and many of those illuminated maunscripts with 
 which he formed the royal library ; and, lastly, it was while on a mission to the court of Burgundy that 
 Caxton acquired the art of printing, which he afterwards introduced into England. We also know that 
 Edward's sister was married to the Duke of Burgundy, and the iron-work of his tomb at Windsor, which is 
 said to have been made by Quintin Matsys, is another proof of his predilection for Flemish art. Parts of 
 this screen and the iron-work of the door by the same artist, are given in Plates XXIX. and XXXVIII. It 
 has been supposed by Mr. Williment, that it originally formed one side of the feretory of St. George, in which 
 the relics of that saint were preserved ; but it is far more likely that it was only a grille to preserve the 
 tomb from injury: it is, without question, the finest piece of iron-work in England; the tracery is worked out 
 with most surprising minuteness ; while the delicacy of the parts and the finish of the execution would make 
 it appear rather the work of the goldsmith than of the iron-worker. 
 
 As the subject of monumental brasses has been so ably and so fully treated by such writers as the Messrs. 
 Waller, Mr. Manning of Diss, Mr. Albert Way, the Rev. T. Bowtell, and Mr. M. H. Bloxam, we shall not 
 dwell at any length upon the details of such remains, but shall indicate only their general features as 
 connected with the manipulation of medieval metal-work. Of that class of interesting monuments, spite of 
 domestic feuds, religious i-eformations, and official carelessness, more remain at the present day in England than 
 in any other country of Europe. 
 
 It is impossible to say precisely when they were first introduced ; but the earliest at present existing is that 
 dedicated to the memory of Sir Roger de Trumpington, about 1290, in the church of that name near Cambridge. 
 From that period we have an uninterrupted series down to the time of Charies II. and James II. About six 
 others are known of nearly the same date as the Trumpington Brass, of which those at Acton in Suffolk, and 
 Chatham in Kent, have the merit of being the best designed. The conjecture that the greatest quantity of the 
 yellow metal, or "latten," itself was imported from Flanders is strongly supported by the fact, that it is 
 along the eastern coast that these monuments most abound, and that it is only in those parts that the 
 large square brasses, which are indisputably of Flemish workmanship, are to be found. Those at St. Albans, 
 Newcastle, and Lynn, are generally considered the finest, and they can easily be distinguished from those 
 of EngHsh manufacture, as they are made in several square pieces and afterwards joined together; whereas 
 the latter are generally in one piece, the figures and architectural details being cut out and then inlaid 
 in the stone. It is scarcely necessary to say, that these brasses were necessarily subjected to all the 
 influences which the arts underwent during the periods of their execution: thus the eariy ones are generally 
 simply designed, well drawn, and carefully executed. Those of the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II. 
 are more elaborate in their imitation of nature, and yet stifFer in action and pose. From thence to the reign 
 of Edward IV., although many very fine brasses were made, they become more mannered in style and 
 coarser in execution. From that time to the end of the sixteenth century we find them a mere article of 
 manufacture, — the features becoming perfectly conventional and displaying an ignorance of form and contempt 
 for beauty worthy of the worst periods of Byzantine art.* Some few monumental brasses had the ground 
 and armorial bearings relieved with enamel ; sometimes an effect resembling that of enamel was obtained ; but 
 in the majority of cases by the substitution of a resinous cement. The eariiest existing specimen and authentic 
 instance of an enamel metal-plate being used as a memorial is of the date of 1150, and is preserved in the 
 
 * A iwrtial revival may be noticed in many of tlie very late brasses, and in snnie exeeuted during tlic reigns ot Elizaljeth, James I., and 
 Cliarles I., tlie portraits are frequently engraved with mucli spirit. In the present day many admirable specimens have been e.vccuted as mcmoiiais 
 by Mr. Hardman of Birmingham, from Mr. Pugin's designs, and by Messrs. Waller, and Messrs. Archer of London. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 39 
 
 Museum at Maus, in France. It has been employed as a monumental enamel in memory of Geoffrey Plan- 
 tagenet, count of Anjou, according to Stothard and Montfau^on, or, according to Sandford and Planche, of 
 William Longsword, son of Hem-y II. and Fair Rosamond. It has been a theme of much contention among 
 heralds, as fixing the date of the introduction of armorial bearings into Europe. Both in France and in England, 
 enamel was used but sparingly in monumental brasses, for brass is not capable of sustaining the intense 
 heat required to fuse the vitreous paste, and, therefore, either a copper plate was employed instead, or the 
 enamel was separately executed on a thin lamina of copper, and then inlaid in the brass. Such is the 
 case in the shield of Sir John d'Abernoun, at Stoke d'Abernoun, Surrey. At present this is the earliest 
 enamelled brass known in England, dating from the reign of Edward II. 
 
 Many of the colleges at Cambridge and Oxford possess Tarious pieces of plate, the dates of which must 
 be referred to the reigns of Henry VII. and his son; but although these have no pretensions to represent the 
 best art of the period, yet even from them we can perceive that it must have greatly degenerated, and that 
 the design in a majority of instances was rude and clu]nsy. Henry VIII., however, at the latter end of his 
 reign, appears to have invited over several of the best foreign workmen, and the execution of the works in 
 wood and bronze in his Chapel at Westminster Abbey, and that of the stone-work in Bishop West's, in Ely 
 Cathedral, displays a great advance as compared with the art of the preceding half century. 
 
 From the will of Henry VII., dated 150!) (which contains, like that of Edward the Black Prince, minute 
 instructions concerning the erection of his monument), we learn that the " brass grate in the manner of a closure 
 of coper and gilte" was then already begun, and was, no doubt, finished according to the original pattern. 
 With regard to his directions concerning the tomb itself, which was to have been of black touchstone, with 
 bronze effigies of the king and queen, and smaller bronze images in the Tabernacles and at the sides and ends, 
 they appear to have been set aside, and two other designs were afterwards made, neither of which resembled 
 the one actually executed. There was also to have been an altar table of gold plated upon wood, containing 
 images of the Crucifixion, twelve Apostles, and sundry other saints, within certain niches: the altar was to 
 be furnished with a " chales (chalice) of gold and another of silver, 2 pairs of silver-gilt cruetts, 4 candle- 
 sticks, .3 corporaces (if not corporals, ciboria), B images, probably containing relics, 1 pair of basons, and a 
 bell and pax." 
 
 After some time spent by the king's servants in making designs and contracts, of all of which Henry VIII. 
 disapproved, and which he ultimately upset, an agreement was at length made between the executors of 
 Henry VII. and Peter Torrysany (Torregiano) respecting a monument, which was to consist of a species of 
 canopy resting upon four pillars. Underneath was to be the tomb and altar, and we here find that the gold 
 altar-table directed in the will was to be changed for one of copper-gilt, and of different design. Even this last 
 agreement was not carried out in its integrity, since the monument, as it now stands, consists of the original 
 grille and an altar-tomb,— the latter by Torregiano, as well as the effigies of the king and queen, the four 
 angels at the angles, and the sides of the tomb, which are beautifully executed in gilt-bronze. The several 
 sides contain three circular panels, on each of which are two figures of saints in bas-reUef; these are 
 executed in a grand and spirited manner. The draperies are Italian, and quite different in style and 
 character from those of the statues belonging to the grille ; the latter are very coarsely executed, and were 
 probably made by native artists. In the south aisle of the same chapel is the tomb of the Countess of Rich- 
 mond, Henry's mother, who died in 1509. The effigy, canopy, and escutcheons, are in bronze; the rest is in 
 black touchstone. The face has all the appearance of being an excellent portrait, and the hands have 
 evidently been modelled from the life. In this work Torregiano has proved himself a really great artist, and 
 as a worker in bronze no unworthy rival to his great compatriots, Pollaiuolo and Verocchio. In mechanical 
 execution and freedom of chasing it leaves nothing to be desired, and it is well worthy of the study of the 
 bronze-worker. An effigy of the hke material was made for the Earl of Derby, the last husband of the 
 Countess, which is said to be at Ormskirk Church, Lancashire. 
 
 Another Italian, Benedetto da Rovezzano,* was also engaged upon a splendid tomb for Henry VIII. and 
 his wife, Jane Seymour, which appears to have been very nearly completed at the time of the king's death. 
 This was to have consisted of two recumbent effigies in bronze, and between them a statue of the king on 
 horseback, besides a large number of other statues, some of which were to have been five feet high. All that 
 was ever finished was sold by the Parhamentaiy Commissioners and melted down in the Great Rebelhon. 
 
 * This artist was lijicwisc employed by Cardiual Wulsey. 
 
 o 
 
40 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 The British Museum, and the Chapter House at Westminster, each possesses a copy of the agreements entered 
 into between Henry VII. and Abbot Islip, respecting the building of his chapel. These are bound in velvet, 
 with enamelled bosses ; the clasps and cases for the seals are silver-gilt, and very beautifully worked : but the 
 most remarkable circumstance is, that the supporters of the coat-of-arms in the centre boss are covered with 
 thin enamel, in the same manner that the Italian artists were wont to decorate their jewellery: the other 
 ones are executed by the ordinary processes of champleve. Henry, in his will, directs an image of himself, 
 in a kneeling attitude, to be made of timber plated with fine gold,— the coat, armour, and inscription of the 
 base of which was to be executed in enamel, and the whole to be set in the " mydds of the creste of the 
 shrine of St. Edward." Many other instances occur of the employment of that decoration during this and the 
 following reigns, and there is every reason to believe that, in the majority of instances, native workmen were 
 employed. 
 
 The splendour of the Field of Cloth of Gold, where many of those who assisted bore their fortunes on 
 their backs, and the magnificence of Wolsey,* have become proverbial. The great Cardinal's secretary. 
 Cavendish, tells us that, besides having an enormous quantity of plate in his possession, he was in the habit of 
 wearing silver-gilt shoes, and that whenever he went abroad a vast number of silver insignia, such as croziers, 
 crosses, pillars, iScc., were borne before him. The whole of these riches, and the greater part of those of the 
 monasteries, went into the regal treasury, and accordingly we find the inventory of Henry VIII. to contain 
 more riches than that of all the other kings put together. In it, of course, the regaha are the principal 
 objects: the crown appears to have been exceedingly elegant, and consisted of crosses and fleurs-de-lis alter- 
 nately; the crosses were only jewelled; but the fleurs-de-lis were both jewelled and ornamented with three 
 images of our Saviour, one of St. George, and one of the Virgin and Child. There is also an immense 
 number of cups, standing goblets, and bowls. Some of the articles are enamelled with the arms of France, 
 and others with those of the Cardinal. There were also some very elaborate salt-cellars, one of them called 
 the "Mores dance:" and a cup, on the cover of which was represented the dream of Paris, whereon were 
 images of Paris, .lupiter, Venus, Pallas, and Juno. There is likewise an immense quantity of gold plate. 
 
 Very much of the jewellery of this date was designed by no less an artist than Holbein; and in the 
 British Museum is a small volume containing 182 subjects for this purpose, which consist of portable 
 reUquaries; some in the form of little books; jewellery for suspension round the neck; others in the form of 
 initial letters; book-clasps; hook-covers; girdles; chains; rings; sword -handles, and scabbards; and many 
 
 II u, fBi HiC 1 tCdlllbyP CJllGl Ul 
 
 „,,.„,„d with « ^r»pl,ir pirtnpc of the .tale atid splmdoiif of such entertainment., and of llie lavisl, display of gold and adver plate made 
 
 ™ .l.„il. "Th™ "... . e„pbn.,.d made fo,- the time." observe. Cavendi.h, "in leosth of the breadth of the nether end of the same 
 
 ehamher. m desks hiih. fall of gilt plate, verv snmptuons and of the newest fashions, and upon the nethermost de.k, garnished all wiih plaie of 
 1 g Id 1 g dl 1 f 1 d 1 ly 11 k I h h 1 1 1 h d d 
 
 marks, and lichts of wax a. big as torehes. burning upon the .ame. This cnpboard was barred in round about that no man might come nigh u; 
 for there wja none of the .amo plate oeeupied or .tirred durinc this feast, (or there was sufficient beside.. The plates that hung on the wall, to 
 give li..bl in the chamber wore of adver and gilt with light, bm-ning m tbem, a great fire m the chimney, and all other things neee.«iry tor ihe 
 f„,.nil„,.„ of so noble a fea.t. Every chamber bad a bason and ewer of silver, .oiiie gdt and some parcel gilt, and some two great pots of adver iii 
 like m.nne,.. .„d one pot at the least with wiuc End bcct, » bowl oc goblet aod a silver pot to drink beer in; a adver candlestick or two, with 
 both while liobt, and yellow liirbt. of three .i.e. of wax, and a staff torch, a fine manchet, aod a cheat loaf of bread. Thus was every chamber 
 furnished tbronchout the hon.e. and yet the two cupboards in the two baoqueting chambers not once touched. - oiow lell. us ihar ai ibe m.in.ge 
 of Prince Arthur, .on of Henry Yll.. in the hall was a triangular cupboard, five stage, high, .el with plate v.alued at 1;jOO(. entirely ornamenial ; 
 and in the enter chamber, where the princess dined, wa. another cupboard, " set with gold plate and valued at sO.OUu/." The ordinary use oi such 
 cnphoards is thus described by Harrison (time of Elizabeth) : "Drink is usuallv filled m pots, goblets, jugs, bowls of silver, in noblemen-, hon.e., 
 also in fine Venice glasses of all forms: and for want of thrae else-wbere in pots of earth of sundry colours and moulds (whereof many are 
 garnished with silver), or at the leastwise in pewter, all which, notwithstanding, are seldom set on the table; but each one, as neces.ity urgcib, 
 ralleih for a cap of siieb drinkc as him li.teth to have : SO that wlien he hath tasted of it, he dehvereth the cup a.gam to some one of the aiaodera 
 by who m.keth il clean by ponrimr out the drinke that reraaiueth. tcstoreth it to the cupboard from whence he fetched the aame. By this devise 
 ™„eh idle tip„lin» 1, furthermore cut off: for if the pots should continually Stand at the elbow, or near the trencher, divers would alwaya be 
 dealiin- with them." In EUi-s". edition of Braod". " Pomdar Antiquities " i. the following note, describing the variou. drinking-vcsscls used m 
 famiUar life, from a work published in 16:15; but all the article, were known half a century before: •■ Heywood, in bis ■ Philoeothoiiisia, or 
 Drunkard opened, dissected, aod anatomized.' .ays ' of drinking-cups. divers and sundry sorts we have ; some of elm, some of box, some of niB|ile, 
 some of hollv. kf- Maiers broad-montbed. dishes, mairirins. whi.kius. piudns. cruizes, ale-bowla, wasseU-bowls, court-dishcs, tankards, cans, irom a 
 pottle to a pint, frnm a pint to a eiU. Other bottlcs wc have of leather, but they are most used among the shepherds and harvest iieople of the 
 cnnnl,y : small jacks ,ve have in many of the alchouscs of the city and suburb., tipt with sdver, be.ides the great black-jacks and oombards at 
 the court, which when the Frenchmen first saw. tbev reported, at their return into their coontiy, that the En.ghshmen used to drink out of their 
 boots. We have, be.ides. cups made of boms of beasts, of cocoa-nuts, of gourds, of eggs of ostriches: others made of the .hells of divers nshes 
 brcicht from the Indie, and other place., and .binint- like motber-of-i)earl. Come to plate, every tavern can afford you flat-bawl., French bowl., 
 pronnet-enps. beer-howls, beakers: and private house-holders in the city, when they make a feast to entertain their friends, can furnish their 
 cupboards with tiaggons, tankards, beer-cups, wine-bowls, some white, some pareell guilt, some gudt all over, some with covers, other, without, of 
 sundry shape, and qualitiea." 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 41 
 
 other objects. Most of the articles are intended to be enamelled or enriched with niello, and several of them 
 have been engraved by Hollar. It is probable that the small model in wax with many small figm'es for the 
 scabbard of Henry VIU.'s dagger, and which we afterwards find in the possession of Charles I , was designed 
 by Holbein. The Print-room of the Museum likewise contains several larger drawings of designs by Holbein 
 for silver plate, in the most exquisite style of the Italian Renaissance. 
 
 The arts seem to have made little or no progress during the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. 
 It is true that, in the latter reign, we have frequent mention of jewels being given as presents; but they 
 have nearly all disappeared, and we shall have no reason to regret their loss if the style was no better 
 than the enamelled cover of the Prayer-book of Queen Elizabeth, lately in the possession of Mr. Farrer, 
 where the figures are out of ail proportion and the whole by no means very excellent as a work of art. 
 The only name of any importance is that of Nicholas Hilliard, who was miniature-painter, goldsmith, and 
 jeweller to Queen Elizabeth and James I. The following is a description given of a jewel of his manufacture 
 in the inventory of Charles I., and from it we learn that he was also a painter in enamel. Inventory of 
 Chas. I., Harl. 4718, p. 1291 : — "Item, a 4-fold little round golden .jewell with a little pendent pearl hanging 
 to it, which jewell on y^ outside is enamelled with the battle of Bason (sic) fields, between King Henry y^ 7 
 and Crook'd-Back, and on y^ other side of jewell y" red and white rose joyn'd together upon some green 
 ground. Within this jewel are 4 Itmn'd pictures, one being King Henry y= 7th, another King Henry 
 y' 8 and his Queen Jane Seamour, and King Edward y" 6th, all without chrystals; which jewell was given to 
 y" King by young Hilliard, by y' deceased Earl of Pembroke's means."* 
 
 It is singular that, when presents of jewellery were so much the fashion, we should have so great 
 a scarcity of artists, and, with the exception of Hilliard, we meet with none deserving of the title except 
 Robert Heriot, and he appears to have rather followed the profession of a banker than that of a goldsmith. 
 Heriot is frequently confounded with Sir William Herrick, who was court goldsmith in London to James I., 
 but of whose works we have no very authentic accounts. The Earl of Sussex was in possession, in 1583, of 
 one pair of gilt vessels richly wrought by Derrick (query, Herrick ?}, others made by Campion, and the names 
 of Metcalfe and Martin also occur as engraver's and goldsmiths. 
 
 During the reign of Charles L, that of his son, and the Commonwealth, the English school of plate-working 
 was maintained by Van Vianen, or Viani (as he is more commonly called), and others ; and in the execution 
 of bronzes, Le Suer (a pupil of John of Bologna) and Fanelli laid the foundation of a style which was after- 
 wards sustained by Grinling Gibbons and others. We are indebted to Le Suer for the bronze statue at Charing 
 Cross, and a bust of Charles I. is also described in the Royal Inventory as being of his workmanship. In that 
 document we find several mentions of portraits of James I., his queen Ann, and Charles I., executed in 
 gold and silver : and several silver-chased pieces representing landscapes by Viano and Rosbiere. There is 
 also a very full account of those jewels that were then considered as heir-looms and preserved in the 
 Tnwer. They consist of figures, salt-cellars, spoons, ships, cups, basins, &c., executed in gold and enamelled ; 
 and many of them were evidently of very ancient date. The whole of these, with the regalia, were either sold or 
 melted by order of the Parliamentary Commissioners to supply funds for carrying on the war against the Scots. 
 
 The Restoration brought with it but tame copies of the art of Louis XIV. ; however, it produced the 
 bronze statue of James H. in Whitehall Gardens, by Grinling Gibbons, and, from that time until the present, 
 the history of the art of the goldsmith is little more than a blank, and may be said to have reached the 
 depths of its degradation at the beginning of the present century. 
 
 At what period iron castings were first executed in England it is now exceedingly difficult to determine ; 
 it appears probable that Sussex was the county in which the earliest works of that nature were produced. 
 From an interesting memoir on the ancient iron-works of that district,f by Mr. M. A. Lower, we learn, that 
 to the wrought-iron-hooped cannon of the time of Henry VI. succeeded cast-iron, which were first manufactured 
 at Buxted by Ralph Hoge, or Hogge, in 1543. To a period long prior to this date, however, may be ascribed 
 several of the old " andirons," or fire-dogs, which are still to be found dispersed about the county. Many of 
 these are engraved in Mr. Lower's memoir, and exhibit evidence of style tending to refer some among them 
 to the reign of Edward IV. Their manufacture was continued till the gradual extinction of the Sussex iron 
 trade in the middle of the last century. Camden gives a lively picture of the extent to which the face of the 
 
 * In the " Archjcologia/' vol. iii. p. 190, we are told that this jewel belonged to Horace Walpole ; it ia added, that it was usually worn by Henry A'lII, 
 t Published in the second volume of the " Sussex Archaaological Collections." 
 
42 ENGLAND. 
 
 county was covered Avith furnaces; — "Full of iron mines it is," says he, "in sundry places, where for the 
 making and founding thereof be furnaces on every side, and a huge deal of wood is yearly burnt." The 
 adjoining counties to a certain extent participated in the commercial prosperity of Sussex, and thus it is that 
 amono- the principal works executed in Kent we are enabled to refer to the cast-iron railing which surrounds 
 St. Paul's Cathedral, and which is traditionally related to have been the first application of casting upon a 
 scale so great as to have astonished the whole country, and to have realised what was in those days considered 
 a laro-e fortune for the manufacturer. Hasted,* in describing a foundry situated in the parish of Lamber- 
 hurst, states, that " it was called Gloucester fm-nace in honour of the Duke of Gloucester, Queen Anne's son, 
 who, in 1698, visited it from Tonbridge Wells. The iron rails round St. Paul's Churchyard in London were 
 cast at tliis furnace. They compose, perhaps, the most magnificent balustrade in the world, being of the 
 height of 5 feet 6 inches ; there are at intervals seven iron gates of beautiful workmanship, which, together 
 with the rails, weighs 200 tons and 81 lbs., the whole of which cost 6d. per lb., and with other charges amounted 
 to the sum of 11,202/. Os. Gd." 
 
 Before iron-casting became common, . many park-gates and railings were executed in wrought-iron with 
 great dexterity. Although their actual ornamentation was composed in a debased style, it was nevertheless 
 carried out in accordance with the nature of the material, and some were even valuable as works of art. Among 
 the most remarkable of such may be pointed out the gates at Hampton Court, and those of the Clarendon 
 Printing Office, Oxford, engraved in Plate XLI. 
 
 From a very early period, numerous examples of decorative lead-work may be traced, and probably more 
 specimens of the judicious and appropriate treatment of that metal are to be found in England than in any 
 other country of Europe. We learnf that "the leaden coffins recently found under the ef&gies of knights 
 in the Temple Church are most curiously decorated with work of elaborate design in low relief. Several 
 leaden fonts ornamented with figures and foliage desei-ve notice ; those at Llancaut and Tidenham,:J; Gloucester- 
 shire, were evidently cast in the same mould, and are supposed by Mr. Ormerod to be works of the tenth 
 century. Leaden fonts exist also at Brookland, Dorchester, and Warborough, Oxfordshire, Wareham, Dorset, 
 Walmsford, Northamptonshire, Chirton, Wiltshire, Childrey, Clewer, and Long Whittenham, Berkshire, and in 
 other places. The stone font at Ashover, in Derbyshire, is ornamented with leaden figures of the apostles." 
 
 Many of the old crestings which decorated the ridges of our most important cathedrals and churches were 
 likewise " cunningly " devised and executed in both iron and lead. Of this kind of work, that still remaining 
 at Exeter Cathedral is probably the most interesting known specimen. 
 
 From the reign of Henry VIII. down to the end of the Jacobean period, many very curious heads of rain- 
 water pipes were cast in lead and ornamented with devices, usually introducing the mottoes, initials, or 
 cognizances of the family to whom the house to which they were attached belonged. Even so late as 
 within the last fifty years elaborate cisterns were made, and in many of the old town-houses of the nobility 
 large sohd leaden chests, which have served from the early days of Sir Hugh Middleton, may be seen, covered 
 with arabesques, cyphers, and other ornaments. 
 
 In the present day, while nothing can be more perfect than the ordinary utilitarian execution of plumbers' 
 work, it is deservedly regarded as too ugly to be ever allowed to show its face, and it is invariably boxed 
 up and hidden with an ingenuity which might have been better spent in redeeming its unnecessary deformity. 
 
 * Ilasted'a " Kent," vol. ii. p. 383. 
 
 t "A Glossary of Teriua iiaccl in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic Arcliitectiirc," p. 2-11. 
 J " Arcbjcologia," vol. x.\i\, plate 3. 
 
FRANCE. 
 
 During the five centuries ^Yhich iittei-vened between the epoch of the dominion of Julius Cjesar and that 
 of Dagobert, historians, though leaving us ample testimony concerning the warlike skill of the Gauls and Franks, 
 have been nearly, if not altogether, silent as to their attainments in the peaceful arts. Pliny, indeed, praises 
 the skill of the Bituriges in working the precious metals; but we have to wait until the third century, 
 before Philostratus informs us that the barbarians dwelling in the islands of the ocean successMIy practised 
 the art of fixing vitreous colours on heated brass. A few scattered ornaments turned up by the plough of 
 the husbandman, or exhumed by the more laborious excavations of the antiquary, are, therefore, almost the 
 only data upon which any description of the jewellery of the ancient Gauls can be founded. Fi'om such a 
 source, then, we learn that the arts of embossing, engravingj and working in filagree, were by no means 
 unknown in Gaul, and that the refined execution of the articles would put to shame many a later and more 
 civilised age. As to the style of the art itself, it would appear to have been derived from that of their 
 conquerors, for it is almost impossible to conceive that the protracted residence of many of the first Roman 
 families and their dependants should have failed to exert a due and salutary influence. 
 
 However much the Gaids may have learnt from the Romans in point of design, it is still unquestionable 
 that many technical processes of metal-working which were unknown to, or at least unpractised by, the latter 
 people, were in constant requisition among the former. Thus, while rude champleve enamel ornaments are 
 very rarely found exhibiting any trace of Roman skill, those of a barbaric or archaic character abound, not 
 only in Gaul, but in England, Ireland, Scandinavia, and all the North of Europe. 
 
 It is a curious fact that some of these processes appear to have died out, leaving no clue to the mystery 
 of their mode of execution: thus, for instance, if we take a piece of the "opus Limoviticum" of the twelfth, 
 thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, we shall find, upon examination, that although two or more distinct 
 colours are used in juxtaposition and without any intervening strip of metal, yet these colours have no definite 
 line, and are, as it were, fused into one another. Now, in the early Gallic or Irish work (opus Gallicum, aut 
 Ilibernicum) the edges of similar colours, though equally in contact, are kept perfectly distinct, and are very 
 often placed chequerwise. How this was effected is a problem not yet solved by antiquaries. Possibly the 
 design was incised in the first coat of enamel extending over the whole surface of the metal, and the interstices 
 aftenvards filled up with vitreous paste of a different colour, fusible at a lower temperature ; but most probably 
 the pattern was made with separate strips of glass (like some of the Venetian work of the sixteenth century), 
 and portions of this having been cut and polished, were fixed to the metal by means of a flux. 
 
 The frequent occurrence of relics of this sort of workmanship in the metropolitan and provincial collections 
 of France, affords an undoubted proof of its universahty ; and it is by no means likely that it was altogether laid 
 aside even in comparatively late times, since we find it mentioned as being employed as a common decoration 
 in the works of St. Eloi, in the seventh century. The fact that this prince of goldsmiths, — this St. Dunstan of 
 France, — ^^vas born near Limoges, and that it was in that city that he received his artistic education, induces 
 us to direct our attention to that remarkable locality. 
 
 "WTien the once-victorious legions retired little by little from the ever-increasing number and disciphne of 
 their barbarian foes, they appear to have carried all arts and all learning with them from the province in 
 which they had so long sojourned. Limoges, however, stands forth, almost alone, as a bright spot in the dark 
 waste of ignorance. Famed even in Caesar's time for her manufactures in the precious metals, she still continued 
 to work on, and preserved those traditions which ultimately made the name of Eligius synonymous with 
 that of a skilful workman. No doubt many of those bracelets, and those collars, of the beauty of wliich 
 
44 FRANCK. 
 
 we have already spoken, proceeded from her workshops ; but unfortunately no clear proof exists upon this 
 head. With still less probability can we claim for her the credit of the sword and ornaments found in the 
 tomb of Childeric at Tournay ; for both these, as well as the vase and plateau discovered at Gourdon, were 
 accompanied with medals of the Byzantine Emperors, and the enamels with which they were decorated 
 betray the same Eastern origin. 
 
 Gregory of Tours has furnished us with several descriptions of objects in gold and silver ; but as these 
 are for the most part exceedingly vague, and merely inform us that the objects were of great beauty or 
 enriched with jewels, or were made to the glory of the Franks, we shall pass them over, more especially as 
 none of them are now extant. 
 
 The same micertainty attaches to the oft-repeated name of Mabuinus, who is described in the will of 
 Perpetuus, bishop of Tours (^a.d. 474), as having made a gold cross, in that prelate's possession. Unfortunately 
 the birthplace, country, and works of this artist (with the exception of the cross), are entirely unknown ; and 
 after him the dreary blank still remains unenlivened, mttil we meet with the name of Abbon, the master of 
 Eloi. 
 
 Eloi (Eligius or Electus), according to the generally received date, was born in 588. His life exhibits 
 a series of changes of by no means uncommon occurrence in the middle ages ; and we shall shortly see 
 the goldsmith, as iu the somewhat parallel case of St. Dunstan, transformed into the courtier and niinistcr; 
 the minister into the bishop ; and lastly, the bishop into the saint. 
 
 The name of Abbon, the moneyer and goldsmith of Limoges, has been rescued from oblivion, solely 
 from the fact, that it was to him that the young Eloi was apprenticed. Tliat the pupil in course of 
 time outstripped his master is a fact verified by St. Ouen, to whom we owe most, if not all, our inform- 
 ation upon this subject. The youthful Eloi was early introduced to the court of Clothaire II., through the 
 friendship of the treasurer Bobbon ; and it was on this occasion that the two thrones of gold were 
 executed, which had until then defied the skill of the royal goldsmiths. The honesty of the Limousin in 
 making the second throne out of the overplus of the first, so contrary to the usual practice of the w^orkmen 
 of the time, had the effect of procuring him the chief employment of Clothaire. Dagobert continued his 
 father's esteem to Eloi, who, together with his pupil Thillo (afterwards St. Thean), executed a great many 
 works for the king ; among others, that of engraving and stamping the coinage. 
 
 We now come to the two most important labours of love in the life of the future saint ; important even 
 to us at the present time, for by them a knowledge of the arts was kept up and continued until better and 
 more propitious days. These worthy acts were the foundation of the monastery at Solignac, near Limoges, 
 which was instituted for artist-monks, and of which 'ITiillo was the second abbot; and that of the convent 
 of St. Martial, in the Isle de Paris, presided over by St. Aure (auratd), destined for the production of 
 embroidered vestments for the use of the Church. Solignac was founded in 631. The original charter, with 
 the signatm-e of the pious founder, has come down to our own time ; and for many a year, when all that 
 was mortal of Eloi had returned to its kindred dust, the effects of his foresight and liberality were to be 
 seen in the prosperity of his abbey and native town. But in the midst of all his prosperity, in the heart 
 of Eloi the couucillor, the bishop, the founder of abbeys, the spirit of Eloi the moneyer and goldsmith 
 ever resided. His bellows were never still ; his hammer was never idle. It was to him that the chasses 
 of St. Genevieve, St. Germain, St. Martin at Tours, and St. Denis at Paris, owed their origin, their form, and 
 very detail. On the church of the latter saint he appears to have lavished his work with the most 
 unsparing hand ; and the pulpit, the gates of the sanctuary, and the cross and frontal of the altar, equally 
 attested the skill of the bishop and the generosity of the king. 
 
 On the death of Dagobert, Eloi retired from public life and divided the rest of his days betw^een his 
 episcopal duties and his labours in the arts. At length he died in 659, at Soissons, and was buried in the 
 monastery of St. Loup, without the walls of that city. A few years afterwards and the piety of Bathilda, 
 queen of Clovis XL, covered his remains with a tomb of gold and silver, — a truly appropriate monument to so 
 good a man and so able a goldsmith. We cannot conclude our short sketch of the life of St. Eloi without 
 recommending to the reader's notice the agreeable memoir contained in the interesting "Dark Ages" of Mr. 
 Maitland. 
 
 Having said so much respecting Eloi, it will naturally be expected that we should make some mention of 
 such remnants of his work as might be supposed to have come down to us. Unfortunately they have nearly 
 
FRANCE. 
 
 45 
 
 all perished ; the crucibles of the I-lu2;uenots and Republicans respected neither art nor antiquity ; and the 
 chefs-d'ceuvre of St. Eloi were, no doubt, annihilated in company witli the " mesquineries " of Louis XV. ; 
 howeTer, even in the time of Suffer, the bronze throne now in the Cabinet des Medailles was considered as 
 the work of St. Eloi ; and although most antiquaries are of opinion that it is but a Roman curule chair with 
 additions of the tenth century, it is not improbable but that it might be a copy by that great artist of a more 
 ancient example. We are fain to confess, that there exists no notice of it in his life, but possibly, being in 
 bronze, it was not thought worthy of particular mention. The chiselhng and finishing up of the lower part 
 are especially well and freely executed. 
 
 In addition to this work, which may be looked upon as problematical, we fortunately possess other 
 productions of St. Eloi, concerning the authenticity of which there can be no doubt. The five types of the 
 gold roi, four of them belonging to Dagobert and one to Clovis II., with the name "Ehgius" stamped upon 
 them, may be alone regarded* as absolutely authentic remains of all the works executed by the far-famed 
 St. Eloi, patron of all goldsmiths of France. 
 
 The artist-monasteries were still in fall operation, when, about a century after the death of the Saint, 
 Charlemagne ascended the throne of France. From them he was doubtless enabled to procure artists 
 capable of executing works worthy of his reign ; and the sword and crown of Charlemagne, are not less 
 likely to have been of French than of Italian or Byzanthie manufacture. It is to be regretted that of all the 
 treasures buried with that great Emperor, and appropriated in IIGG by the cupidity of Frederick Barbarossa, 
 these two are the only authentic ones at present existing. 
 
 The crown consists of eight pieces, four large and four smaller, connected by means of hinges. The 
 former are entirely filled with jewels and filagree w*ork, while the latter contain respectively the figures of 
 the kings David and Solomon, and of our Lord : these are executed in cloisonne enamel, the ground for 
 which has been beaten up into the shape of the figure. The sword has the guard and scabbard covered 
 with plates of gold, and set with cloisonne enamels. The most remarkable of these is the upper lozenge 
 of the scabbard which encloses an imperial eagle. 
 
 All those wonderful tables of gold and silver, of which the Emperor's will makes mention, have entirely 
 disappeared; and we are inclined to regret them the more, as we know, that one represented the cosmo- 
 graphy of the universe, while the second and third were embellished respectively with views of the cities of 
 Rome and Constantinople. 
 
 The reigns of the successors of Charlemagne have been nearly as unproductive to the present generation, 
 as that of their father; and the binding of the Bible of Charles the Bald is the sole piece of art in the 
 precious metals, bequeathed to us by the Carlovingian dynasty. The design may be briefly described as an 
 ivory tablet surrounded by a border of precious stones and filagree. 
 
 A careful examination of the leading characteristics, not only of the above-mentioned works, but of those 
 which "Were produced for nearly three subsequent centuries, induces a recognition of the universal practice of 
 regarding the whole value of every object to consist, not in the work or in the design, but solely in the 
 quantity of jewels with which it was possible to load it. To that barbaric fashion all grace, all elegance, all 
 form, were sacrificed. Large uncut gems, set en cahoclwii, were introduced in every situation ; and the lament- 
 ations of the employer, as in the case of Suger, were not for the want of art- workmen, but for the 
 deficiency of precious stones. 
 
 During the ninth century, the Bishojis of Auxcrre vied with each other in presenting costly gifts to their 
 cathedral ; but though we ai'e informed what those gifts were (altar-tables, frontals, candelabra, &c.,) yet no 
 description of their artistic value has reached us, and the articles themselves have perished. The same 
 observation applies to the new shrine, which Hincmar, bishop of Rheims, caused to be made for the church 
 of St. Remi ; but this, however, we are assured contained figures of twelve bishops, his predecessors. Du 
 Somnierard, in his "Album," Tenth Series, p. xxxvih., has published a crosierf of silver filagree, which is 
 said to have been that of St. Robert, the first abbot of Citeaux, to whom it was given by Walter, bishop 
 of Chalons, in 1098. The learned editor of the "Arts of the Middle Ages" asserts this crosier to be of the 
 ninth century; but it is doubtful if similar crosiers were in use at that time. 
 
 • Jlaiiy otlief works of his are mentioiiud, e.t/. his eiiaiiR-llwl diiilice, his episcopal tTosier, his small seal of crystal, and the ring with which 
 lie wedded St. Godeberte to the Church. 
 
 t In 1709 it was in the Museum at Dijon. 
 
^5 FRANCE. 
 
 The tenth centurv was in all respects a dark and gloomy age; the numerous political calamities of the 
 times, together with the consciousness that the mystic number of a thousand years would soon be completed, 
 since the world had witnessed the birth of the Son of God, induced a most general belief that the prophecies 
 of the Apocalj'pse were on the point of accomplishment ; and that the end of the world was at hand. 
 Timid and rebgious men thought only of making their peace with God and bis Church ; and many a rich 
 offerino- was made, and many a shrine and altar gorgeously adorned, with those metals, the possession of 
 which, according to popular behef, could benefit their owners but little in the present life. What was 
 probably one of the most important of this class of offering was preserved until within comparatively few 
 years of our own age; for it was only in 1760 that his exigencies caused Louis XV. to melt the altar- 
 table {dossel} with which the piety of Bishop Seguin had decorated the cathedral of Sens, in the year 
 990. Befoie it was finally consigned to the foundry, an artist was employed to make a drawing of it, 
 and it is from this drawing, and a contemporary description that we are now enabled to form a very 
 accurate idea of the work of Bernelin and Bermim, the Canons of Sens, for to them belongs the honour of 
 the execution of this chpf-d'mivre. The design* was divided into three compartments; in the middle of the 
 centre one was the Saviour in glory, and the corners (which were rounded so as to make the whole assume 
 the shape of a quatrefoil) each contained an angel. Tlie centres of the two side compartments had respec- 
 tively the figures of the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Baptist, within a circle ; the interior angles 
 contained the four symbols of the Evangelists, while the hfe of St. Stephen occupied the exterior. The same 
 construction was made use of in this altarpiece as we find employed six centuries later, in the table of gold 
 directed to be executed for his tomb by Henry VII. of England. The framework and divisions were made 
 of strong pieces of timber; these were plated with gold, and in the subject under observation were 
 further decorated with stones and filagree. The panels were filled with figures beaten up on thin plates of 
 gold, and afterwards filled with mastic to give them the requisite solidity. We are also informed that Seguin 
 gave another table of silver-gilt in 978. This, however, w^as sold to erect the " Tour de Plomb." 
 
 At length the terrible age passed away, and the world was regarded as having taken a new lease of 
 existence. Churches were demolished and rebuilt, and with them the ecclesiastical ornaments were refahricated. 
 A new fcelino- had come over men's minds, and from this time we lose the traditions and inspirations of the 
 antique, and art gradually assumes those severe forms which attained so rare an excellence in the thirteenth 
 and fourteenth centuries. Robert, king of France, having had the misfortune to fall under the ban of the 
 Church on account of his marriage, endeavoured to propitiate the clergy with rich presents offered to their 
 churches ; and it was to Odoram, a monk of Dreux, that the execution of the most important of these was 
 confided. No doubt Odoram was one of those artist-canons so common in the cathedrals of that time. St. Eloi, 
 as we have already stated, founded two establishments for the education of this class of art-workman; two 
 canons, as we see, executed the retable at Sens; and in the first quarter of the eleventh century, GeofFery 
 de Champallement, bishop of Auxerre, instituted three prebends in his cathedral for artist-canons. One of these 
 was to be a goldsmith, and the others a painter and "vitreareus" (stained-glass worker). This kind of 
 institution was by no means uncommon, and many of the monastic orders, more especially the Cluniacs and 
 the Benedictines, even made it their boast to encourage the liberal arts, while the stricter rule and more severe 
 precepts of St. Bernard taught his sons of Citeaux to despise presents which savoured so strongly of the world. 
 
 The testimony of Johannes de Garlandia,"!' however, effectually prevents our yielding to a belief that all art 
 was confined to the cathedral or monastery. In his " Dictionnarius" he tells us that there are several varieties 
 of lay goldsmiths, and thus classifies their various avocations : — 1. The moneyers, whose duty it was to make 
 money from the gold and silver delivered to them. Most nobles at this time had a coinage of their own, and 
 it is bv no means improbable that these moneyers struck coins for any one who supplied them with the 
 bullion. That they w^ere by no means the most honest of men is proved by the wholesale punishment inflicted 
 on their English brethren by Henry the First. 2. The clasp-makers, who made clasps in tin, lead, iron, and 
 copper; also collars and grclots, or hawk-bells. 3. The hanap-makers, who were called cipharii, and who not 
 only made vessels in the precious metals, hut most probably mounted wood cups in gold or silver. 4. The 
 
 * It was 9 ft. 3 in. long by G ft. 3 in. broad, old Ficucli measure. 
 
 t John de Garlande waa a celebrated teacher in the University of Paris. He followed the fortunes of WiUiani the Conqneror into England, 
 
 but afterwards returned to Paris. Several works of his. besides the dietionary. are e.\tant — among others, a collection of Latin Homonyms. llis 
 "Dictionarius" furnishes a curious picture of ancient industrial art iu France. 
 
FHANCE. 
 
 47 
 
 jewellers and goldsmiths,' properly so called. 5. The lorimers, who made spurs of gold and silver, and deco- 
 rated the reins and bits of horses.* 
 
 No mention is made by the worthy master of arts of the enamellers. Had the art, brought to Paris 
 by St. Eloi, been forgotten in that town, or had the cloisonne enamels come into fashion ? and were they 
 miported from the East ? However that may be, in the Louvre there is a golden box for receiving a copy of the 
 Gospels of this period, which, while betraying all the signs of French art, is decorated with cloisonne work. 
 The question we have elsewhere discussed presents itself in France, as in Italy and in England, Where did 
 these enamels come from? Is every specimen found to be attributed to Byzantium.' or may it be supposed 
 that some Greek artists may have taught the secret to the natives of any of those countries 
 
 We now come to one of the greatest men of the twelfth century, and one who exercised an influence 
 on the arts seldom permitted to a single man. Brought up from an early age in the Abbey of St. Denis, 
 and in company with Louis VI., Suger became, first of all, mhiister of state, and in 1122 was elected abbot 
 of that monastery where he had received his education. From that time his life is one long account of the 
 works executed, through his liberality, and under his superintendence, at St. Denis. For some time he kept 
 up the customary state of the office of abbot; but when reproved by St. Bernard, we find that, like St. Eloi, 
 he dismissed all luxury from his own person, reseiwing it entirely for the church. 
 
 It was during a voyage to Italy that he received the news that he was elected abbot; no doubt 
 this intelligence had great effect upon his observations in that country: for wc find him visiting the court 
 of Roger II., king of Calabria, the great protector of the aj-ts, and on his return opening a quarry near 
 Pontoise, in order that his church might have marble columns similar to those of the Baths of Dioclesian and 
 other monuments of the Eternal City. 
 
 In ll:!7 the rebuilding of St. Denis was begun, and was so diligently prosecuted that the dedication took 
 phice in 1140. All that now remains of Suger's Abbey is a small portion of the west end. There is much reason 
 for regretting the glass and paintings with which the care of the worthy abbot had adorned his church; 
 but how much more must we lament the loss of those bronze doors, the first of the kind cast in France, 
 and which existed even in Fehbien's time (1706). The execution of these is prior to all those in Italy, if we 
 except the gates of St. Paul without the walls (which were of Byzantine workmanship, not Italian). It is 
 therefore probable, that if Suger obtained foreign assistance, which he most probably did, for these gates, it 
 was from Germany, where the doors at Augsburg, and many other works of a similar nature, had been 
 already executed. Felibien has thus described those gates, which, w e may remark, were gdt :— " That in the 
 middle contains, in various cartouches in demi-rehef, the history of the Passion, the Resurrection, and the 
 Ascension of our Lord ; the figm-e of Suger is represented in the same manner as in the stained glass of the 
 window above.t except that in the latter he is prostrate at the feet of the Virgin, while in the former it is 
 the Saviour whom he adores." 
 
 We shall now, in a brief manner, notice some of the principal works with which Suger enriched his 
 abbey; the nan-ative will be the more interesting, as we have his own account in the work "De Rebus in 
 Administratione sua Gestis." And although many things have disappeared since Felibien published the prints 
 of the " Tresorerie," still the Louvre and the Bibliotheque National possess many undoubted works of Suger. 
 1 . " Tabula aurea superior ante sanctissimum corpus." This was probably, like the " rotable at Sens," a kind 
 of altar -piece ; the jewels for it were obtained by the liberality of the nobles w'ho contributed the rin<^s from 
 off their fingers. 2. The altar also received other gold ornaments, such as candelabra, &c., so that " totuni 
 coreum quaque altare apparuit aureum." 3. But his great ambition was to construct a crucifix of gold, which 
 should surpass the cross of St. Eloi; to accomplish this he obtained six or seven Lorraine workmen, who 
 were employed about two years. A vast deal of enamel was used upon the base, stem, and capital, but 
 neither these nor the gold could make it more valuable than that of St. Eloi without the aid of precious 
 stones. Now he had entirely exhausted the jewellery of the nobles for his golden table, and the crucifix 
 must have been at a stand-still unless Providence had befriended him; for it is related that at this juncture 
 three monk.s from certain convents came and offered him a sufficient quantity to complete his work for 400 
 livres. These jewels had formeriy adorned the drinking-cups of Henry the First of England, and in the 
 
 * TiiMphiliis (who by some is supposed to Lave lived about this time), it will he remembered, gives a chapter on the maiiufaeture of the small 
 rosettes for decorating harness. 
 
 t This interesting relic is figured by Dii Sounnorard, in his Atlas, vii. 
 
division of his property had fallen to the shave of Theobald (Thibaut), count of Champagne, who, it appears, 
 had presented them to these convents. Suger purchased the gems, and thus the crucifix was happily finished. 
 
 Nor was he content with the manufacture of new things ; the spirit of innovation had by this time 
 taken complete possession of his mind, and he forthwith proceeds to remodel even those things most venerable 
 for their antiquity and associations. Nor did the works of St. Eloi, which he praises and in the same breath 
 calls barbarous, escape. He tells us that they were repaired and beautified by him in the following manner : 
 An ivory pulpit was entirely remodelled, with the addition of copper animals. The candelabrum given to 
 St. Denis by " Karolus Imperator" (Charlemagne) was regilt and overlaid with enamels— probably of Limoges 
 manufacture. The eagle in the choir was regilt; and the throne of Dagobert, "tam pro tanti excellentia 
 officii etiam pro operis ipsius pretio antiquatam et disruptam reflci fecimus.* In the execution of such works 
 of piety and art the life of the worthy saint was spent; and few who are ever moved by either influence 
 can refrain from admiring his lively faith, or his excellent taste. 
 
 We must now once more return to Limoges, of which city we have heard little or nothing since our 
 reference to the foundation of the artist-monastery of Solignac. In the year 1077, we find mention made 
 that the monk Guinamundus, of the Abbey of La Chaise Dieu, made the shrine of St. Front, and covered 
 it with plates of enamelled copper; and from this time until the end of the fourteenth century a continuous 
 series of works were produced in this town and in the circumjacent country. It is curious that all the 
 works of the Limousins bear a marked impress of Byzantine art. Various causes conduced to this effectf 
 It is probable, in the first place, that the Limoges artists were for a long time in the habit of copying Roman 
 and Byzantine jewellery, since we meet with records of donations of rich shrines, crosses, and other articles 
 of church plate, arriving at a very early period in that part of France as presents from the Greek emperors ; 
 secondly, we know that they were in constant intercourse with the Venetians— the people of all Italy who 
 were most deeply imbued with Byzantine feeling ; and, thirdly, at the end of the tenth century, these same 
 Venetians estabhshed a factory at Limoges, about the same time that the Doge Orseolo retired there to end 
 his days. 
 
 It is through such an intercourse alone that we can account for the presence, in the representations of 
 holy personages in the Limoges enamels, of many pecuharities belonging rightly to the Eastern Church ex- 
 clusively. The style, once started into life, grew most rapidly in popular estimation, and the "opus Lemo- 
 viticum" was one of the most highly-cherished objects in the church inventories throughout Europe, from 
 about 1100 to 1400. Every species of object manufactured in copper was ornamented with it; chahces, 
 
 * III the ti-esor of St. Denis, among numerous articles ot questionable anlhenticity, were accumulatod many wliieh may be clearly identiSed with 
 Suger, sueh as:-"//™,— a vas preciosissimum de la|.iJe prasio ad formam navi. exeolptam." Fclihien translate, "prasio" by "jade;" it was, 
 probably, some stone closely resembling ebrysoprase. This was set in gold and enamels. 
 
 "//ei»,— Va. quoque aliud, quod instar justa: berilli ant eristalli videtur." It is now in the Louvre, and bears an inscription to the cITcct that 
 Louis VII.' had given to Snger the present which his queen Lienor had given him. The legend runs thus;— "lloe vas sponsa dedit anor rcgi 
 Ludovici Mitadolua avo milu res sanctisque Suguris." 
 
 " //cm.— Calieem preeiosum de uno et continuo sardonice, quod est de sardio et oniee (sardoni.v)." Du Sommerard says that this is not men- 
 tioned by Felibien, but he (Felibien) mentions a salt-cellar made ot an agate or onyx, enriched with gold and precious stones, which looks very like 
 Soger's work. 
 
 .< V— q.-q..= h'.i" ip=; ,..at.,..lp T>nn forma pcrsimile amphora." Felibien has drawn this as an agate vase, and gives the same inscription 
 
 as that we'fi"d i" S""er'« ne,.o.,nt namely. " Dum libarc deo gemmis debennes et auro. Hoc ego Suggcrius offero vas domino." 
 
 "Iiem,—1 -n-m q.'"=q"e prpelnram q"am nobis Comes Blescnsis Theobaldusen eodem vase destinavit, in quo ei Rex Sicdiai illud prius 
 
 miserat." Thi° -pp-nvo t" refer to the agate part of the preceding article. Du Sommerard observes that it is a proof of the skill of the Sicilian 
 artists in cutting hard snbstancea. 
 
 " //em,— Vascirla enim ehrystalhna qua in eapella nostra cotidiano servicio altaris assiguaveramns." These are two vases shown by Felibien, one in 
 crystal cut into facets, and the other of beryl. 
 
 Felibien also gives the amphora in porphyry, surmounted by an eagle's head in silver gilt, " maun ailniirabilc factnm," with this inscription ; 
 " Ineludi gemmis lapis iatc meretur et auro marmor erat : sed in his raarmore carior est." 
 
 He also shows a chalice with handles, in Oriental agate, and a paten in aerpentine, with gold dolphins in the centre, with a rich border of 
 stones. This chalice, we believe, went by the name of the Chahce of Suger, and in the " Histoire du Cabinet des Medaillea" wc are told that it 
 was " stolen from thence in 1804, and sold to Mr. Towuley. who on his death left it to the British Museum, where it now is (1838)," but where 
 wc have been unable to find it. 
 
 With all these, and much more, did the venerable abbot adorn his church. He baa even left us his reasons for so doing, and as they 
 present a fine picture of his pious enthusiasm, we shall indulge ourselves by their reproduction ; — " Si libatoria aurea, si fialte aurete, et si mor- 
 tarolia aurea ad colleetam sauguinis hircorum et vetuloruni aut vaeese rutfre, ore Dd, ant prophetEe Jesn deserorebant, quanto magis ad snsceptionem 
 sanguinis Jesu Christi vasa aurea, lapidcs pretiosi, quteque inter omnes ereatnras earissima continuo formulatu, plena devotione exponi debent." 
 
 The above notes respecting this most interesting collection have been gathered from a comparison of Felibien, De Sommerard, and Soger's 
 own writings. 
 
 + See the Abbe Texier in the "Annales Arcbreologiques of Didron," and the"Annale3 des Antiquaires de I'Oucst," "Essai snr les Argcntiers 
 et Emailleurs de Limoges." Also, Didier Petit and Dussieux upon the same subject. 
 
FRANCE. 
 
 49 
 
 patens, crosses, candlesticks, shrines (both portable and fixed), bookcovers, goblets, altar fronts, monumental 
 tablets, effigies, &c., all luxuriated in this graceful and enUvening adornment. About the middle of the 
 fourteenth century, the troubles that fell upon unfortunate France destroyed the art, and we must wait until 
 the reign of Francis I. to find it again reviving in that country. 
 
 We may gather some faint idea of the riches possessed at this prolific fountain-head by the ecclesiastics 
 of the diocese of Limoges, throughout the whole of the middle ages, from particulars furnished by the Abbe 
 Texier, wlio tells us, "that from the twelfth century the great abbeys of the district were regularly pillaged 
 by the English, who, accorduig to Geoffroi, included in their depredations even the sanctuaries, for the most 
 part enamelled ; such as the enormous altar of Grandmont, the coffer of Bourganeuf, which seiTed as a recep- 
 tacle for numerous precious articles, and many others." These depredations, thanks to the Huguenots, were 
 not even discontinued in the sixteenth century; and yet the Abbe assures us, that in the year 1789 there still 
 existed, in the diocese of Limoges alone, the enormous number of 2500 engraved and enamelled rehquaries, 
 to say nothing of chalices, be'nitiers, dishes, shells, drinking-vessells, thuribles, incense ships, crosses, paxes, 
 monstrances, pixes, covers of books, dyptichs, processional crosses, and objects of a similar nature. At the 
 seance held in 1841, of the Societe pour la Conservation des Monuments, at Cherbourg, the Abbe Texier 
 mentioned his intention of forwarding to the Society an account of not fewer than fifty-seven Byzantine 
 reMquaries, which he saw at the septennial exposition of reliques at Limoges, and of which some donations 
 from the kings of Jerusalem strongly illustrated the introduction of Byzantine architectural ornamentation into 
 France. 
 
 In tracing the histoiy of the different metals in France, we shall from henceforth mention enamel only 
 when it may occur as decorating some particular specimen or ornament of metal, not as a separate art ; and in 
 the meantime we will briefly state the characteristic diff'erences between the productions of the eleventh, twelfth, 
 thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries in the champleves enamels. Those of the eleventh and twelfth centuries 
 are distinguished by the attempt to render the carnations by a flesh-coloured enamel, while the figure itself is often 
 enamelled after the Greek fashion, on a gilded ground like a mosaic. In the productions of the thirteenth and 
 fourteenth centuries the ground was alone coloured, the figures being left in metal; thus entirely departing from 
 the original Greek type. The details were expressed by engraving, and filled up generally with a blue enamel. 
 The eariiest existing monumental enamel is a tablet, now in the museum at Mans,* but formerly attached to 
 a pillar of the church of St. Julien, representing Geoffery Plantagenet, " le Bel," the father of our Henry II., 
 armed with a shield and sword. The whole of the details of the dress, &c., are in enamel, a thin strip of 
 metal being left for the folds. A diaper pattern, also in enamel, decorates the ground of the plate, and 
 more than one colour is used in juxtaposition. Geoffery, we may observe, died in IISO, and in 1180 the 
 artists of Limoges were called on to execute the monument of Henri le Large, count of Champagne, in 
 the church of St. Stephen at Troyes. This was of an entirely different construction from that we have 
 just mentioned, and the best idea will be obtained by describing it as a hollow altar-tomb, the sides and 
 ends bemg perforated with semicircular arches, and each of those again subdivided. Within lay the effigy of 
 the deceased, and on the top of the tomb was a splendid cross, decorated with images of silver, of which 
 metal many of the ornaments were also made. In 1201 another tomb of the like material, but much richer, 
 was erected in the same church to the memory of his successor, Tlfibaut III. In this case the figure was 
 extended on the top of the tomb in the usual manner, and twelve small figures of his relations decorated 
 the sides and ends of the monument. It was entirely constructed of wood, overiaid with plates of silver, 
 except where the presence of enamel required the use of copper. The coronet of the figure was set with 
 stones ; white and blue enamels imitated its eyes ; while the junctures of the various plates of metal were 
 concealed and decorated with borders of filagree and precious stones.-f- 
 
 It is singular how very unwilling the Limoges enamellers were to work upon silvcr,+ for it is seldom 
 that we read of any works of this kind being executed, and we only know of one of any magnitude at 
 present existing. The chSsse of St. Calmine is remarkable, not only for this pecuUarity, but as showing how 
 little the Limoges school of the thirteenth century had departed from the Byzantine traditions of tlie ninth. 
 
 * See Stothard'a " Monuoienlal Effigies j" Albert Way's article on enamel in the jonrnnl ot the Archajological Institute: Harry Eogers on 
 ei]ame1s, Dn Sommerard, Labartc, &c. 
 
 t Both of these tombs were destroyed iu the Revolution of 1798. 
 
 X In 1209 the Argentier Chatard gave an enamelled silver ciborinm to the abbey of St. Martial. 
 
50 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
 Ill the twelfth century architecture had made its great step, — the pointed arch had been introduced, — 
 and accordingly we see an entirely new expression given to all the arts, and among them to that of working 
 in eyery metal. From this time we meet with fewer gems, less filagree, and less barbaric magnificence. 
 These are replaced by elegant adaptations of the architecture of the period, and by charming and beautiful 
 little figures. The goldsmith becomes a designer, and that without ceasing to be the skilfid workman. The 
 blacksmith follows his example; and in the gates of Notre Dame de Paris, executed at the beginning of 
 the next century, we meet with the very perfection of the art. 
 
 As to the actual works of the twelfth century, they are by no means so uncommon as those of the 
 preceding epochs. Du Sommerard gives drawings of two very beautiful crosses, decorated with gems en 
 cabochon, and filagree; one is now in the Hotel de Cluny, and the other, originally from the priory of 
 Epoisses, remains in the possession of the church of Rouvres, to which it was given on the suppression of 
 the former institution in 1770. Epoisses was founded in 1189, by Hugh III. duke of Burgundy, and this 
 cross is said to have been possessed by the priory from the time of its establishment. The so-called shrine of 
 Charlemao-ne in the Louvre ; the Limoges triptich, in Chartres cathedral ; and the golden cross with the 
 representation of Jerusalem, in the treasury of St. Denis, are all to be attributed to the twelfth century. 
 
 The bc'inning of the thirteenth recalls to our memory the wonderful doors of Notre Dame,* of which 
 Sauval, in his " Antiquites de Paris," gives a singular account.f only reconcileable with the obviously real 
 date, by supposing that Biscornette, a celebrated smith of the sixteenth century, may have executed some repairs 
 in the middle of that century. 
 
 Beauvais, Chartres, Oreival, Gonesse, Nantes, Chalons-sur-Marne, and many other towns, possess hinges 
 similar to those of Notre Dame ; and though the change of fashion, or the violence of the Revolution, has 
 destroyed nearly all the best Iron-work in France, our admiration is still exceed by the beautiful grille of 
 St. Saturnin, at Toulouse, with its admirable frieze of arabesques, and its unrivalled cresting of roses, thorns, 
 and oak-leaves. 
 
 That the art of casting in bronze, introduced by Suger, had by no means retrograded, we may infer 
 from the tombs of Everard and Geoifery d'Eu, bishops of Amiens ; these are still to be seen in that cathedral, 
 and it would be indeed difficult to imagine any monuments more beautiful and better wrought. 
 
 The general design, which is nearly similar in both cases, consists of a table with an inscription on its 
 edges ; this is supported by " six lionceaux," and upon it is placed the etfigy in very high relief. At the head 
 of the figure is a very elegant niche, and small angels with censers complete the composition. The two 
 prelates died respectively in 1212 and 1223 ; and several tombs in the crypt of St. Denis show that their 
 example was extensively followed. Unfortunately little is known of the artists in bronze, and whether they 
 were devoted solely to this art, or whether they joined to it the profession of the goldsmith and statuary, is 
 a point not at present known. Of one fact we may be certain, they were not pupils of the great school 
 of Limoges; for, independently of the absence of anything like a Byzantme character in their works, they 
 were executed on an entirely different principle. These bronze statues are regularly cast, and very probably, 
 like the contemporary works in England, were in the first instance modelled in wax. The Limoges practice, 
 on the other hand, was to carve the figure in wood, and afterwards to overlay it with thin plates of copper, 
 the junctions of which were concealed with bands of filagree and enamel. 
 
 The tomb of William de Valence, in Westminster Abbey, shows this manipulation ; and at St. Denis is 
 preserved the monument of Jean the Second, son of St. Louis : this, we believe, is the last in the series of 
 the tombs constructed "opcre Limoviensi." We ought not, however, to omit the splendid one figured in 
 
 * Figured in Willeniin's " Monumeiita." 
 
 t "The iron of the door has been admirably bent {roule) by Biscornette. The seulpture, the birds, and the ornaments are marvellous. 
 They are made of wrought iron, the invention of Biscornette, and which died with him. He melted (fondoil) the iron with an almost incredible 
 industry, renderiuir it flexible and tractable, and gave it all the forms and scrolls [emuulements] he wished, with a 'douceur et uue geiitiUessc,' which 
 surprised and astonished all the smiths. Gaegart, 'serruricr du roi,' in order to discover the secret, broke oif some pieces from these hinges, but 
 confessed that he got nothing tor his pains and experiments, and had great difticulty to use even that little. These gates have been made 120 years, 
 and are yet admired by all serruriers. The wonder is that none of the trade have ever been able to tell precisely the mode of manufacture. Some 
 say It is cast {fmdu) and filed up; others, that it is wrought with the hammer; others, that it is 'for moule, qii'ds appellent fer de harreau.' The 
 most skdful of them think it is cast {fmdu) iron without any soldering {sans sfmdurc). However, the secret died with Biscornette, for nobody ever 
 saw him work." We are likewise told that Biscornette entered into a compact with the enemy of man to obtain his assistance in working these hinges; 
 but that when it was requisite to execute the centre door the diabolical power was helpless, as through it the sacrament was wont to pass. It is, 
 however, far more probable that the iron-work of the centre doorway was destroyed at an early period, in order to be replaced with one of those 
 wonderful works lu wood which were so fashionable in the fourteeuth and fifteenth centuries, and so many of which still adorn the cathedrals of France. 
 
FRANCE. 
 
 51 
 
 Lobineau's " Histoire de la Bretagne,"* for it is by far the most perfect representation of what these tombs 
 must have been in their pristine state. We here see the decorations of the upper tomb, which in ahnost 
 every case has been defaced or destroyed.^ 
 
 During the long reign of St. Louis, 1226 to 1270, all the arts appear to have advanced rapidly; and although 
 we know that he brought many articles from the East on his return from the Crusades, they appear to have 
 exercised but little influence on the existing national style. It was in this reign that Etienne Boileau, provost 
 of Paris, composed his celebrated " Livre des Metiers," and from the eleventh chapter, which relates to 
 goldsmiths, we obtain some curious insights into the mysteries of that craft. J 
 
 During the whole of this century Toulouse and Montpellier received a great number of Limousin artists, 
 and in these two towns the manufacture of " grosserie," or large vessels for secular uses, was carried on to a 
 great extent, both in gilt and plain silver ; while Limoges herself would appear to have been almost exclusively 
 occupied in working for the use of the Church. Their general excellence, however, caused her workmen to be 
 sought for far and near ; not only in Montpelher and Toulouse, but in Paris, and even in Kngland, where 
 Johannes Limovicensis executed the tomb of Walter Merton, bishop of Rochester, in 1267. 
 
 But England w^ould appear to have had little need of such assistance later in the century, for we find in the 
 list of goldsmiths of Paris, taken for the purposes of taxation in the year 1292, the names of Kichardin the 
 enameller of London, and Robert I'Anglois. 
 
 As to the existing remains of the thirteenth century, we are enabled to point out the gold chalice of St. 
 Rcmi, formerly belonging to the Cathedral of Rheims, now in the Cabinet des Medailles at Paris ; the chasse of 
 St. Taurin at Evreux; that of St. Romanus at Rouen; the clasp of St. Louis, still preser\'ed in the Museum 
 of the Louvre, which collection also contains the ciborium of Limoges work made by " Magister G. Alpais ;" and 
 many other specimens are yet to be found in the tr^sors of the various cathedrals and in private collections. 
 
 The eai'ly part of the fourteenth century was, upon the whole, an unfortunate time for France. The 
 English wars, and the exhaustion of the finances consequent upon them, caused the kings and nobles to melt 
 down a vast quantity of their plate. The trade of the goldsmith was therefore far from Nourishing during the 
 reigns of Philip de Valois and Jean le Bon : in fact, these kings seem to have vied with each other in enacting 
 the most stringent ordinances, until at last the poor workman was forbidden to melt down any metal at all 
 unless with the permission of the king or his mint-masters. But no sooner had the wisdom of Charles V. 
 expelled the English and restored peace to the country, than we find the king and his brothers in the pos- 
 session of an almost fabulous amount of jew ellery and plate. 
 
 Of the two inventories now in the Bibliotheque National, although that of the king mentions articles of 
 more intrinsic value, that of the Duke of Anjou is by far the more interesting, by reason of the descriptions, 
 which are much longer and more complete. The most remarkable fact is the enormous quantity of gold 
 (348 marks) which Henry, the duke's goldsmith, was in possession of for making la graiide nef. This )ief 
 was a coffer in the form of a ship for keeping the knife, fork, spoon, goblet, and other things for the use of 
 the possessor, and had generally a name ; thus we read of one belonging to the Duke of Orleans, called the 
 Porquepy (Porcupine); and another is named the Tygre, and valued at 4000/. This last was the property 
 of Henry VL of England. 
 
 The principal objects on which the artists' skill and talent were displayed are the ewers, the hanaps, 
 the fountains, the saltcellars, and above all the nefs ; while the furniture of the private chapel would equally 
 claim his attention : for in the list of articles dedicated to sacred uses are comprised crosses, chalices, burettes, 
 clochettes, bookcovers and clasps, censers, and reliquaries in the form of statues. Many, if not the majority 
 
 * Tliis tomb was to the nicnioi-y of Alix, duchess of Brittany, wlio died 1320, and her daughter; there arc two efSgies. 
 
 t By the ujiper tomb ia to be understood the wood box which stood upon the stone plmth, and which supported the top slab and the effigies. 
 The form of these tombs was doubtless derived from that of the " herses," or catafalques, which remanied standing in the churches after the 
 death of rich men, for a length of time, proportioned to the amount of money bequeathed for mortuary masses. 
 
 + After prohibiting the use of any gold or silver baser than the legal standard, which, we are told, was "la touehe de Paris" for gold, and 
 the " estelings," (sterlings) of England for silver, the regulations proceed to forbid the takmg of more than one apprentice at a time ; the master was 
 not allowed to work on feast days, except for the royal family or the Bishop ot Pans; and, lastly, two or three Preux d'hommes were to be chosen 
 by the others "pour garder Ic mestier." The goldsmith who used false metal was to be banished for four or six years from Paris, " selon ce qu'il a 
 deascrvi." The ordinances of Boileau, in 1260, had the effect of separating the various trades which had hitherto been known under the general 
 denomination of "Orf^vres" — a confused mass; since, from the "Livre des ftk-tiers,' we learn that this corporation had hitherto included, not only 
 the chi istaliers or lapidaries, the gold-beaters, the " brodeurs," and the makers of chapcaiix d'orfrois, but such trades as the potiers (pot-makers)f 
 tin-workers, ironmongers, cutlers, brasiers, and many others of a siunlar nature. From the dale of these reforms, liowcvcr, wc find the goldsmiths 
 existing as a separate company in Pans, with peculiar privileges. 
 
52 FRANCE. 
 
 of the pieces of secular plate, were of the most bizarre composition ; thus we find them in the shape of 
 animals, real or fabulous, and decorated with precious stones and enamelling: in fact, nothing more than 
 large jewels. We read of an ewer in the form of a cock, who carries a fox on his back; and another in 
 the" form of a man, where the water is poured out of his hood. It is singular that this style was more 
 particularly confined to the ewers, and for many years afterwards those formed of baser metals continued to 
 be manufactured in the same grotesque forms. 
 
 The inventory of the Duke of Orleans, though properly belonging to the next century, is mentioned in 
 this place, since it was taken at a very early period of that century (1406), and because it describes the 
 same art. We here find very nearly the same kind of objects described as in the preceding lists. The 
 nefs* of course, are the most conspicuous. 
 
 The person of the master was no less ornate than his house, and accordingly in all three of these 
 inventories occurs the mention of endless girdles, collars, chaplets, rings, brooches, clasps, &c., all more or 
 less made of gold and silver, and ornamented with the usual accompaniments of stones and enamels.f 
 
 The remains of the fourteenth century consist principally of articles required for the service of religion, 
 for, beyond a few hanaps and ceintures, the domestic orfevrerie exists only in description. 
 
 The Bibliotheque at Paris possesses several splendid covers of devotional books, particularly deserving of 
 attention ; one in particular, which the piety of Charles V. caused to be executed for La Sainte Chapelle. 
 
 In the Louvre, among the debris of the tresor of St. Denis, is the gold statuette of the Virgin, given to 
 that abbev in 1339 by Jeanne d'Evreux. Its companion, a St. John, has disappeared since the time of Felibien. 
 In the same museum are tw o angels supporting reliquaries, the carnations of which are rendered by an opaque 
 enamel. In the tresor of the Cathedral of Rheims is a similar though smaller statue, of much better execution. 
 We must not forget the mounting of the famous cameo of Jupiter, once belonging to the Sainte Chapelle, and 
 now in the Cabinet des Medailles. No doubt many more works of this century exist in the cabinets of 
 antiquaries and the tresors of the churches; but as these are difficult of access, it is hardly necessary to 
 mention them more particularly. Labarte gives a UstJ of the goldsmiths who are mentioned in the documents 
 of the fourteenth century as having executed various works. 
 
 During the whole of the reign of Charles VI., and the early part of that of his son. Fi ance was almost 
 completely drained of all her treasures : doubtless part went to ransom the prisoners taken at Agincourt 
 and in other disastrous battles, but the greater portion was melted or sold to defray the expenses of the war ; 
 and it was not until the entry of Charles VII. into Paris, in 1438, that any security could be afforded 
 to the authorised workmen. Those, however, who had not been approved of by the " gardes" had taken advantage 
 of the troubles of the times, and were in full activity. But although the trade soon revived, the manufacture 
 of gold plate ceased with these wars, and before the end of the century we shall see that jewellery almost 
 solely occupied the Parisian goIdsmith.§ 
 
 * Oiin nf tlicm was worth SO iDvicli that the dukc had Dcver been able to entirely pay for it, and after hia death it was sold to [lay the account. 
 We nlso find a new piece of goldsmiths' worlc, the tablet or table, which at that time and long afterwards fignrea in almost every inventory; it 
 rnnaisted "f n bn« "r nltn-rehcf, executed either by " euleveurc" (embossing), or casting, and very often contained relics : its uses were as varied as 
 the Riibjeets repi-eapiited — if smali, it was woiTi as a jewel, or kept as a reliquary, or "roundel;" if large, it was placed at the back of the altar or 
 buffet, and very often was fixed at the head of the bed to charm away evil spirits. 
 
 f When enamel is mentioned in these inventories we must not always assume the term as expressing that of Limoges alone, since bv this time 
 that variety bnii nesrlv it not entirely, gonc out of fashion ; but we must remember that the secret of the transparent variety bad by this time 
 been imported iioiii liiilv. The little silver "plaques" were not only executed in the manner described by Cchini and \asan, bnt were employed 
 in the same mnoiii r as in the Liiuoges wolks, viz. to fill np the incised spaces. That these enamels were generally made separately and hxed to 
 the vessel afterwards, we have a Curious coufirination in an ordinance of 13,55, in which the goldsmiths are forbidden to put chalk under them to 
 increase the wei,»ht nf the vessels. From another ordinance of 1378 we learn the difference between the "grosaerie" and " menuiaerie." The first 
 comprehended all larsre vessels, as dishes, banaps, goblets, girdles, &e., and was to have three grains remedy to the mark ; the second, by which 
 was understood all little images, leaves, lions, gargonilles, and "aiitres choscs de seinblable fa^on," were to have a remedy of five grains to the mark, 
 no doubt to soften the metal and increase the facdity with which they might be chased and worked up. 
 
 } They consisted of, — 1. Jean de Mantrcnx, goldsmith to King Jean. 2. Claux de Friburg, who made a statuette of gold of St. John for the 
 Duke of Normandy, and a superb cross for the same when king. 3. Jean de Pigniguy, who made the diadem for the Duke of Normandy. 4. liobert 
 Retour, goldsmith in the Couciergerie de St. Paul. 5. Hannequin, who was entrusted with the making of three new crowns for Charles V. (i. Henri, 
 the Duke of Anjou's goldsmith. We find the Duke d'Orleans dealing principally with, — 1. J. Durnsne, goldsmith of Toulouse. 2. Jean de Ecthen- 
 coiirt, a Flemish goldsmith. 3. Hans Crest, who had the title of goldsmith to the duke. 4. J. Tarenne, changer and citizen of Paris. 5. Nicholas 
 Griffart, an excellent workman of the same town, was inncb employed by the duke. 
 
 § Among the numerous artists described as residing at Paris during this century, Jean Hasquin, 1412; Perrin Manne, 1415; and Jean I.e- 
 flamane (the Fleming), who worked for the Dukes of Burgundy, are the most remarkable; while Antoine de Bordeaux, Margeric d' Avignon, and Jean 
 de Rouen, are celebrated as being very skilful in the "art fusoire — sculptoire et fabrile." The principal goldsmiths of this century, besides the 
 ahove.nanied, were Jehau Deliit, Pierre Landhors, Jean-Nicholas de Gonesse, Jean Mellier, Julieu Gaulticr, Simon Leroy, S:c. 
 
FRANCE. 
 
 5S 
 
 The sumptuary laws of Louis XI. experienced the same fate whicli always awaits legislative attempts 
 to restrain strong popular inclination. His subjects declined to follow the example of their king, and con- 
 sequently the fashion for jewellery remained the same. But, however avaricious Louis might have been, he 
 was by no means deaf to the suggestions of devotion. He believed in the saints, and that those saints could 
 be rendered placable by gifts ; and the churches of Notre Dame de Clery, St. Martin of Tours,* and many 
 others, could show rich gifts, bestowed by one who, except in such cases, was never known to give. 
 
 But the decadence of Christian art was at hand. Charles VIIL and Louis XIIL, both engaged in Italian 
 wars, brought back artists from Italy, w^hich then was not the Italy of the thirteenth and fourteenth 
 centuries. The severe art of Giotto had given way to the more luxurious cinque-cento; that style was 
 imported into France by the workmen of Genoa, Milan, and Venice ; and soon after its introduction the 
 Gothic disappeared, and we meet with nothing but the Renaissance. But before we finally take leave of 
 Christian art, it behoves us to consider another school, where the influences of comparative political freedom 
 had transfoi'med the Fx'ench into the Flemish school. 
 
 The towns of Flanders had always been more or less celebrated for their manufacture of " grosserie." 
 That branch 'of industiy had been encouraged by the earls as far as the rebellious state of their subjects 
 would permit; but it was not until the accession of the Dukes of Burgundy had restored peace to the 
 various towns, that the art can be said to have assumed a distinctive character. 
 
 There are few relics of the Flemish Zelversmede more interesting than the collar of the "doyen," or 
 dean of their company at Ghent. The date of this is placed, by the costume of the figures, in the middle 
 of the fifteenth century. The material is silver finished with the burin, and the composition consists of 
 sixteen pieces, representing in relief the labours of the miner, mclter, refiner, and the final process of 
 stamping the weight and value of the metal. 
 
 "When, however, the house of Burgundy had succeeded to the two Flanders, and thereby restored unity 
 to the towns which had hitherto been in a constant state of war and jealousy, the goldsmith was by 
 no means the least prosperous among the many flourishing craftsmen. The manufacture of " grosserie " 
 was more than ever encouraged, and to it was added the more profitable one of jewellery. The whole of the 
 articles were not, as in France, consumed by the king and noblesse ; on the contrary, a great proportion was 
 made for the use of the citizens, and no inconsiderable amount was exported. 
 
 From the accounts preseiwed in the archivesf at Lille we find the two last Dukes of Burgundy buying 
 jewels to an almost incredible amount; their predecessors had lived in more troubled times, and their purchases 
 were consequently of less value. The jew^ellers of that time were in the habit of making many things which 
 at present are comprised in the trade of the silversmith ; it was to them that the knight apphed for the 
 decorations of his ai'ms and horse in war, and for the powderings and borders of his dress in times of peace. 
 The ladies patronised them for the flocarts (tufts) of their "chapels d'orfroy" (or head-dresses), and the 
 thousand other requisites for the female toilet ; while the art of cutting the diamond, invented about this period, 
 enabled the jewellery to appear more brilliant and luxurious than ever. A vast number of the names of the 
 Flemish artists of the middle ages have been preseiTed to us, and are collected in our great authority, the 
 " Histoire de I'Orfe vrerie-Joaillerie," — so many, indeed, that it is difticult to make an impartial selection.^ 
 
 The sacristies of the cathedrals, the cabinets of the antiquaries, and the pubHc museums, have been the 
 means of saving from the crucible more than one of the chefs-d'mwre of these artists ; and in the Hotel de 
 Ville, at Ghent, there is still to be seen the silver-gilt escutcheon made by Corneille de Bonte for the town 
 tmmpeters and fiddlers ; whilst another of his works (a chrysmatoi"y) exists in the cabinet of M. Onghena, 
 in the same town. Louvain cathedral possesses a censer, two or three statuettes of silver, and two crowns 
 of the same material, decorated with jewels, as well as a brass font, with an exquisite iron crane for lifting its 
 cover. 
 
 * St. Martin of Tours received a silver balustrade in gratitude for the death of Charles the Bold. 
 
 t The duke appears to have had an officer called " I'orfevre dc m on seigneur," whose duty it was to choose the plate and to advance the payment. 
 We have, therefore, few names in these lists belonging to the town of Ghent; a3 the duke, who resided there, was in the habit of making hia 
 purehases through this officer: whilst in the other towns the goldsmith generally appears to have transacted his own business. There was another 
 officer, called the "garde des joyeaux," who, doubtless, was kept pretty well employed, aa the said jewels were continually being pawned and 
 redeemed. 
 
 X Among the principal may, however, be noted: — Guillaume Sanguin; Jean Pentin de Bruges; Louis Leblas^re, the friend of Hans Hemmeling; 
 Thien^ de Stancre, who engraved the duke's private signet; Guerardin Clutiu of Bruges, who mounted the jewels; whilst Jean Hennecart (peintrej 
 varlet de cbambre de nionseigneur), and Jean of Cologne, also a painter, made designs for the goldsmiths' work. 
 
54 
 
 FRANCE, 
 
 The manufacture of works in iron and brass was carried to great perfection in almost all the large towns, 
 some of which, such as Liege and Namur, are celebrated for it to this day. Louvain, Antwerp, Mahnes, 
 Lean, and very many others, have more or less iron and brass work in their cathedrals and churches. 
 The former is generally met with in the form of font - cranes,* door-handles, grilles,f well-covers,;]; &c. ; 
 ■whilst the latter takes the shape of grilles for the sacrament - house,§ fonts and their covers,]| sconces,^ 
 candelabra,** lecterns,ff benatnre,|;[; and monumental brasses §§ and eflfigies, of which latter the most beautiful 
 example is the tomb of Mary of Burgundy (la Pncelle de Gaud), who died in 1482.||]| 
 
 No doubt the churches of France possessed equally beautiful objects; but the spirit of change and the 
 Tiolence of political events have left us literally nothing in the baser metals : the great works of the Benedic- 
 tines give plates and descriptions of thousands of monuments now lost, which serve to excite without 
 satisfying our curiosity. Occasionally, too, we find in the provincial histories of the present times copies of 
 more than usually careful drawings of the last century; thus, in Arnaud's "Voyage Pittoresque en Troyes," 
 there are prints of the tomb of the Count de Champagne (before described), and of a celebrated brass cross 
 36 French feet in height, which stood in the Place de I'llotel de A'ille, and was erected by the confraternity 
 of the Holy Cross in 1495; after being broken by the violence of the wind in 1584, it finally disappeared in 
 the great Revolution. Sauval, in his "Antiquites de Paris," gives a distressing account of the removal of the 
 great altar in N6tre Dame, and the consequent destruction of all the beautiful brass pillars, &c., which 
 formed its decorations and supported the chasse of St. Marcel; both these and "la belle croix" (for so it 
 was called) at Troyes, were found to have a thick rod of iron inside. Some few of the cathedrals have had 
 the good fortune to preserve one or more screens of iron- work of this century; but they are excessively 
 rare, and possibly the greatest amount is in the Cathedral of Evreux, where all the chapels of the choir 
 have ornamented " tiroirs " (handles) of exquisite tracery-work. The Hotel de Cluny, at Paris, has also 
 some splendid locks; and the Cathedrals of Rheims, Amiens, and Evreux, are surmounted by wooden fleches 
 covered with lead, with crockets and finials most ingeniously worked. 
 
 When the tide of the Renaissance had once set in its progress was steady, though the transition was not 
 violent; and the art of Louis XH. and Francois L was a very different thing from the cinque-cento of Italy. 
 Unfortunately, a vast quantity of the plate of this period^^[ is supposed to have been melted to pay the ransom 
 of the latter king, and no doubt much more was refashioned in after times. 
 
 A great change came over the Renaissance when the best artists of Italy were invited into France by 
 the liberality of Francis 1. The cinque-cento was introduced by such men as Leonardo da Vinci, Priraaticcio, 
 Rosso, and the great Benvenuto Cellini himself ; and in a few years the style of France became the same as 
 that of Europe. 
 
 The circumstances of the residence of CeUini in France have been, so often commented on and described, 
 that we shall give but a short abstract in this place, referring the reader who may be desirous of more 
 information to his own memoirs. From these it would appear that he arrived in 1540, and on his presentation by 
 the Cardinal of Ferrara, offered the king a basin and ewer, which were not quite finished. "VVe afterwards find 
 him in possession of the same salary as Leonardo da Vinci, and the resideiice of the Petit Nesle. During the 
 four years he remained in France he executed a large silver statue of Jupiter, one of a set of twelve ; the gold 
 saltcellar now at Vienna ; two or three vases ; and the alterations for the gateway at Fontainebleau. A large 
 statue, 54 feet high, for the same place, is represented as being partially modelled, but not carried out. 
 Having managed to incur the ill-will of Madame d'Estampes, he gradually lost the king's favour, and in 1545 
 returned to Italy, leaving his two pupils, Ascanio and Paolo, at Paris ; who, according to his own account, 
 were but too glad of his departure. There can be no doubt that these two Italians continued to work thei'e 
 
 * Luiivniu Ciitijcdral, niid Lean. f Malincs. I Antwerp. Louvain. |[ Lean, Louvain. 
 
 Bruges; Jerusalem Church, Lean, ** Lean, ft Tireleniont, Lcau. H Leau. Bruges. 
 
 nil It consists of an altar-tomh of blaek marble, the whole of the sides and ends of which are decorated with a genealogical tree in copper or 
 brass-gilt, interspersed with little figures of angels and enamelled eseuteheons, each side containing thirty-one of these. At the angles are four 
 niches and pedestals, containing figures of the Evangelists, very much in the style of Van Eyck. Oo the ledgment at tbe top are the arms and 
 titles of ail the states of Flanders, also gilt and enamelled ; and the composition is finished by a gilt bronze statue the size of life, part of the details 
 of which, particularly the border of the mantle, arc perfectly wonderful. It was not until above fifty years after the death of Charles the Bold that 
 a copy of his daughter's tomb was erected to his memory by the Emperor Charles V.; this, although professing to be a copy, is decidedly of 
 inferior art, und llie liltle figures and escntchcons wiil bear no eomparison. For the general effect of tlicsc tombs, see Ilaghc's " Belgium.'" 
 
 ^1 The Cardinal d'Anjboise was a great ])atvon of ibc Renaissanet goldsmiths, aud had one cup (in belle coupe) valued at 200,000 crowns. 
 
FRANCE. 65 
 
 after the traditions of their master, more especially, as he himself tells us, thej' were very skilful; and it is 
 not improhable, bnt that much of the exquisite jewellery now in the Louvre may be by their hands. 
 
 As many of these works are enamelled, it is necessary to give some account of the progress of the 
 Limoges school. From about 1350 to 1460 we hear little or nothing respecting the art, but at the latter 
 end of the tifteenth century a very considerable number of the "Emaux a Paillons " are to be met with. 
 These may be briefly described as large and gross imitations of the Italian enamels in relief, although they 
 are produced by au entirely different process, and are distinguished by the number of imitations of jewels 
 used in their decoration. 
 
 About the year 15;i0, Francis L, wishing to revive the art of enamel, established a royal manufactory 
 at Limoges, and appointed Leonard Limousin first director of the new estabhshment. That artist's earliest 
 enamels date from the year 1532. They were employed as decorations to cups, vases, medallions suspended 
 against the walls, and inserted into paneUing, frames for pictures, mirrors, &c. ; and were mostly executed 
 after designs of mythological subjects by the Italian masters. To him succeeded the family of Courtois, or 
 Court ; among which were many good artists. Numerous others followed, of greater or less excellence ; and 
 the names of Pierre Rcxmon, Jean Courtois, and Nicholas Laudin, do honour to the catalogue of French 
 artists. At length, in the hands of the generation of Nouailhers, who occupied the arduous post of sustainino- 
 the past celebrity of Limoges, the art sank into utter imbecility, and at the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century all its ancient glory had departed. 
 
 In the year 1540 Francis made some very impolitic regulations respecting the quality of the gold, &c. ; 
 among other things he forbad the goldsmiths to use any but the " email clair." These were found to be so 
 oppressive to the trade, that the principal goldsmiths and jewellers* waited on him with a petition, begging 
 him to rescind the said edict. The end of it was, that the worthy goldsmiths carried their point. A series 
 of woodcuts by J. Amnion, executed about this time, are useful, as showing us the interior of the ateliers 
 of the coiner, the goldsmith, the jeweller, the basin-maker, the' spur-maker, and the coppersmith. 
 
 At this period, and long after, one of the richest jewels required by imperious fashion was the ISnsei'me, 
 a species of medal generally adorning the hats of the nobles and the coiffure of the ladies. We have already 
 alluded to these "enseignes" under the head of Italy, and the difference between the French and ItaHan 
 was so slight as to be scarcely appreciable. 
 
 During the reign of Henry II., the German school had published a great many of those little prints for 
 jewellers' work, which are known as the designs of the petits-maitres ; these had a vast influence upon French 
 art, though it may be well questioned if that influence was by any means advantageous : on the contrary, 
 it would appear to have rendered the forms ruder and heavier, without addhig anything to their general effect. 
 That there was no want of original talent of the same kind in France is proved by the prints of Vim-il Solis, 
 Etienne Delaulne (le maitre de la licorne), Gilles L'Egare, and Woeiriot, while Jean Goiyon and Germain 
 Pilon were in the habit of designing for the jewellers. Fortunately this German fashion, for such it must be 
 called, was of no long continuance. The wars of the Reformation broke out, and men were then more 
 employed in melting works of art than in producing them. Almost every town underwent the vicissitudes 
 of war ; almost every church saw its treasure melted by the Huguenots, as rehcs of superstition ; or decimated 
 by the Leaguers to supply the necessary funds for the defence of religion. Still at Paris and in the vicinity 
 of the court large quantities of jewellery continued to be made, but these were for the most part in the 
 Italian style. Indeed it would be difficult to point out any period hi which jewellery was not made, for it 
 was continually wanted for the presents which it was then the fashion to give and receive on all important 
 occasions. f 
 
 The accession of Henry IV., by restoring peace, had the effect of reviving the manufacture of " grosserie," 
 and is celebrated for the damascenings of Cursinet. Tlie movement was continued through the reign of 
 Henry's son and successor, Louis XIII., and the magnificence of Richeheu and Mazarin paved the way for 
 the siecle of Louis le Grand. 
 
 * Aitiong tW find the uauies of Toutiu. Philippe le Roy, Cresse, Jacob, Gamier, CastilloD, Hutmaii, Jean I'Eofant, Matliieu jMarcel, 
 Nicholas Lepeuplc, Jean Herondelle, and Jean Cousin the elder. This latter was bom in Lorraine, and being a goldsmith at Paris, at the a^c of 
 twcnty-sLx years was elected one of the "gardes" of the corporation. 
 
 t The ground-floor below the gallery of the Louvre was oeeupicd by the most distinguished artists of the period, tliose "faisenrs d'etrennes " 
 whose monopolies and extraordinary privileges excited the great envy of their less fortunate brethren of the eorporatiou. 
 
56 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
 In one of the apartments of the LouTre is to be found a most magnificent collection of jewelled and 
 enamelled cupsj of all styles and ages, principally executed between the reigns of Francis I. and Louis XIII. 
 To mention any one as being of peculiar excellence would be difficult indeed ; for they are all of the best 
 art and most careful workmanship. The design, for the most part, consists of a bowl of agate, crystal, or 
 some other precious substance, with feet, bands, and handles of enamelled gold, set with jewels. 
 
 During this period of the Renaissance the style of design of the baser metals had experienced the same 
 changes as that of the more precious ones : the same care was employed in their manipulation, the same art 
 displayed in their ornamentation. Fran9ois Briot, who flourished under Henry II., has been justly celebrated 
 for his proofs in pewter. He, however, appears only to have done on a larger scale what was the common 
 practice with all goldsmiths. When a piece of plate had been finished, it was usual to take a cast of it in 
 pewter as a pattern for future use. Briot, however, took several copies ; and thus enabled the sideboards of 
 the honryeoisie to display plate of equal excellence, though of less value, than those of the nobility. 
 
 Iron was likewise chased up to great perfection, as may be seen in the marvellous arabesque gates in 
 steel in the Louvre. In Du Sommerard's " Moyen Age " there is a print of the lock of the Chateau d'Anet, with 
 a vast amount of architectural decoration and figures. The Hotel de Cluny has also one or two others of the 
 same kind. Several of the windows and balconies of the Louvre display great skill and design ; and many 
 of the houses in Paris retain their old ornaments of this epoch. A little later, in 1627, we have a complete 
 treatise on iron-work by Mathurin Jousse; of which, as it is the first one of its kind, and contains the only 
 information we have respecting the old work, we have subjoined a short abstract.* 
 
 To return to the goldsmith. His craft was far too necessary an adjunct to the magnificence of Louis 
 XIV. to be at all neglected, and accordhigly we find veritable works of art in the precious metals produced 
 by the talents of Balhn. Claude Balhn, the son of a Parisian goldsmith, was born in 1G15. After having 
 studied the works of Poussin, at the age of nineteen he executed four great silver basons, representing the 
 four ages of the world ; these brought him under the notice of Cardinal Richeheu, and from that time we find 
 him producing a vast number of chefs-d'wuvre, for the most part ornamented with figures in alto-rehevo. His 
 best work was, probably, the monstrance of silver gilt, five feet high, for the cathedral of Notre Dame de 
 Paris. Unfortunately, the expenses of the war in 1688 caused a vast number of them to be melted down. 
 Poor Ballin, however, died in 1678, and thereby escaped witnessing the destruction of his labours. 
 
 Before, however, they were consigned to the crucible, Delauney, one of his pupils, had taken careful 
 
 * la tlie year of grace 1027, one Mathurin Jousse took it iuto his head to publish a work on iron-work in general, and the art of the lockamith 
 in particular, entitled, " La fidele Ouverture de I'Art du Serruricr, oii I'on voit lea principaulx Freceptes, Desseings, et injures touehanta les Experiences 
 et Optrations manuelies du diet art si la Flechc. Chez George Griveau, Imprimcur ordinaire du Roi, 1G27. Avec Privileire du "Roi." The book is dedicated 
 to the Jesuits. There are several plates of keys and escutcheona, of by no means bad design : indeed far better than the cnntpmpfirary art m Eng- 
 land. The first plate in particular, representing four keys, ia so good that it appears to have been copied from some of the desio-ns of the petits- 
 maitrea, and introduced to show what the old keys were like. The worthy locksmith begins at the beginning. Thus hia first chapter (tor the work 
 is divided into sixty-nine) contains a dissertation on the antiquity of the art; in the next two be talks about apprentices and masters. Chapter 4 
 ia occupied with the names and uses of the tools, of which he enumerates more than 330 varieties. Chapter 5. how to heat the iron properly. 
 Chapter 6, to forge a nail. In Chapter 7 he urges hia objections to the old locks. He states that they were alwaj'B placed on the outside, and 
 that even in his time many locks were still made after the old manner: but they were difficult to make on account of the intneacy nf the aetinn. 
 but more especially ao because of the ornaments of architecture, sculpture, or relief, " qu'il faut mcttre sur icelles.'' W'e. nre nl-m told- nnd we may 
 readily believe it, that some took as much as two years or more to make; so that it is often the ruin of poor aspirants. " A enuse des o-randes frais 
 et d'espences:" that these locks do not sell ao well as those in use, that they can be easUy picked, that they are diffienlt to elenn. that they are 
 subject to tear dresses, &c. ; and lastly, that they are especially liable to get rusty on account of tbe water "qu'on jptt^ dpssns pm- inndvprtnnep mt 
 autremeut, qui est la ruyne tofallc d'icelles." He then gives a description of the several sorts of ancient locks, but ns it relates pimeipnlly to 
 the mechanism, it ia not worth translating at full length : suffice it to say, that he dividca them into, — latly. Those with simple hasps: and lidly. ThosR 
 with double or bifurcated hasps. Among other recipes given by Jousse ia one to " melt iron and to run it into mniilds like other fusible metals, 
 and at little expense;" which (secret) .Bjscoraei^e, when he died, " a emporte avec soi so that they (the inventors) have lult us nothine hut their 
 manual work, which same is capable of perishing little by little with time, which devours and consumes cvcrythiiiL-; which would not he tbe ease if 
 every one employed his researches upon what is most beautiful and rare, and would cause it to be seen by the " cspnts nuncnv qm le pnuvmipnt 
 conserver et faire viure (vivre) a jamais." In Chapter 8 he advises the aspirant to begin to forge things in lead, ao aa not to waste coal and iron 
 in hia first attempts. Chapters 9 and 10 are devoted to locks. In Chapter 11 we are told how to malie padlocka. He saya they are made cir- 
 cular {rond), in the shape of a lieart, of a triangle, of a shield, of a square, flat or oval, like an acom or a ballnstre. and many others : all these 
 sorts are equally easy to make if they have not two catches (o/wes). or there is not a plate (planche) in tbe middle. Chapter 12 gives us several 
 modes of brazing or joining pieces of iron together by means ot melted brass {lelon). He himself recommends a mixture of silver and brass. 
 Chapter 13 is devoted to tbe art of makinp; padlocks of a superior sort, where the key has to turn two or three times before they will open. 
 Chapters 13-27 are occupied with details of the manufacture of locks. In Chapter 18 we have a figured cut, by which we are enabled to tell 
 the names of tbe various pieces, and drawmj-a of sundry escutcheon plates, which exhibit a general declension of art. All tbe designs, he says, have been 
 executed in hia shop, except the four keys above mentioned. Chapter 28 ia how to make a lock which wdl open by difi'ercnt keys, by the aame 
 keyhole. These were used for treasuries, &c. Chapter il contains the plates and descriptions of the different wards of keys. Chapter 43 teaches us how 
 to strengthen gates with iron-work. The heads of the nails with which the iron-work is attached are made in divers fashions. Some are made square and 
 lozenge shape, which are inserted into the wood (i. e. when there is no iron-work) the thickness of the head. " Others make them ' en pointe de diaraana,' 
 
FRANCE. 
 
 57 
 
 drawings of them all, and we are thus enabled to judge of their merits. They would appear to have been 
 distinguished by a great boldness of style and breadth of execution, and by a profuse employment of figures 
 and alto-relievos, somewhat in the style of design, familiar to us thiwgh the graver of Le Pautre, Lafage, 
 and others of the same school. Most of those of the other works were manufactured in the Louvre, where, 
 besides Ballin, were lodged Labarre, Vincent Petit, Julian Desfontaines the jeweller, and many others. 
 About this time the aigrette, a bunch of flowers in enamelled gold, came greatly into fashion, and 
 employed the ingenuity of the jeweller; and in the next reign we shall see the making of plate nearly, if 
 not altogether, abandoned, and jewellery taking its place. 
 
 There have been few things so popular and so undeservedly so as the French taste, as it was called, 
 and which from that country infected the whole of Europe; it was applied to all purposes, and to almost 
 every article; probably jewellery suffered the least, as from the smallness of its parts the new style was 
 better adapted to it than to anything else. The age had become literally one of brass. Thomas Germain 
 may, almost be called the last of the silversmiths; his death occurred in 1748, and for forty years he had 
 executed the most important works of architecture and orfovrerie which the age had required. 
 
 The year 1760 is noticeable for another general melting of plate, in which not even the altar-table of 
 Sens, which, as w^e have seen, had existed from the tenth centurj', was spared. The church plate thus 
 destroyed was replaced with gilt copper, which is far from having the artistic merit of the pewter proofs of 
 Briot; and snuff-boxes, scent-bottles, bonbonnieres, cassolettes, and such trifles, took the place of all better things, 
 and received the whole of the workman's attention.* 
 
 The great Revolution, at least as far as art was concerned, was urgently needed. On its coming it swept 
 away the jewellery, the copper, the tinsel of the age, along with its institutions,; and under Napoleon the 
 arts and France entered into a new career with a better and livelier spirit. 
 
 To return for a few moments to the subject of enamel, we have observed that the manufacture of 
 enamel, after the late Limoges fashion, entirely declined under the Nouailhers; but some time previous to 
 that declension we find that a goldsmith of Chateaudun, named Jean Toutin, whose attention had been 
 drawm to the subject by his operations in the production of the transparent enamel ornaments required in his 
 trade, was led in his experiments to attempt to paint with opaque tints, and in this manner to revive the art 
 of enamel painting. He limited its appUcation, however, to small objects; his disciple, Gribelin, carried the 
 art forward ably; to him succeeded the goldsmith Dubie, who practised at Paris, in the gallery of the 
 Louvre. His productions were limited to rings and watch-cases ; his pupil, Robert Vougier de Blois, far 
 surpassed his master, both in drawing and colouring; he died in 1670. Another native of Blois, Pierre 
 
 01- toadstool beaded, or a round head elianiiclled ; others make them with a rouud bead, with rosea and leaves in relief below them." He tells us that often 
 two or three sets of leaves are plaeed over one another. This is the proecss adopted in the iron-work of Prior Crauden'a chapel at Ely. Further 
 on he gives two woodcuts of rosettes. Others are simple rosettes beaten up and filled with lead. Chapter 44 deseribes how small doors are to be 
 garnished with iron. Among other things he mentions "loeqneta a poussicr" {thumb -latehes), which arc raised by a shell, an acoi-n, a button; olive or 
 console ; and other things. Chapter 15, to make the iron-work for doors which open and shut both sides. Chapter 4fi, to make doors shut of themselves. 
 Chapter 47, how to select and cook plaster, or gypsum, for plastcnng hinges. Chapter 48, to make the iron-work for cabinets. Chapter 49, to make iron- 
 work for trunks and coffers. Chapter 50, to make "bouck-s," (elosiiiK-ringsh " heiu-toirs." [kuockcrsi: " tiroirs," (handles); "platincs/' (washer plates, 
 e.g. for latches); "eacussons," (escutclieons), to put on the doors. Chapter 51, to make "targettes these are the bolts to keep the two leaves of the 
 window together. They were generally cut and beaten iip out ot a plate of U'on fixed during the process upon lead. These "targettes" were often made of 
 tin ; and Chapter 52 is devoted to the tinning of the iron ones. Chapter 53 is how to enamel them — 1 oz. of " poLx rouaine" ( rosin ), \ oz. of " saudcras" 
 (gum sandeiae), \ oz. ot " mastic en earme," all of which being pulverised and melted together, then the colour wanted is added. If you want blue, you. 
 take "emad fin," (some colour, not enamel); if you want red, vermilion; green, verdigris, &c. ; these are mixed with the above composition: then you 
 allow it to get cold to the consistence of paste, and with it yon make little sticks, with which you enamel your work after it has been tinned. The enamelling 
 is performed by slightly heating the piece of iron, and then passing over the places with the aforesaid sticks, the which are slightly melted with the heat. 
 Jouase teUs ua that this enamel will last a long time, and is very cheap. Chapter 54 is how to make the interlaced grilles before windows, and how to make 
 sign (enseign) brackets. Chapter d5 is how to make iron-work for wells, with four cuts of the same ; these are almost Gothic. He recommends that when 
 near a wall a bracket should be employed instead. Chapter 56, how to make the varda for scales. He says that these, if not made pruperly, produce great 
 roguery, and therefore he will not point out the defects for fear of instructmg evily-disposed persons. Chapter 57 describes a chair, by means of which you 
 can advance, retire, by one movement. Chapter 58, another chair, by which yon can carry yourself easily where you wish. Chapter 59. Invention of 
 an lion hand for the mntikted, by means of which you can even do work ; also an n-on let;. Chapter 59 (two different chapters beiug numbered the same) 
 treats of the making of the screw ot the vice of the blacksmith, also that for the printing-press. Chapter 60 teaches how to make a machine for milling 
 lead. Chapter bl is about the iron-work necessary lor mounting bells, so as to make them rin- with little trouble. Chapter 62 is how to colour the iron, 
 and to put ornaments on the same after it has been coloured. This was done by means of vin^ar. Chapter 63 is bow to make bellows for the blacksmith. 
 Chapters 64 to 67 mclusive, treat of the various sorts of iron and steel, and how to temper the latter. Among the various kinds no mention is made 
 of English. Chapter 68, how to make and temper Ides and other tools. Chapter 09, which is the last chapter, describes a machine for making files; and 
 Joubse winds up with an address "aus lecteurs, et compagnons serruriers," m which he assures them that many more things and inventions might be 
 described, but that by the careful reading of what he has written they will not only be able to execute them, even the most difGcult, but also to invent others. 
 * As an exquisite chaser of such trifles it would be wrong to omit mention of the distinguished artist, Dassier. 
 
58 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
 Chartier, succeeded him, and was distinguished for the grace and dexterity with which he painted flowers. 
 From this time many artists turned their talents and attention to the cultivation of this branch of the fine 
 arts. Jean Petitot of Geneva (born 1607, died at Vevay, 1690), and Jacques Bordier, his brother-in-law, 
 produced works of the highest perfection; their miniature portraits from life, and from the great masters, 
 are of extreme beauty, and were most highly valued. Vandyke was personally attached to Petitot, took the 
 greatest pleasure in seeing him labour, and, occasionally, did not even disdain to retouch his works. Louis 
 XIV. and his court drew largely on his talent, and remunerated him with an ample pension, apartments in 
 the royal galleries, and an honourable position in society. Bordier and Petitot worked together all their lives ; 
 the former, painting the draperies, the hair, and the back-ground ; and the latter, the faces and hands. They 
 lived truly like brothers, without jealousy ; and amassed, as Mr. Durand informs us, a large fortune of nearly 
 a million francs, which they positively divided without a law-suit or disagreement. By them the art was 
 carried into England, where their productions were so much admired, that two good miniature painters, Louis 
 Hance and Louis de Gamier, turned their attention immediately to their imitation; and had the latter but 
 lived sufficiently long, his works would have equalled, if not surpassed, his great prototype. To them, in 
 England, succeeded a Swedish artist, of the name of Zink, whose knowledge of the manipulation of the art 
 was, perhaps, never exceeded. Unhappily the secret of his processes died with him, as he left behind him no 
 pupil. In France, after the days of Petitot, other eminent enamel artists arose, among whom may be 
 particularised M. Rouquet, M. Liotard, and M. Durand, who was in the height of his career in the middle 
 of the eighteenth century. During the whole of the same century France continued to produce pretty 
 miniature enamels, and many an old-fashioned snuff-box and etui-case reproduce pleasantly the artificialities of 
 Boucher and Moreau. In the nineteenth century they stand forward among the European nations in their anxiety 
 to revive the graceful processes we have attempted to describe ; and from the ateliers of Messrs. Wagner and 
 his successor, Rudolfi, many very elegant imitations of both the " early " and " late Limoges," the late Italian 
 and "niello " varieties of enamelling, have emanated. All that seems wanting in their productions is 
 somewhat more transparency of colour and freedom of execution. 
 
 The gold and silversmiths of the present generation in France have completely revived the old reputation 
 of the country. In Vechte we meet with an artist whose work we do not hesitate to affirm is equal to that 
 of Cellini. In Froment Meurice, Morel, Lebrun, Marrel, Odiot, and others, the ability of the workman is 
 happily wedded to the wisdom and experience of the master. The result is, that works of the utmost perfection 
 are constantly issuing from the ateliers of the goldsmiths, and enriching the cabinets of distinguished connoisseurs; 
 such as the Due de Luynes, M. Devandeuve, and many others, whose pride it is to be enabled to judge and 
 rightly to estimate every style of design and every variety of process. 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 Of all the nations whose poverty or activity disturbed the repose, or who invoked by their independence 
 the vengeance of the Roman Empire, there were few who displayed a more dauntless courage, or a more 
 tm-bulent or restless disposition, than the various tribes which are known to historians by their common 
 appellation of Germans. Compared with the other nations under the dominion of Rome, we find that a 
 remarkably small portion of their country was ever subdued ; and even that had to be guarded by permanent 
 forts and colonies. Cologne, Mayence, Treves, and many other towns, deduce their origin from these colonies, 
 and it was in them that the arts of antiquity were firmly preserved for Germany, during what is termed the 
 " dark ages," until the advent of better and more prosperous times. 
 
 As to the Teutonic races themselves, we may gather from the interesting details preserve<l to us in the 
 "Germania" of Tacitus, that they had scarcely any arts, and but little civilisation; and it was to this 
 circumstance that they were probably indebted for their ability , to preserve their liberty. With the exception 
 of a few scanty chronicles (such as the writings of Eginhard) respecting the meteoric empire of Charlemagne, 
 we learn but little respecting the arts until the time of Otho II., in 972. During this long and dreary 
 period, it is observed by Dr. Kngler, that the seals of the emperors are almost the only materials pres-erved to 
 modern times which afford material for judging of the style of what little art was practised in workino- the 
 metals. These betray a decidedly antique type; which, although rude, is totally unmixed with the Byzantine 
 element. It is most probable that this type is due to the traditions of the old Roman military colonists, 
 for we know that, at the commencement of the fifth century, both Cologne aud Nuremberg were famed 
 for their works in gold and silver, and that iu earUer days the former station had been celebrated, even at 
 Rome, for the splendour of its buildings and the riches of its officers. The munificence of the Emperor 
 Charlemagne had hkewise richly ornamented the " dome " of his new city of Aix-la-Chapelle, and it was there 
 that he was buried with imperial pomp and with all the insignia of majesty. These insignia, unfortunately, 
 could not escape the avarice of his successors ; and he owed to Frederick Barbarossa both his canonisation 
 and the robbery of his tomb. However, there is every reason to beUeve, as we have remarked in our notice 
 of French history, from the sword aud crown (the only relics from which we have an opportunity of 
 judging) that none of these ornaments were due to the German artists, but rather to those of Italy and Byzan- 
 tium. As to the bronze door with which the cathedral is said to have been adorned, the character of its 
 workmanship is equally uncertain. 
 
 At the end of the tenth century a vast change took place. The Emperor Otho connected himself by 
 marriage with the Byzantine court, and from this time we find the whole of the metals imbued most 
 strongly with the characteristics of that style. Thus, at the commencement of the next century, the altar- 
 frontal given by Henry II. to the Cathedral of Basle, displays most unmistakeable traces of the influence of 
 the Greek school. This magnificent piece of goldsmiths' work was made by order of the Emperor as an 
 offering to St. Benedict, in gratitude for a miraculous cure which had taken place at his intercession. It 
 consists of an arcade of five arches supported by pillars, iu the centre of which is our Blessed Lord ; the 
 others being occupied by representations of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, together with St. 
 Benedict himself. This interesting relic, after remaining for more tliiin 800 years in the cathedral, was sold 
 by auction in 1834, and was brought to England in 1843, when it was described in a very talented paper 
 in the " Archaeologia " by Mr. Albert Way. 
 
 The crowns of this Emperor and his Empress, which are preserved in the Royal treasury at Munich, convey 
 
 \ 
 
60 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 a very high impression of the skill of the Byzantine workmen or their German pupils:* for that the Byzantine 
 artists, who had been employed by his father, had by no means left the country, is amply proved by the 
 splendid cover of the book of prayers in the same place ; in which a Latin inscription bears King Henry's 
 name, and the enamels have the Greek monogram of our Lord. 
 
 The example set by the holy monarch, St. Henry, was closely followed by his clergy ; and the accounts of 
 the donations made by Willigis, archbishop of Mayence, and Bemward, bishop of Hildesheim, to their 
 respective cathedrals, would make up almost a history of themselves. The former, who died in 1011, besides a 
 vast quantity of gold and silver vessels, and tapestry, presented an immense crucifix, the cross of which was 
 entirely overlaid with gold plates ; and the figure, also in gold, was so formed that it was possible to separate 
 its limbs: carbuncles occupied the place of eyes; and the cavity of the body (which was above the natural 
 size) was made use of to contain relics. We can form some idea of the value of this work, when we know 
 that the gold alone weighed 600 lbs. There was also a vessel cut out of onyx, with a Greek inscription; 
 thus clearly proving its foreign origin. 
 
 Bernward's gifts,-!" if ""t so splendid, were equally useful to the arts, for he himself worked upon many of 
 the objects; of which the church of St. Mary at Hildesheim preserves a fine specimen in a gold cross, 
 displaying the general characteristics of the processes most popular in the age: such as filagree and the 
 insertion of a profusion of precious stones. There are also in the same church two lamps, which we are 
 told by the inscriptions were manufactured by one of his pupils. But by far the greatest of his works were 
 those in bronze : the art of casting which, there can be httle doubt, had been introduced by Byzantine workmen 
 at the end of the tenth century. Tlie first gates (besides those cast for Aix-la-Cliapelle, in the time of 
 Charlemagne) were, as their inscription tells us, those at Mayence. They consist of plain panels with 
 a total absence of figures. In the doors, however, with which Bernvvard adorued his cathedral, were 
 contained as many as sixteen scenes from the lives of Adam and our Blessed Lord. Another work was 
 the celebrated brass pillar, which originally stood in the court of the Cathedral of Hildesheim; this has no 
 fewer than twenty-nine groups in relief, representing the life of Christ, which wind up the column in a 
 spiral, like the monuments of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius at Rome. The capital has, unfortunately, been 
 destroyed. 
 
 Doctor Kugler tells us that both these works betray decidedly indications of the prevalent style of Greece, 
 and, if not executed by artists from that country, at all events show in how short a time their German 
 brethren, such as Bernward (who died in 1022), had become imbued with it. 
 
 During the same century, a vast number of smaller works in bronze were executed for the service of 
 the Church ; but as they have been for the most part removed from their original situations, it will, perhaps, 
 be sufiicient to mention the gates at Augsburg, which were cast iu 1070. The ornament of these consists 
 of a great number of figures in low relief, under very shallow semicircular arches : they are drawn, however, 
 with great spirit, and represent scenes from the Bible, together with subjects of pure fancy, one or two of the 
 panels being repeated. Shortly afterwards, in 1080, we have the tomb of Rodolph of Suabia in the Cathedral 
 of Mersburg, which bears equally strong marks of the Byzantine style. The Cathedral of Goslar contains 
 the celebrated bronze altar, which was decorated with jewels, in a similar manner to the great candelabrum at 
 Milan (I'Albero) : the work of the kneeling figures which support the altar is remarkably sharp and spirited. 
 Tlie imperial chair, from the same place, now in the Armoury of the Prince Karl of Prussia, is of nearly 
 similar workmanship. 
 
 The twelfth and thirteenth centuries are remarkable for the large number of chasses destined to receive 
 the relics of saints, which were produced in Germany ; these chasses, for the most part, exhibit the same 
 design : viz. a frame-work of wood in the shape of a box, with a gabelled top, covered with plates of gold ; 
 upon this are applied various architectural features (also of wood covered with gold), consisting generally of 
 a series of ornamental arches at the sides, and triple ones at the ends. These arcades are for the most 
 part enriched with cloisonne or champleve enamels, precious stones, and filagree ; and within them are 
 placed statuettes, in most cases representing the twelve Apostles, with the patron saint at the ends. These 
 
 * A valuable testimony to the skill of tlie German artificers of (probably) this period is borne by Theophilua, who, in his remarkable 
 " Schedula diversarum Artium," proposes to afford information to his pupil in all the arts practised by "industrious Germany," — " r|Liic<iiiLd 
 in auri, argenti, cupri, ct ferri, lignorum lapidumque subtillitate sollers laudat Germania." 
 
 t For a notice of Bishop Bernward and his works, see Fioriilo, "Geshichte der Zeichnenden KUnate.'' 
 
GERMANY. jj 
 
 figures are always beaten up in three-quarter relief (the heads being quite free, m ronde losse}. and are after- 
 wards filled up with mastic and fixed to the shrine ; the roofs are decorated in a similar manner with 
 medallions, &c. 
 
 The first of such works, in point of date, is that of St. Godehard at Hildesheim ; it is four feet in length, 
 and was probably executed after the year 1131; the next is the chasse of Notre Dame at Aix-la-Chapelle,* 
 presented by Frederick Barbarossa in 1160. This exquisite object is decorated with cloisonne enamels, and is 
 executed in a most highly-finished style. We must not forget to mention the splendid chandelier which was 
 gi¥en by the same Emperor, and which now hangs over the tomb of Charlemagne. This object bears a 
 remarkable impress of Eastern art, and indeed we should almost fancy it to be of Arabic workmanship, but 
 that the Latin inscription and the enamelled figures of angels forbid any conjecture of the kind. 
 
 The magnificent shrine of the Three Kings of Cologne, which dates from the commencement of the 
 thirteenth century, betrays remarkable skill and art in the treatment of the figures, and the heads are pro- 
 bably the best specimens of Byzanto-Germau art which can now be found. The enamels consist both of 
 champleve and cloisonnes, though it is not at all unlikely that the former may have been added when 
 the chasse was repaired by the Archbishop Philip of Hindsburg.f The figures in this case are in the 
 form of exceedingly low relief, and still betray some indications of Byzantine feeling.* 
 
 Gerbert, in his "Vetus Liturgia Alemanniea," has figured a chalice of the twelfth century, belonging to 
 the monastery of Weingart, most beautifully enriched with heads of saints enamelled in the knop;°the 
 Nativity, Baptism of our Lord, &c. on the bowl; and subjects from the Old Testament on the foot, round 
 which is inscribed, "^.Magister Cuonradns de H55e ar(gentarius) me fec(it)."5 This object is especially 
 interesting, as giving us the name of the skilful workman by whom it was wrought, and showing the early 
 proficiency of the Germans in the art of enamelling. In the Cathedral at Komburg, in Snabia, is preserved 
 a splendid altar-table, or frontal, of a transition period antecedent to 1200, and very beautifully enameUed. 
 
 Very shortly after the date of these objects the introduction of stump tracery, and an excessive use of 
 interpenetration, distinguished alike the architecture and goldsmiths' work of Germany; and although nearly 
 every church except Aix-la-Chapelle has lost its treasures, yet we have many original drawings, taken before 
 the great revolutionary wars in 1799, which show us that the greater part of the objects were executed in this 
 style. It is true that it does not obtain to any great extent at Aix-la-Chapelle; but we must recollect that 
 there are many reasons why the treasures preserved in the cathedral of that city should present a greater diversity 
 to those in any other. First of all, they were not entirely given by natives ; secondly, Aix-la-Chapelle was on the 
 high road to Rome, France, and Flanders; and, thirdly, the fact of the remains of Charlemagne being deposited 
 there was a reason for those kings and nobles who styled themselves his descendants to prefer this place above all 
 others to make their offerings; and when we reflect that those kings and nobles belonged to different nations, 
 each with its own pecuharities of art, we shall cease to wonder at the variety displayed in that wonderful collection. 
 
 In the British Museum there is a manuscript (Additional MS. 16,689), executed at the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century, which contains 121 drawings illustrating the reliquaries then preserved in the Cathedral of 
 Bamberg. Although, unfortunately, these di-awings are far too rude to give much information as to the 
 artistic value of the articles represented, they are, at all events, useful in exhibiting the forms of the vessels, 
 and elso as showing us what a large rehquary-chambcr of a cathedral church might then be supposed to 
 contain. Accordingly, we here find the aforesaid reUquaries in the most dissimilar shapes: some are in the 
 forms of little tryptichs mounted upon feet; in another, a tree springs from a base and supports two angels. 
 Some of the relics are kept in chaUces, and some even in horns, ewers, and book-covers. This treasury also 
 contained above thhteen arms and nineteen heads of various saints, all encased in silver representations of the 
 member enclosed : thus an arm of St. George is in a ease in the shape of a mailed arm and gauntlet. There 
 
 * lia.ilifnlly mfp-ave,l by tlic AhU Martin, in his " MrSInnges Ardieologiqaes." 
 
 t We may remark, however, tliat Hiey alone ate to lie found in the reliquary wliicli once contained the arm ot Charlemagne now in the 
 Louvre, and one of which repre.cuts Roderick 11., a.d. 1212 to 1250. Dr. Kuglcr mentions two more shrines,-St. Elizabeth at M.rberB, of the 
 thirteenth century, and that of St. Patroelos at Soest. made by the coldmith Ri-.f.^.d i- 1313 
 
 } Prom the end of llii. century to the latter end of the 6fteenth, when the angular drapery of the aehool. of NurembcB and Augsburg 
 came mto l.shion he .tyie ot Germa,,,, ,-egard, Sgurea and goldsmith,' work, is that of all Europe j thus the celebrated chalice preserved at 
 
 t'T a .' 1 Tb'h'n ' ' " ni f t th t y ht equally we/be assigned 
 
 .0 Irench artists . hough claimed by th G t, a. II th m 11 d h p , th m n d h h prese„cd m the Tame 
 
 . .. ... - r - ,.^.iud, which IS preserved in the same 
 
 lathedral : both these have tran.lncid enamels, and both betray the fadm-c to produce the raby-r.d "p"" .il— 
 } Pugin's "Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume," test by the Rev. Bernard Smith pg. 56 
 
62 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 were also a vast number of small coffers and crosses containing pieces of the true one, to say nothing of tivo 
 waterpots used at Cana of Galilee. The last drawing of all is a grand procession, conveying a large chasse, 
 in front of the west end of the cathedral. 
 
 As much of the goldsmiths' work which remains was executed in laton, or latten, it will now be necessary 
 to go back a little and examine what progress the art of casting in bronze had made since the end of tlie 
 eleventh century. That it still continued to be practised with great success may be seen by the monu- 
 ment of Henry the Lion in the cathedral court of Brunswick, and the bronze doors now in the church of 
 Saint Sophia at Novogorod, where the portrait of Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg, and the names of 
 Riquin and Waismuth, the workmen, point out the country of their fabrication. The ornaments consist, as 
 usual, of scenes from the Bible and allegorical and mythological subjects. The early part of the twelfth 
 century presents us with the celebrated brass font in the cathedral of Hildesheim, the top of which is six 
 feet high. It is covered all over with the usual biblical and allegorical subjects in relief, and is supported 
 by four kneeling figures representing the rivers of Paradise. In Plate XV. we have engraved an interesting 
 specimen of bronze-work from the Rath-haus at Liibeck. We greatly regret that so many of the productions 
 of this century should have perished ; for, with this exception, we have but little left. No doubt the rehquaries, 
 brasses, candelabra, and fonts, were no less beautiful than the architecture; but we have to wait until the 
 end of the next century before we find any such monuments in abundance.* 
 
 The statue of St. George, at Prague, which is placed in the court of the Schloss before the cathedral, was 
 cast by Martin and George von Clussenbach, in 1373 ; but, unfortunately, it is said to have been recast in 1S63. 
 It is not until the end of the fourteenth century that the series of brass fonts, which are often adorned with 
 very elegant figures, begin. One in the Cathedral of Bamberg bears not only the date, but also the name of 
 the artist. To this period belong also most of the monumental brasses which have as yet been discovered 
 in Germany: such as those at Liibeck, 1317 and 1350, and that at Stralsund, 1357; but they appear to 
 have soon gone out of fashion, and to have been replaced by very low reliefs of the person represented. The 
 candelabra were often made of imposing dimensions, and, with their seven branches, imitated the candlestick 
 of the Temple at Jerusalem. A thin species of brass (laton) was often used in the manufacture of church 
 plate when the expense prohibited the use of more precious metals, and several specimens of this manufacture 
 are given in Hates VIII., XXI., XXVII., and XXXV. of this work. Iron was also worked into most elegant 
 lamps (see Plate XVII.), hinges (see Plates IX., XIII., and XXIII.), and door-handles (see Plates VI., XXXI., 
 and XLVIII.), many of which have been published in the works of Professors Heideloff and Bbttcher,f exhibiting 
 all the excellences, and also some of the defects, of a florid Gothic style. 
 
 The art of metal-work as well as of architecture progressed until the middle of the fourteenth century, 
 when the great manufacturing towns of Nuremberg and Augsburg set the example of a new style, which 
 was by no means an improvement on the old : the figures become shorter and more ill proportioned, the 
 features are for the most part exaggerated, the hair assumes the appearance of a wig, white the drapery 
 faithfully imitates its prototype, the damped paper with which the lay-figures wxre clothed. This style took 
 possession, more or less, of the whole of Germany, and an account of one of the most celebrated artist- 
 famihes of Nuremberg will be but a narration of the operations of this change.^ In the Stadt-kirche at 
 "W"ittemberg§ is a bronze font by "Herman Vischer the elder," cast at Nuremberg in 1457, and ornamented 
 with figures of the apostles ; which, however, are nearly the same as the common type then used, with 
 perhaps a slight infusion of the antique. However, we shortly see Peter Vischer, his son, in the tomb of 
 Archbishop Ernest at Magdeburg, finished in 1495, adopting the sharp angular style, which was in vogue at 
 that time with all the Nuremberg artists. Doctor Kugler has accused Adam Kraft of this invention; but 
 most probably it was merely a method to save the trouble of invention, and to get as many works 
 executed as soon as possible, for we must always recollect that Nuremberg was eminently a manufacturing 
 town. 
 
 Other works of Peter Vischer's remain in this style, such as the monumental tablet of Bishop .lohn of 
 Breslau, in 1496 ; however, it has been supposed, from the monuments attributed to him in the Cathedral of 
 
 * We must except the very remarkable lead font in tlie catlietlral at Mayence, of this date, 
 t " Die Ornamentik des Mittelaiters, von Professor C. Heideloff." 
 
 X For fell details concernirif^ the lives and works of these masters, see " Die Niirnbergischen Kiinstler geschildert nach ihrem leben und nach 
 ihren werken," and " Nachrichten von den vornehmaten Kunatleni und werkleute in Niimberg." Von. J. Neudiirffer. 
 § Schadow Wittenberg's Denknialer. 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 63 
 
 Bamberg, that in his early life he had followed the usual style, and that this Nuremberg treatment was only 
 a vagary, for we afterwards find no traces at all of it in his grand work, the shrine of St. Sebald, at 
 Nuremberg (1506 and 1519). Two designs were made for this, one of which was an entirely Gothic structure, 
 and has been published by HeidelofF.* The actual edifice is in that style which is generally known as the 
 German Renaissance, and which may be described as a httle heavier and coarser than that of France. 
 
 In this work the figures may be divided into three parts, each displaying a different style. The first, including 
 the statues of the twelve apostles and the twelve fathers of the church, exhibits little or none of the antique 
 element, and the figures might be supposed to have been executed a hundred years earlier, the draperies 
 being exquisite. Secondly, .in the bas-reliefs of the legend of St. Sebald this style is more united with the 
 antique; but the figures have great spirit and life. And, thirdly, in the decorative figures, which are essentially 
 parts of the architecture, such as the pedestals, &c., the style is almost entirely an imitation of the antique, 
 though perhaps displaying more eccentricity than is usually found in the works of the ancients.f It may be 
 remarked, that many of the parts of this bronze have never been cleaned up with the chisel, and are in many 
 respects just as they issued from the mould. 
 
 Many other works are known of Peter Vischer's, of which the best is a bas-relief at Ratisbon, and 
 another one of the Coronation of the Virgin at Wittemberg; besides the monument of the Elector Frederick, 
 in the Schloss Kirche of the same place. It is questionable whether Peter Vischer himself was ever in 
 Italy; however, it is well known that his eldest son, "Herman Vischer the younger," made several journeys, 
 and on his return brought back many e.Kamples, which were of great use to his father and brothers. We 
 know from the example of the great Albert Diirer, and from the frequent notices in Vasari of "diversi artisti 
 Fiaminghi," that it was the common practice of the artists of Germany to make this journey for the purposes 
 of study. Of Vischer's school we may merely mention Herman Vischer the younger, his son, who erected 
 a monument to the Elector John at Wittemberg, and John Vischer, the younger brother ; too-ether with 
 Pancraz Labenwolf, who executed the pretty statue of the countryman with the goose, which decorates the 
 well of the Frauen Kirche at Nuremberg. 
 
 It is also necessary to mention the tumulary medallions in bronze with wbich the cemetery at Nurembero- 
 is filled. The earliest date from about the middle of the fifteenth century, and the remainder continue down 
 to the end of the seventeenth. The design consists for the most part of circular medallions, containing 
 either the arms of the deceased or Scripture subjects. They are most beautifully executed, and chiselled 
 up with extreme care. 
 
 At Innspruck is the celebrated monument of the Emperor Maximilian I., which consists of a sarcophagus, 
 on the cover of which is the bronze statue of the emperor in a kneeling attitude; and between the columns 
 of the church are twenty-eight colossal figures of ancestors of the house of Hapsburg. The monument itself 
 was the work of Alexander Collin of Mechlin (1521-1612). The statues were executed by Stephan and 
 Melchior Godi, and Hans Sendenstrauch, though they are generally ascribed to George Seffler. 
 
 During the whole of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Augsburg and Nuremberg were but two 
 vast ateliers, where works of all descriptions and in all materials were either manufactured in quantities, or 
 made separately as objects of art. No material escaped the skill and industry of these workmen : even the 
 stubborn iron was chiselled into sword-handles of surpassing delicacy. They enriched arms and armour 
 with damascenings and enamels like the ItaUans, and imitated the beautiful jewellery of the French, besides 
 carrying to the greatest perfection their own national arts of wood-carving and casting in bronze, with a 
 thousand other manufactures more or less important. In the earlier of these several works the infiuence of 
 the Italian style seems to be but little felt, — except, perhaps, that they exhibit a freer and easier treatment 
 than prevailed in the Gothic times : the feeling that runs through them is rather that of the native school, 
 and points more particularly to Veit Stoss and Peter Vischer. This view is confirmed by the fact that the 
 style of the architectural ornaments continues to be the Cisalpine Gothic, with for some time but Uttle 
 mixture of Italian. 
 
 * Who attfibutes it to Veit Stosa. 
 
 t The icmai-ka of Professor Heidcloff tlirow some little light upon these anomahea of style in the works of Peter Vischer, whose talent he 
 estimates, as we eonceive, somewhat too disparagingly. In the first place, he had five sons, who all worked with him, and may have differed both 
 in ability and taste. It appears probable that in his earlier works frequently, and occaaionaily in his later, he availed himself of the ability of 
 Vfit Stoss the celebrated wood-carver, to make the patterns for his castings. 
 
 U 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 However, by tlie end of the sixteenth century their own peculiar style, of which Albert Diirer had 
 been the greatest master, had entirely given way to Itahan influence ; and in the seventeenth century every 
 trace of the Gothic is entirely lost. Thus the three fountains at Augsburg are in exactly the same style as 
 that which then pervaded the whole of Europe, and may briefly be described as an imitation of the antique, 
 with fuller and less graceful proportions. 
 
 In the latter part of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century the manufacture of cabinets 
 and caskets, of curious and beautiful workmanship, was brought to great perfection; and, although chiefly 
 the work of what we now term the cabinet-maker, their richness was commonly enhanced by the labours 
 of the painter, the carver, the lapidary, and even of the engraver, but most of all by the goldsmith's work, 
 which was profusely lavished upon them.* Occasionally, the various compartments of a single cabinet, the 
 opening of which is not an easy task to the uninitiated, were so adorned with various objects of art and 
 art-manufacture, as to afford a general view of the state of the arts at the time of Its execution. The work 
 in these cabinets may be considered specially to exempUfy the state of the arts in Germany, as the most 
 important of them appear to have been made at Augsburg;! several of these are preserved in the Kunst- 
 kammer at Beriin. The most important one is the so-called cabinet of Pomerania, which is undoubtedly 
 the finest work of the kind that was produced in Germany. It is built up of several parts, making a 
 total height of about five feet, a width of three feet and a half, and a depth of about three feet. Every 
 compartment of this cabinet is filled with the most varied specimens of art-workmanship in all its 
 branches ; the table upon which it rests is also richly adorned, but would seem to belong to a somewhat 
 later period. 
 
 In the original description (still preseiTed), written by the director of the work, this cabinet is called 
 a wrifmg-lahk, which appears to have been the general designation of such objects at that time. It was 
 made at Augsburg by order of Philipp II., duke of Pomerania (who died in 1618), and was completed in 
 1616: the design was the work of Philipp Hainhofer (1578 to 1647), who also superintended the execu- 
 tion. He was distinguished as well from his political position as for his high scientific attainments and love 
 of the arts, some of which he practised with considerable success-, his collections were also of great 
 importance. 
 
 In the year 1617 Hainhofer went to Pomerania, to present this cabinet, with another work of the same 
 kind, to the Duke; and the detailed journal which he kept on that occasion, and which has been published,]: 
 gives us a curious insight into the spirit and manners of his age. In the preface to this work we are informed 
 that Hainhofer was himself both painter and architect, but from his intimate connexion with other artists in 
 various branches he was able to effect far more than his individual exertions could have done unassisted. 
 His influence over his coadjutors appears to have been so great, that he may be considered to have directed 
 the taste of the age. Hainhofer, Hke most of his contemporaries, particularly delighted in allegorical com- 
 positions ; and in his most important works he appears to have endeavoured to bring together into one 
 grand whole all branches of the arts. A very great variety in the technical execution, carried out with 
 considerable success, may have been influential in producing these remarkable compositions ; they must certainly 
 be regarded as possessing great originaMty, although the idea intended to be conveyed by the artist is 
 frequently obscure, and is scarcely rendered more intelligible by his own explanation. These beautiful fruits 
 of a most flourishing epoch of art, which was unhappily interrupted by the Thirty Years' War, form a 
 remarkable division in the history of the arts in Germany, distinguished by the production of objects of 
 art-mami/acture, in which the artist and workman were either united in the same person, or at least intimately 
 associated. 
 
 In Hainhofer's description of his own work he has given a list of all the different workmen engaged 
 upon it, with their trades or professions; from which we learn that the gold and silversmith's work 
 was executed by Godtfried Miinder, David Altensteter, Philipp .lacob Pehner, Niclausz Kolb, Matheusz 
 Walbaum, Michael Gasz. It consists of a number of statuettes in silver parcel gilt— of repousse reliefs 
 
 * Ur. Kuf;ler's careful (iHsrriptiun of the objects in the Royal Kunstkammer at Berlin contains some interesting partienlars respecting these 
 t P. Von Stetfen " Knnst, Gewcrb, und Hanclwerksgcschictc (ler Reiclistadt Augsburg." 
 
 t Philipp Hainhofer's Heisc-Tagcbueh, &c. ; with Notes by Earon v. Mcdcin, and the Director of the Kunstkamnier, Von Lcdebur. Stettin, 183-1. 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 86 
 
 of allegorical groups and single figures, with a great variety of filagree inlaying— engraTed and other 
 ornamental work in the cabinet itself; besides which a considerable portion of its rich contents consisted 
 of useful and ornamental articles of goldsmiths' work. The iron-work, we are told, was done by Hans 
 Jacob, Kuenlin and Jois Miller. Even the maker of the cover for the pi-otection of this precious work is 
 not forgotten: his name is Jonas Heckhinger. The only one of the artists whose name is recorded in externa 
 on the work itself is Ulrich Baumgartner the cabinet-maker, with the date 1615, who seems to have been 
 associated with Hainhofer in executing other similar works ; the most important of these was that presented 
 in 1C32 by the town of -4ugsburg to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and for which Hainhofer received the 
 sum of 6000 florins. It is now preserved in the library of the University at Upsala. 
 
 At length came the Thirty Years' War, which for a time entirely ruined the trade and arts of Germany, 
 and by the latter end of the century both Augsburg and Nuremberg had sunk down to the condition of the 
 majority of the surrounding toivns. Some few of the goldsmiths still continued to occupy a high place for 
 the excellence and finish of their plate and jewellery, and the group of hanaps with which the kindness of 
 Mr. Sebastian Gerard has permitted us to present our readers (Plate XXVI.) is a very fair specimen of their 
 talents in this line. One of the most interesting collections of German municipal plate is that preserved in 
 the Town Hall at Lunenburgh, in Hanovei-, of which many quaint specimens arc figured in the " Moyen 
 Age et la Renaissance." 
 
 Among the most celebrated artificers of Nuremberg and Augsburg may be mentioned the family of the 
 Jamnitzers, who worked during the whole of the sixteenth century, and of the principal of which, Wenzel 
 Jamnitzer (1508 to 1585), a medallion, executed by himself, is preserved in the Kunstkammer at Berlin. They 
 were followed by D. Kellerthaler, Jonas Lilber, Hanz Pezolt, and Matthiius Walbaum, who flourished at Augs- 
 burg in the year 1615. 
 
 On the style of all these artists the productions of that set of engravers, known as the " Petits-Maitres," 
 exercised a very important influence. The most celebrated of these masters, who carried to perfection that 
 ornamental style of composition in which Martin Schonhofer and Albert Durer had so much excelled, were 
 Albrecht Altdorfer, Heinrich Aldegrever, George Pens, Hans Sebald Beham, VirgiHus Soils, Theodor de B17, and 
 Jean Collaert. The plates executed by these masters consist principally of various designs for metal-work of very 
 great beauty, and drawn with an astonisliing vigour and dehcacy. A very interesting series of fac-similes of these 
 works, many of which are now extremely rare and costly, has been published of late years in Paris, and has no 
 doubt proved scarcely less useful to the modem French jewellers than the original designs were to their German 
 predecessors. 
 
 Somewhat subsequently to the period when Augsburg and Nuremberg were at their climax of reputation, 
 the schools of Dresden, Frankfort-on-Maine, and Cologne, became distinguished, and in the imperial collection at 
 Vienna, the Griine Gewolbe at Dresden, and the Royal Treasury at Munich, ample evidence of the ability of the 
 artists of those localities is preserved. Among the principal may be mentioned Theodor de Bry and Collaert, who, 
 though (as we have already stated) exceUent engravers, are bcheved to have executed many objects in metal-work. 
 Raimund Falz and Johann Andreas Thelot, who lived at the beginning of the eighteenth century, were exquisite 
 silver-chasers, and agreeable specimens of their productions are to be met with in the Griine Gewolbe at 
 Dresden. 
 
 The greatest name of all is that of J. M. Dinghnger, who executed the celebrated piece of enamelled 
 jewellery representing the Court of Aurungzebe, made for the Elector of Saxony ; but although the finish of the 
 performance is something wonderful, we cannot help regretting that so much pains and so long a time (eight 
 years) should have been occupied upon what, after all, is but a mere toy. 
 
 During the latter portion of the eighteenth centui-y Germany betrayed no very marked ability in the 
 cultivation of the arts of metal-work, if we except the wonderful iron castings of Berlin. In them science 
 has done far more than art, and it is frequently a matter of regret that so much skill should be lavished 
 upon the execution of indifferent designs. In silversmiths' work great excellence has been obtained, and in 
 the family of the Wagners of Beriin great artistic and manipulative ability has been concentrated. 
 
 In bronze many admirable productions have been executed, and the utmost perfection of scientific casting 
 obtained, especially in the foundry of Messrs. Stieglmeyer and MuUer of Munich, and Fischer of Berlin, by 
 whom, among many other great works by Ranch, Rietschel, and others, was cast the original group of the 
 
QQ GERMANY. 
 
 Amazoa by Kiss. By the former firm the colossal Bavaria, and many of the most important Munich 
 decorations, were admirably turned out. 
 
 The last- mentioned is unquestionably one of the greatest works of modern times, and was executed through 
 the liberality of the king, to whose love of art we owe the statues (also colossal) of his ancestors in the 
 throne-room of the new palace at Munich. These are professedly in imitation of those round the tomb of 
 Maximilian at Innspruck, and they by no means suffer by the comparison. Indeed, through the ability of artists 
 such as Schwanthaler, the Munich School of Sculpture bids fair to rival its yet more celebrated one of 
 Painting. 
 
 It would be unfair to conclude this brief notice of the metal-work of Germany without alluding to the 
 success w^hich has of late, in Prussia particularly, attended the application of zinc to ornamental casting. 
 It is only recently that this attempt has been made, and considering that the first experiment in the Royal 
 Ironfoundry at Berlin was only made in the year 1832, the progress since that year is truly remarkable. 
 The great mind of Schiukel was one of the earliest to perceive the capabilities of this material to minister 
 to the requirements of art, and in a memorandum of his, dated the 3d of May, 1840, he eloquently urged 
 its immediate adoption as a substitute for bronze, &c. The Prussian public were not slow to avail them- 
 selves of the beautiful objects which issued from the foundries of M. Devaranne and of M. Geiss, the two most 
 distinguished proficients in the processes of fabrication. The finish of the splendid group of the Amazon, 
 which was cast by M. Geiss, and formed so conspicuous an object in the Great Exhibition of 1851, must 
 have convinced every one that Schinkel's anticipation of the perfection to which the manipulation of zinc 
 might be carried was by no means unreasonable. 
 
SPAIN. 
 
 No reasonable doubt could exist of the ancient occupation of the Celtiberian soil by the Romans, even 
 if there were no other evidence of the fact than that afforded by the jewellery worn by the Spanish peasantry of 
 the present day. In Valencia especially the personal ornaments of the women have been remarked by travellers 
 as singularly classical in form. Mr. Ford* observes that " the roll of hair, d mono, is pierced with a silver- 
 gilt pin, with knobs, the acus crinatoria of Martial (ii. 66; Ap. Met. viii. 5.13); it is called aulla de rodete ; the 
 silver-gilt comb is the pinteta, and one of a singular triangular shape is called la pieza, la llasse ; this is fre- 
 quently engraved with the great local patroness, ' Nuestra Senora de los Desampamdos the cross is called la 
 creu. As the women are very superstitious, talismans and small penates, or figures of saints in silver, are 
 sold in great quantities ; as also little hands and horns, the old Phallic antidote to the evil eye, el mat de ojo, 
 which is dreaded here, as among the Pagans, Moors, and Neapolitans." Such a retention of the ancient 
 types of form is more particularly to be traced in those districts in which the great monuments of the Roman 
 occupation still exist in their grandest form. Pliny tells us that the Spanish province comprised no less than 
 three hundred and sixty large cities, and we know that, up to the time of Constantino the Great, its three 
 provinces, Boetica, Lusitania, and Tarraconensis, were looked upon as the most important of the Roman 
 colonies. The early intercourse which had been maintained between the Phoenicians and the inhabitants of 
 the southern coast of Spain had no doubt initiated the latter people into many of those vitreous processes 
 which there appears every reason for believing may have originated in Africa, and which the western tribes 
 of Europe are supposed to have acquired at a very remote period, through their commercial relations with 
 the Punic races.f 
 
 Such opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of the various processes of metal-working, coupled with the 
 fact of their abundant mineral resources, no doubt tended to an early developement of the power of the 
 Spaniards to produce every variety of objects in such materials. This power, during the whole history of 
 the counti7, has been fostered by an unprecedented succession of accidents. Thus, scarcely had the Roman 
 power become extinct, and the Gothic element supervened, when the aid of the Greeks of Byzantium was 
 invoked (by Athanagild, in the year 674), and a partial occupation of the country by the subjects of Justinian 
 and succeeding Emperors took place : from which circumstance the arcana of contemporary Byzantine art were 
 probably revealed to the Spaniards. No sooner was the Greek influence destroyed than the Catholic element 
 was introduced, and that intimate relationship which has ever been maintained by Spain with Rome commenced. 
 Stirred to devotion in its earlier ages by the example of such saints as Fulgentius, Isidore, and Leander, 
 and subsequently goaded into superstition by the passionate eloquence and fervid imagination of such men as 
 San Domingo and his follower, San Vicente, the zealous Spaniard was induced to purchase with open hands 
 the ministrations of the priesthood and the intercession of the saints. Riches poured in upon the Church 
 from its earliest ages, and by its superabundant wealth the arts in general were benefitted, and that of metal- 
 work in particular. The contributions of the faithful very frequently took the form of costly pieces of gold 
 and silver plate; and the great shrines and churches throughout Spain, prior to the French invasion, could 
 have furnished a display of magnificence unrivalled by that of any other countiy of Europe. 
 
 The most remarkable specimens of such objects still left to examine are, according to Mr. Ford, "the 
 
 * Mmray's " Hatid-book ioi' Travellers in Spain," p. 180. Second edition. 
 
 t It is singular that Sagnotum, the very spot in the neighbourhood of whieh most of the singular ancient forms of jewellery, to which we have 
 alluded, arc yet presei-ved, should have been successively oecnpied hy Hannibal and Seipio Africanus. 
 
 X 
 
altar candlesticks, caiidderos, and blandones ; the calix, or sacramental cup ; the porta pax, in which relics are 
 enclosed and offered to devout oscidation; the cruces, crosses, baculos, and croziers, and the vergers' staves. 
 The traveller should always iuquire if there be a custoiia, whether of silver (jlatd), or of silver-gilt (solredorada). 
 They are called ciislotlkis because in them, on grand festivals, the consecrated host is kept. The custodm 
 containing the wafer, thus guarded, is deposited on Good Friday in the sepulchre (ef imtmmento). This is a 
 pile of wood-work which is put up for the occasion, and in some cathedrals— Seville, for instance—is of great 
 architectural splendour." 
 
 Some idea of the system of spoliation -ivhich was carried on in Spain during the Penuisular war, and 
 of the enormous riches accumulated about the principal shrines, may be derived from Mr. Ford's notices 
 of the present condition of the shrine of the Blessed Virgin at Guadeloupe. "The dresses and wealth 
 in it once," says he, "were prodigious. The silver lamps, &c., were carried off by Victor, with the glorious 
 custoiia made by Juan de Segovia; then disappeared the silver throne of the image, the silver angels, the 
 eighty silver lamps, the diamonds, pearls, gold, and jewels, the offerings of kings. He carried off nine cartloads 
 of silver. But he was an adept at this art, having before pillaged the real Loretto of Italy : he, however, 
 left the image behind, although canned by St. Luke. Those who wish to know the items of his spoil, and 
 the wonderful reUcs of this sanctuary, are referred to ' Historia de Nuestra Seiiora de Guadalupe,' folio, Gabriel 
 de Talavera, Toledo. 1697." Of such notices many more might be quoted, since it is really delightful to 
 recognise Mr. Ford's wholesome hatred of these iconoclasts. 
 
 Besides their ordinary opportunities of acquiring information concerning the technical processes m- 
 volved in the production of these objects, the Spaniards were pecuharly aided by their knowledge of the 
 practices in use among the Moors. Evidence is by no means wanting that beautiful objects in the various 
 metals had been made at a very early period throughout Mesopotamia, and particularly at the town of 
 Mossoul. These consisted, for the most part, of vessels composed of a hard alloy of copper and tin,— a 
 species of bronze,— inlaid with silver wire, and sheet silver stamped or cut to elegant patterns of interlacings, 
 conventional fohage, &c. French antiquaries have delighted in tracing, in the patterns of the early Limoges 
 champleve enamels, not only an imitation of these ornaments, but others actually derived from the Cufic 
 characters in which the inscriptions on the productions of Mossoul were engraved. 
 
 The inveterate hatred which subsisted between the Moors and Spaniards has, unfortunately, caused the 
 almost total destruction of monuments of this description in Spain; but there can be little doubt that the 
 inhabitants of that country benefited largely by the skill which their Moorish brethren originally derived 
 from their intercourse with the East and with Byzantium. The art-workmen of the middle ages held in high 
 estimation the admirable works of the Moors, and Theophilus distinctly refers to their skill in the manipulation 
 of metals. 
 
 The style of the ancient ecclesiastical plate of Spain varied with the several gradations of Gothic architecture ; 
 and, as we approach the fifteenth century, it so far exceeded in magnificence the character of other monuments 
 of the period, that its name (^phta) was actually adopted to designate the most highly-finished style of 
 architecture which has, probably, ever subsisted in any country ;— namely, that known as the Plateresco style. In 
 that beautiful variety of Spanish architecture the details are wrought rather as in a highly-finished piece of 
 plate than a work in stone or marble. When the Plateresco style advanced into that of Hemm, the character 
 of the contemporary metal-work changed in the same proportion; and in its last condition it degenerated into 
 a feeble imitation of rocaille and rococo, known in Spain under the name of el Chirriguerismo. Previously, 
 however, to this last state of degradation, it doubtless acquired some peculiar features from the association of 
 the Spaniards with the inhabitants of the Low Countries. 
 
 That glorious era in metal-working which corresponded in point of time with the developement of the 
 Plateresco style of architecture, could only have been maintained by the aid of immense resources. These were 
 offered in the acquisition of the New World by the adventurous science of Columbus, and the fierce energy of 
 Cortez and Pizarro. Mr. Ford remarks that, "fortunately for Spain, at the very moment of her greatest 
 influx of bullion, and in the age of Leo X., there arose a family of goldsmiths, who carried the art of plate- 
 making to its highest perfection. The founder was Enrique de Arphe, or Arfe, a German who settled at 
 Leon about 1470, and worked in the then prevailing rich florid Gothic style. His son Antonio, following 
 the changes of fashion, adopted the Grieco-Romano tastes; while his grandson, Juan dc Arphe y VUlafane, 
 bom at Leon in 1535, excelled in the human figure, and was the greatest artist of his family. Antonio 
 
SPAIN. 
 
 60 
 
 and Juan settled at Valladolid, which was then the court of the great Emperor Charles V. These De Arphes 
 were almost entirely employed by the rich cathedrals, churches, and convents of Spain, for which have been 
 worked those magnificent articles after which every traveller should inquire when visitino- ecclesiastical treasure- 
 rooms ; asking particularly whether they possess any specimens of these elegant masters. This family not only 
 wrought these beautiful objects, but created and fixed the style of rehgious plate in Spain, which we term 
 Cinque-cento, from the period, but which is called in Spain el gusto plateresco, — the silversmith, or Berruguete 
 yiisto. Juan de Arphe y Villafafle, who was appointed by Philip II. master of the mint at Segovia, published 
 a treatise on his art, with exact designs for every piece of church plate; and his elegant models have fortu- 
 nately been generally adopted and continued. This work, which every collector should purchase, is entitled 
 'DeVaria Commensuracion ;' and has gone through many editions. Those now before us are, first, that of 
 Seville, 1586, by Andrea Pescioni; and Villafane was fortunate in securing for his printer this Italian, who 
 had a kindred soul, and whose works are among the few in Spain which can really be called artistical. 
 'lliere are the editions of Madrid, 1676, by Francisco Sans; iVIadrid, 1773, by Miguel Escribano, in which the 
 original woodcuts have been copied. The sixth edition has some additions, by Pedro Enguera ; and there is 
 a modern edition, with new plates, by Jose Assensio y Torres, in two volumes folio, Madrid, 1806. The work 
 embraces the science, with plans, details, geometry, dials, the anatomy of man and animals, architecture, and 
 church-plate ; for each particular of which drawings and exact measurements of proportions are given. Juan 
 de Arphe also published a ' Quilatador de Plata,' 4to. Valladohd, 1572, and Madrid, 1578. He was the 
 Bezaleel (Exod. xxxvii. 22), the Cellini of Spaniards ; and his family in the West rivalled that of the Becerriles 
 of Cuenca." 
 
 Foreign invasion, the fluctuations of fashion, and the sequestration of church property, have led to such 
 an extensive destruction of old Spanish plate, that scarcely any vestiges remain of the works of such artists 
 as those above referred to. Some, however, are to be found at Toledo, Seville, Santiago, Oviedo, and Valla- 
 dohd. In the latter place the art is not yet quite extinct ; for the old bridge of the Plateria (like the Ponte 
 Vecchio at Florence) is still inhabited by the descendants of those by whom the early glories of the art wTre 
 achieved. In reference to the decadence of the craft, we may remark that it was the boast of writers of the 
 age of Charles V., that there were more workers of plate in Spain than in any other two countries in Europe. 
 
 To convey an idea of such remnants of old church-plate as have escaped destruction to the present time, 
 we cannot do better than quote the description given by Mr. Ford of the splendid vessels which still adorn 
 the shrine of the patron saint of the country in the cathedral at Santiago.* 
 
 " Behind the statue of the apostle is a small room, which contains what church-plate escaped the French 
 pillagers. Observe two very ancient gilt pixes ; a Saviour seated under a Gothic niche, with two angels ; and 
 some ewers and basons in the shape of scallops. 
 
 " Next visit the relicario, in which are many exquisitely-wrought shrines and goldsmiths' work, containing 
 relics, which are detailed in printed catalogues in Latin, Spanish, and French, given here gratis. The relics 
 are pointed out by a priest with a long stick. Formerly there were linguists (lengmfjeros)^ who explained 
 what he said in all the tongues of the earth. Mellado, in his ' Guide,' 1846, calls attention to some milk 
 of the Virgin, quite fresh and white ; a thorn of the Crown, which turns red every Good Friday ; sundry 
 parcels of the 11,000 virgins, and a mighty molar of San Cristobal. We ourselves were much struck with 
 a smaUer tooth of Santiago himself, the gift of Gaufridus Coquatriz. This relimrw is called La Capilla de las 
 Reyes, in which the royal tablets have been barbarously modernised. Some of the sepulchral statues are of 
 remote antiquity, e.g. Don Ramon, era 1126; Fernandus II., era 1226 ; Berenguela, era 1187; Alonso IX. 
 of Leon, 1268 ; and Juana de Castro, 1112. The enamelled tombs of San Cucufato and Fructuoso are curious ; 
 so are the chased relicarios. The rich chased crucifix, which contains a portion of the real cross, is one of 
 the oldest authentic pieces of Christian plate existing. It is a gilt filagree work studded with uncut jewels, 
 and is inscribed, ' Hoc opus perfectum est in era ixoo et duodecima. Hoc signo vincitur inimicus, hoc 
 signo tuetur plus ; hoc offerunt famuli Dei Adefonzus princeps et conjux.' It was, therefore, made about 874 ; 
 the figure of the Christ on it is more modern. Here are two chandeliers of gilt arabesque, studded with 
 jewels, and bassi-relievi of the Rey Chico, and said to have been taken in 1492 in the Alhambra, but they are 
 of the date 1673. The Tesoro up stairs has a fine artesoimio roof Here is the urna, the silver sarcophagus, 
 
 * A pilgrimage to tlip slirine of this saint was not only regarded in the middle ages as a religious duty, but was in many cases made 
 a condition of tlie tenure of lands, and the succession to inheritances. 
 
70 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 with the star above, in which the host is deposited on Good Friday, when it is placed in a beautiful viril, 
 made, in 1702, by Figueroa of Salamanca." 
 
 The noblest specimen, however, of the silver plate of Spain is the superb custodia still preserved in the 
 Cathedral of Valladolid. This masterpiece of Juan de Arphe (1590), which escaped by a miracle from the 
 French melting-pot, is six feet high, and is indeed a fine specimen of the works once executed in this city 
 of silversmiths. The chief subject represented in it is Adam and Eve in Paradise. A few chalices, and a 
 golden viril, studded with jewels, are the scanty remains of many other chests of which the Cathedral once 
 boasted. 
 
 The Cathedral of Leon formerly possessed many exquisite objects, including the tomb of San Alvito. 
 The precious frontal was unfortunately carried away, but the tirna, an admirable specimen of art, remains, 
 and the host is deposited on Good Friday in its central division. We are told by Mr. Ford that there 
 are other beautiful specimens at Leon, especially a viril, in silver and gold, and another, square and gilt; but 
 he adds, that "the cross and custodia are gone, alas 1 for they were masterpieces of Enrique de Arphe, the 
 great goldsmith of Spain, in 1506. The latter was one of the finest pieces of plate in the world. Morales 
 ('Viaje,' page 55) describes it, and the curious mechanism, invented by a Fleming, by which it was moved in 
 processions through the streets." 
 
 cilery the Spaniards were no less skilled than in the production of silver-plate, and a reference to 
 
 Tsonal decorations in 
 
 In jewell 
 
 the portraits of its ancient grandees will suffice to show the gorgeous nature of such pers 
 the olden time. A large collection of these precious ornaments, including upwards of one hundred cups and 
 tazzas, has recently been formed in the Museum at Madrid, through the laudable exertions of Vicente Cardercre. 
 Among these Mr. Ford specially notes " a mermaid, with an emerald tail, rising out of gold studded with 
 rubies," attributed to CeUiui, and an exceedingly beautiful cup, supported by a female figure. 
 
 In Spanish iron-work no less skill was displayed than in works in the precious metals, and many en- 
 closures and railings to the choirs and chapels of cathedrals and other churches still attest the ability of the 
 rejeros, or makers of purcloses. Among the principal of these artists may be mentioned Francisco de Salamanca, 
 1633; Cristobal Andino, 1540; Francisco de Vallapando, 1501; and Juan Bautista Celma, 1600. 
 
 In bronze much admirable work was executed, in the Cinque-cento style, by the last-mentioned artist, 
 especially the exquisite pulpits on each side of the high altar in the Cathedral at Santiago. About the same 
 period, Bartolome Morel executed the great bronze candelabrum (rf Tenehraijo) at Seville, and the large 
 figure of Faith which constitutes the giraniillo, or vane, on the summit of the celebrated tower of the Giralda, 
 in the same city. 
 
 For these scanty notices of Spanish metal-work we must acknowledge our extensive obligations to Mr. 
 Ford, but for whose enlightened observation of such antiquities very httle could have been generaUy known 
 on the subject. We cannot better conclude our remarks than by adverting to the singular fact, in reference 
 to the manipulation of bronze, that what may have been a loss for Spain proved, in one particular instance, 
 greatly to the profit of England. But for the disappointment which was experienced by the unfortunate 
 Torregiano on his visiting Spain, in the hope of obtaining employment upon the monument of Ferdinand and 
 IsabeUa,* it is doubtful whether he would have been enabled to undertake those beautiful works which he 
 carried out in this country. Upon his completion of the monument to Henry VII. he returned to Spain, 
 where, we are told by Mr. Ford, he modelled a beautiful " Virgin," of which the exquisite la memo a la tela, 
 in the Seville plaster-shops, is a copy. He ended his days in the miseries of the Inquisition. 
 
 * His trial-piccc still exists, in the shape of : 
 the CaUictlral at Gi-auada. 
 
 ; of Charity, earvcd in white marble, and plaeed over the door of the Sala Ca|iitiilar, i 
 
DESCEIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 TiiB Frontispiece— In lliis Plate an attempt lins been made to represent a preeions boo]<-cover, in wliicli are cunibined many 
 of tliose decorative processes wliieh have been at various periods emplojed to heighten the effect of artistic metal-worli. The 
 central portion and the tablets above and beneath, it has been proposed to execute in sUver repousse chased up and parcel gilt. 
 The filling up of the interstices between these and the outer border is shown as consisting of plates engraved by the " burin " 
 and fiUed in with niello. The inscription at the top and bottom might be carried out in champleve, similar- to the old Limoges 
 work, and the scrolls at the sides in cloisonne enamel, similar to the ancient Byzantine. The little heads might be brought out 
 en rmie tame, after the manner practised by Caradosso, and the borders siu-rounding them, and the larger carbuncles enlivened with 
 damascening, tausia, or lavoyo alV agcmina. The ornaments adjoinmg the smaUer gems should be in gold Slagi'ce, seciu-ely 
 soldered into little scroll patterns. The green leaves on the margin, as well as the pearls which form the leadmg lines' of white 
 throughout the design, might be in jeweUers' or Cellini enamel ; while the ooats-of-arms on the clasps of the book should be 
 engraved in low relief, having translucent enamels floated over them after the ordinary mediajval fashion of Italy. The framework 
 of the whole might be cast in fine latteu and gilt, the numerous pieces being as far as possible soldered together, and pinned and 
 riveted at the back, so as to form a strong and entire ground-work for the ornaments; the whole being firnjy attached to an 
 ooken back, by means of screws, the heads of which should bo covered by the gems, which should project so far as to prevent tlie 
 rich work from suffering by friction on a desk or table. 
 
 A screen in ivrought-iron from the Church of Santa Croce at Florence. This beautiful grille, wliieli serves as the enelosm-e 
 on one side to the Rinuccinl Chapel, in the Westminster Abbey of Tuscany, is the most elaborate and perfect specunen 
 of smiths' work existing in Italy. We gather from the iuseription upon it that it was erected hi honour of the nativity of the 
 Blessed Virgin by the Rinuccini famOy, in the year 1371. The various sections and detafls given on the Plate exhibit the mode 
 m which It was mannfactin-ed, and the ingenuity with which it is held securely together mthout obtruding the various connexions 
 of the parts. In its design it corresponds completely in point of style with the works of Orcagna, and in its elaborate 
 tracery it recalls the windows of Or San Mieliele, from which it has evidently been imitated. From the similarity of the style of 
 workmanship of this railing with that of the celebrated enclosure to the chapel of the Oingola hi the cathedral of Prato, the two 
 might readily be supposed to have been worked by the same hand. Simone, brother of Donatello the sculptor, appears, however, 
 to have been far too young to have had anything to do ivifh the former, although he, undoubtedly, executed the latter. Attention 
 may be especlaUy directed to the mgenious way in which smaU ribbons of metal have been bound around the piUars, so as to 
 convert them into twisted shafts. 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 Is a fine altar candlestick in bronze, which was purchased many years ago by Lewis Wyatt, Esq., at Brescia. In its style it 
 resembles those magnificent specimens by Andrea Riecio, now preserved in the chm-ehcs of San Antonio at Padua, and the Salute 
 at Venice. So closely does the style of chasing of this small object correspond with that of the two last-mentioned celebrated 
 candelabra, that if we may not be justified in ascribing it to Riecio himself, there can be no doubt that it was executed by some 
 master of that school of bronze-workers, of which he was the greatest ornament, and wdiich attahied its highest state of developement 
 through the injuence of that sculptor, who was adored by both Tuscans and Venetians, Jacopo Tatti, detto di Sansovino. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 Fig. 1 may be taken as a fan- specimen of the ordinary Italian chalice of the latter portion of the fourteenth, and the early 
 part of the fiftcenlh century. It is of Siennese workmanship, and is decorated with both translucent and champleve enamels. It 
 was piu-chascd at Rome by Mr. Dennistoim of Dennistoun, whose profoimd knowledge of Itahan art is testified by his admirable 
 liiogi-aphies of the Dukes of Urbino. We cannot but be struck m aU.chahees of a style at all resembling the one under 
 consideration with the extreme simplicity of the cup, as contrasted with the elaborate embellishment of the foot and knop. This 
 apparent incompleteness in point of design may be accounted for by the fact of the great anxiety of the Roman Catholic Chm-eh, 
 
DESCRIPTION Oi'' THE PLATES. 
 
 tbut by no possibility any desecration of tlic cciusecratcd duments should take pUice. Hence, the interior of the cup is made 
 perfectly smooth, so that it may be di'ained to the last drop by the otticiutmg priest, as well as in order tiiat it may be 
 perfectly cleansed by washing. 
 
 In fig. 2 we find that the same cause, a dread lest, by overtiu'niug, any quantity of the precious wine should be spilt, has 
 given rise to an apparent incongi-uity between the size of the cup and that of the foot of the chalice engraved, which in other 
 respects is one of the most beautiful in Italy. It is preserved in the Church of San Donienico at Perugia, in the same sacristy 
 with that very remarkable specimen of a somewhat later date, which is related to have been presented to the great Dominican 
 monastery by Benedict XL, and which" has been so admirably engraved in Mr. C. J. Richardson's work on decorative art. 
 
 Pi-. 3 is a ciborium, or vessel for the reservation of the host, which exhibits unmistakeable characteristics of Venetian 
 design, and of that school of Gothic which, founded in the thirteenth century by the Pisani, was carried to its highest perfection 
 at Venice by Filippo Calendario in the fourteenth, and by Maestro Bartoiorueo, the architect of the Porta della Charta, in 
 the fifteenth century, to which the production of the objects in ([uestion may be ascribed. 
 
 Fig. 4 has been introduced into this Plate to illustrate the remarkable change of form and detail which the interval of a 
 century only produced in the form of the ciborium in Italy, at that period when the spirit of cinque-cento art gained a complete 
 ascendancy over the later Gothic styles. However uuich the types of the ornaments may have been transformed, it may he observed 
 that the enamels in figs. 3 and 4 have been executed by the same process. 
 
 PLATE V, 
 
 Fig 1 shows the elevation of a wrouglit-iron grille existing in a chapel of the Palazzo Publico, or " Della Signoria," at Sienna. 
 It is a very remarkable specimen of the workmanship of the latter part of the fourteenth century, and is entirely made up out 
 of thin plates of iron in the maimer shown by the section (tig. 2). The ornamental fi-ieze is cut out of sheet-iron, which is cold- 
 hammered at the back somewhat after the manner of repousse work, so as to give a slightly rounded appearance to the low 
 relief of the ornaments. The finials surmounting the frieze are entirely formed out of strips of sheet-ii-on, bent and twisted 
 with much skill into the forms of the desired leaves and flowers. The chapel enclosed by this grille is celebrated for its 
 frescoes by Taddeo Bai-tolo, the greatest master of the early Sienncse school. 
 
 Fiir 3 is another frafinent, executed in a precisely similar manner to that which has been adopted for the preceding, which 
 it so closely resembles in style that it appeai-s probable it may have been executed by the same artist. It is preserved in the 
 Church of the Santa Trinita at Florence. 
 
 Fio^ 4 and 5 are taken from the railings which enclose the wcU-knoira monuments of the Scaligeri, at Verona. They arc 
 interesting both from their workmanship and design, from their introducing the "scala," or ladder, which was not only the 
 armorial cognisance of those powerful nobles, but the objects from which their very name was derived. They are entirely cut 
 out of sheet-u-on, each quatrefoil being riveted to that which adjoins it. The effect produced by grilles of tliis description is 
 that of a remarkably pleasing diaper, and is one which might be reproduced in the present day by means of our improved 
 stamping apparatus, with great facility, and at small cost. 
 
 Fi-'S. 6, 7, 8, and 9 arc executed in a difierent manner, being entuely wrought on the anvil out of bar-Iron in numerous 
 pieces, which are subsequently riveted up together. Grilles of this kind are obviously much stronger than those already described, 
 but thev are likewise very much more costly. Such patterns abound throughout Venice, and occui-, though less frequently, in 
 otlier Italian cities. 
 
 PLATE VI, 
 
 The different objects included in this sheet exhibit varieties of the application of one of the most common, and at the same 
 time ingenious expedients, resorted to by the ancient smiths to procure the effect of rich decoration at the smallest possible 
 outlay of time or laboiu-. An open-work pattern having been marked on sheet-iron, was punched out, and the edges filed up 
 square. This sheet, which we will call No. 1, having been laid upon another sheet. No. 2, foliations or other ornaments were 
 marked out through the interstices of No. 1. When the second set of ornaments had been cut out. No. 2 was placed on another 
 sheet. No. 3, and the same operation repeated to any extent of elaboration. Any number of sheets so perforated, being laid one 
 upon another in such a way as to best throw up the design, were riveted together, and occasionally beads, rosettes, knobs, or 
 other ornaments, were also attached to the face. As one punching, and one filing up, would serve for many plates at the same 
 time, this, although strictly a hand-work process, was by no means so expensive as might be imagined. As the localities whence 
 all the objects figured in this Plate have been taken are carefully indicated on them, it may be scarcely necessary to repeat a 
 dry catalogue in this place ; we shall content ourselves with cahing attention to the beauty of the Nurembiirg ironwork, and the 
 fact that if the smiths of Augsburg carried off the palm for metal-work employed by the military, those of the former city 
 unquestionably excelled in the manufacture of every variety of article required for the use of the Church or the laity in times of 
 peace. 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 This Plate furnishes us with examples of the elaborate knockers which the wealthy nobles and citizens of Venice and Bologna 
 affixed to the doors of their palaces in the richest days of those states. Proud of the art by which they surrounded themselves, 
 rather than of the riches by which accident and the exertions of previous generations had to a great extent surrounded them, 
 the aristocracy of Italy were dissatisfied until even the most utilitarian of their wants and requirements were ministered to by an 
 artist. Hence we can be but little surprised to trace, even in their door-knockers, the influence of Luca della Robbia and 
 Sausovino, of Riceio and Giovanni di liologua. Tlie most cursory Iiispcctiou of works similar to those we engrave wdl suffice to 
 
DESClilPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 73 
 
 show that they were not mnmifaclurcd by the dozen, and supphed to the market as they issned from the monld. On the contrary, 
 it is rare to meet with a repetition of the same design, and in every instance the chasing of the bronze or brasswork is carried 
 to the highest degree of perfection. The " Pisani" knocker is justly regarded as the handsomest in Venice, and dates probably 
 from early in the si.\teenth ccntnry ; the others arc all somewhat later, though scarcely less excellent, 
 
 PLATE VIIL 
 
 The various objects engraved in this Plate are all employed in the service of the Roman Cathohc Church, and exhibit by no 
 means uncommon types of form. The cross is adapted for standing on the "predella," or raised step of the altar, and is rendered 
 especially worthy of veneration by the insertion of rehcs, wliich may be seen through the httle glass casements enclosing them. 
 The tall, thin vessel on the right is a " monstrance," or reliquary, made transparent for the purpose of exhibiting reUcs. Many 
 such are exhibited on the occasion of the great solemnities of the Chureh, and those containing remains of the various saints of 
 the Romish Calendar are especially brought forward on the feasts or octaves of the respective samts. The remaining object is 
 a " thm-ible," or apparatus for burning incense, and so wafting it about as to diffuse the fragrant smoke. The upper half of 
 the sphere slides upon the chains, and may he raised so as to admit of the insertion of the mcense; when lit, the upper half is 
 lowered down, and the acolyte, or serving-boy, holding the ring at the end of the chain, swings the vessel to and fro, so as to 
 quicken the draught and drive the smoke out of the holes made in the upper part of the thurible. The whole of these 
 objects are good specimens of Flemish design of about the year 1400, and ai-e preserved at the little village of Graefiirt, near 
 Dusseldorf, where they were sketched by Mr. Charles Barry, jun., and by his brother, Mr. Edward Barry. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 The hinge from the church of All Saints, Leighton Buzzard, from a drawing by Mr. John Gibson, is not only interesting as 
 an elegant speeunen of the workmanship of the end of the thirteenth century, but it is remarkable as corresponding closely, both 
 m date and style of execution, with the exquisite grille surrounding the tomb of Queen Eleanor in Westminster Abbey, which we 
 are told by existing records was wrought by Thomas de Leghton. Very probably the same workman was engaged upon both one 
 and the other. The difHculty of forging straight bars into such perfect curves can scarcely he appreciated by those who have never 
 attempted to "bend the stubborn uron," and then to weld them together without distortion, involves not only c-xeccding dexterity 
 of hand, but singular truth of eye as well. 
 
 The hinge from the Eschenheimer Thor, at Erankfort-on-Maine, from a sketch by Mr. F. 0. Penrose, contrasts singularly with 
 its English companion. It serves to show how readily the smiths introduced into their work the leadmg characteristics of con- 
 temporary styles of ar'chitectiu-e, since wc may trace in it a tendency to that system of interpcnetration which pre-eminently 
 distinguished the German stone and wood-work of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It will be at once perceived that in the 
 German example the ciuvcs run through one another freely, while in the English each one is complete in itself, and independent 
 of any other line than that to which it is tangential. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 Various locks and keys, from sketches by Mr. Wilham Burgess. Fig. 1, a key from Blickllng Church, Norfolk, is of rude 
 design, but yet serves to show how impossible it was in the middle ages to leave anything connected with the service of the 
 Church absolutely undecorated. Fig. 2 is a French lock from one of those enrious half-cupboards, half-dressers, which may be so 
 frequently met with in the sacristies of foreign churches. It is formed out of perforated iron plates, the bottom one alone being 
 of brass, and serving as a ground to relieve the others. Figs. 3 and 5 are keys from the same locality, and of the same description 
 as fig. 1. Figs. 4, G, 7, 8, are ah keys preserved in that most interesting museum of ancient art, the Hotel de Cluny at Paris. 
 They are all of fine workmanship, and have for the most part been filed out of tile solid. The difficulty of working fig. 7 by this 
 process must have been enormous. The French sermriers were exceedingly skilful, and, as may be gathered fi'om the writmgs of 
 Mathurin Jonsse, paid more attention both to the mechanism and beauty of their locks and keys than the artificers of any other 
 country. Fig. 9 is a lock in the possession of Mr. W. G. Rogers, and is peculiar in combining "repoussage" with the ordinary 
 manufacture by perforated plates, the swelling of the leaves having been rendered by beating up from the back, and the fibres by 
 engraved lines. Fig. 10 is a singular old key introducing the arms of the possessor. 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 This Plate exhibits a set of figures, sketched by Mr. Rowan, from the celebrated bronze gates of Gliiberti at the Baptistery at 
 Elureucc. Under the head of Italian history we gave some detaOs concerning these gates, which are the masterpieces of existing 
 brouze-work. It may suffice to indicate the subjects of the figures, and to call attention to the exquisite composition of the leading 
 lines, and the sentiment of grace conveyed in every gesture. Fig. 1 is a noble of the court of King Solomon standing by, lost in 
 admiration at the splendour of the meeting between that monarch aud the Queen of Sheba. Fig. 2 is Rebecca plotting to deceive 
 Isaac into blessing Jacob instead of Esau. Fig. 3 is a group of three Jewish women, who stand, in faith, and with a reverent 
 awe at the aceomplishiucnt of the mu-acle of the faUing of the walls of Jericho. Fig, 4 presents us with the mectin-^ of Kin" 
 Solomon and llie Queen of Sheba. 
 
74 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
 This is mi Iliilinn chalice executed, with the exception of the cup (which in all chalices must be of some precious metal), in 
 Inlten 11,11 gilt The enamels are translucid and champleve. It may he observed of the Italian enamels of the period of the vessel 
 euKraved (the fifteenth century), that they are invariably appKed as gems, and fixed into settings. The reason of this is, that the 
 heat required to fuse the vitrified pastes would have been so great as to have distorted the forms entirely. Subsequently, when 
 Kold beian to be used as the groundwork for enamel, the principal parts of the objects were placed m the muffle with the 
 enamels°npon them. These several portions were subsequently united by hard solder and pmning. In this way Mr. Farrer s 
 jewel and Lady Beresford's vase, exhibited in the Medieval Collection at the Society of Arts, were executed. 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 
 Fiunishes a set of examples of hinges smtable for fitting up chmch-doors. Pig. 1 is from Hunstanton Clmreli, Lincolnshire. 
 Kg 2 is in the possession of Mr. Pratt, of Bond Street, through whose hands has passed some of the finest iron-work ever seen 
 in this country and of which a series of first-rate specimens, including the one engraved, was exhibited at the Society of Arts, 
 and in one or more of the local museums formed by the Archaiological Institute. Kg. 3 is ft-om a church at Liege. Pig. 4 
 is from the Choir of Wells Cathedral. Fig. 6 is from Little Greensted Chnreli, Essex. Fig. ^ 6 is from Rouen Cathedral; and 
 fig. 7 from Lincoln. 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 
 Fig. I. This elegant ■■burette," whiell there appears Uttle reason to doubt was presented by Sugcr to his beloved catlicihal 
 of Saint Denis, in the middle of the twelfth century, is one of the most charming specimens of the workmanship of that period 
 which have come down intact to modern times. 'The legend enamelled upon its base would suflice, even if its form had not 
 already done so, to assure us of the purposes to which this elegant vessel was applied. It unquestionably served as one of a 
 pair of what are called burettes -small vases to hold the wine and water preparatory to their being mixed in the chalices during 
 the celebration of the ■■ holy office" in the Roman Catholic Church. In the present instance the vase is of onyx, but they were 
 more frequently, in the early ages of the Church, du-ected to bo made of crystal, so as to ensure the detection of the slightest 
 
 impurity. . , 
 
 Fig. 2. This graceful vessel has, without doubt, been made by some of those great artists who Hourishcd under the auspicious 
 reicm of Francois I. It is most probably the work of a Prenchinan, and not of an Italian, as the details have more of the style 
 of "the Renaissance than of the Cinque-eento. Both this and fig. 1 were probably used for the same purpose. The whole have 
 been drawn from the originals by Mr. W. Burgess. 
 
 Fig. 8 is a thurible, or censer, such as we have described in our notice of Plate VIII. It has been introduced to serve as 
 a contrast to fig. 4, another censer, very probably of the middle of the seventeenth century, which is curious as showing that even 
 at so late a date the ecclesiastical vessels in use in France retained some remains of their original shape. It forms the link 
 which connects the glorious productions of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries with the miserable caricatures which 
 disgrace the shops around Notre Dame do Paris and the Madeleine in the present day. It has first of all been cast and then 
 slightly chased with the graving tool. Pig. 3, on the contrary, is wholly wrought, its various parts being cut out of sheet latten, 
 and filled up and engraved previous to being soldered togetluT. 
 
 Pig. 6. This elegant object, concerning the origin of which authorities have difl'ered, some regarding it as a dnnkuig-eup, 
 others as a salt-cefiar, is now contained in the Louvre, and presents many points of interest. Several circumslaiices, such as the 
 form of the enamelled band below the bowl and the little figure covered with enamel, as well as the filagree-work, would point 
 it out as of Italian origin ; while the architectural decorations are so intensely Gothic, that France, Germany, or Flanders, might 
 appear to have an eqnid claim to the honour of having produced it. The probability is, that it has originally been of Italian 
 workmanship, and has been repaired at one or more subsequent periods. 
 
 Is a singular ornament fastened on the door of the venerable Rathhaus at Lubeek. At its foot is fixed a handle, rudely 
 fashioned, after the similitude of a dog. It exhibits the Emperor seated on his throne in the midst of, and surrounded by, the seven 
 Electors of Germany, representing Mayence (in the person of the archbishop and arch-chraicellor of the empire), Triives, Cologne, 
 the Palatine of the Rhine, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Bohemia. Prom the distinguished position of Lubeek hi ancient times, as an 
 imperial free city, as chief town of the Hanseatie Lengue, and as the most important commercial depSt of the north, we cannot 
 be surprised to find her rich in relics of those arts which arc especially fostered by wealth, and of which metal is one of the most 
 attractive. Lubeek even now preserves beautiful brass fonts, monuments, and grilles, in several of her churches. The curious door- 
 handle which we engrave, from a drawing by Mr. Edward Falkener, has been made by partially beating up the plate to give a low 
 relief to the figures, then by piercing and filing out the perforations, and, lastly, by defining all the forms with the graver. 
 
 PL-4TE XVI. 
 
 This very curious processional cross was brought from Italy to England a few years back. It passed from the hands of 
 Mr. Forrest into those of the director of the Museum of Economic Geology, in which it now forms one of the most interesting 
 examples o( enamelling preserved in that collection. We have elsewhere stated our belief that this cross, if not actually worked 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 7B 
 
 by tlie great Orcagna, is .at least designed in strict accordance witli his pecidiar style, as manifested in tlic scnlptnres of the 
 tabernacle or ciboriiuu of Or San Midiflc, at I'lorence. While, for the beauty of the object, it is unfortunate that the transparent 
 enamel which once covered the httle luedallions of the saints has been removed, it is not altogether to be regretted, since it 
 enables the student to see precisely the mode of preparation usually practised by the Italians for the application of their trauslucid 
 enamels. We find that while the amount of relief given to the several parts of the medallions was but shallow, the engraving 
 of all the lines vfas as sharp and crisp as possible, so as to afford more key, and prevent the vitreous paste from chipping or 
 rubbing off. The pi-inciple upon which the brilliancy of such enamels depended was that of the preservation of the polish of the 
 silver, so that the light reflected from its smface, which was preserved from tarnishing by the presence of its vitreous coatiiig, 
 might pass through the transparent and brightly-coloured enamel, much as the light streams through a stained-glass window. 
 
 PLATE XVII. 
 
 Pig. 1 is a bracket from the Cathedral at Bologna, doubtless a Papal gift, from the introduction of the keys and tiara. Fig. 3 
 is one of those curious lanterns which decorate the Strozzi Palace at Florence, and of which similar specimens are still attached 
 to the angles^of the Riccardi Palace, once the famous residence of the Medici, in the same city. We are informed by Vasari that 
 these "lumierc miraviglioso" were the work of one Nicolo Grosso CapaiTa, a celebrated artificer of the time, by whom it is not 
 unlikely that many of the beautiful pings and cressets which still decorate the old palaces of Sienna may have been executed. 
 On the centre spike was fixed a little iron barrel, containing tow and pitch, while on each of the other spikes a torch was fastened. 
 In some of the old engi'avings of the festivities given at night by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the representations of the effect of 
 this mode of illumination may be seen. It is said that the privilege of affixing such cressets to a residence was one conferred 
 by the State only on the most distinguished citizens, as a peculiar honour, in acknowledgment of services performed. 
 
 Ffg. 3 is a bracket-lamp in wrought-iron, from the cathedral at Innspruck ; and fig. 4 is a bronze lamp, which is attached 
 to one of the pillars which support the shrine of Saint Sebald, in the church of the same name, at Nm-emberg. In it we trace 
 distinctly the manner of Peter Visscher himself, entirely uninfluenced by the style of Veil Stnss, whose dominance over his con- 
 temporaries is regarded by Professor HcideloS" as so universal. In both figs. 3 and 4 a pricket or spike is shown, ou which it 
 was usual to fix the cantUe. The use of a socket in cantllesticks is of corapai-atively very recent introduction. 
 
 PLATE XVIII. 
 
 The two figures on the left-hand side of this Plate are by Ghiberti. The upper is taken from the exquisite bronze slu-ine in 
 which is preserved the head of San Zcnubio, enclosed in its beautiful silver casing by Andrea Arditi. 'J'his shrine, which is one of 
 the greatest ornaments of Santa Maria del Fiore, at Florence, is especially celebrated for the exquisite angi^ls niiich float in the air, 
 bearing an inscription, and for the principal compartments which illustrate a miracle of the saint's performance, — the resuscitation 
 of a dead child. The figure engraved is taken from the latter, and represents a young maiden holding up her hands in astonish- 
 ment at the opus operatum. Ghiberti's second figure occru-s upon one of the Florentine gates, and illastrates that peculiar sway 
 of line upon which the artist so greatly depended for the expression of grace and refinement. The two figm-es on the right-hand 
 side of the Plate were copied from some which decorate the font in the Baptistery of San Giovanni, beneath the choir of the 
 cathedral at Sienna. So many of the most celebrated workci's m metal, Poliaiuolo, Ghiberti, Giacopo della Qucrcia, Donatello, 
 and Vecchietta, have contributed to the embelhshment of this interesting chapel, that it becomes most difficult to ascribe the figures 
 in question to then- rightful progenitors. We should incline, however, to a belief that they are by Delia Querela, better known in 
 Italy as Giacopo dcUa F'ontana, who, it may be remembered, was, with Ghibei-ti, one of the seven competitors for the execution 
 of the first gate of the Baptistery at Florence. 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 
 Fig. 1, a lock from the iron raihng surrounding the choir at Munich Cathcdi-al, is worthy of attention, as showing how 
 agreeably the artists of the Middle Ages were in the habit of treating, and not disguising, the most utilitarian adjuncts to archi- 
 tectural effect. The lock engraved affords an agreeable model for imitation in cases where a lock has to be introduced in connexion 
 with an iron railing or gate, as it is so consistently treated that there can be no possible question as to its purpose or uses. 
 
 Figs. 3, 3, 6, and 7 are all keys of very elegant design. For sketches of two of them the author is hidcbted to the kindness 
 of Professor Donaldson, and for one to Mr. George VuUiamy, Secretary to the Ai'chfeological Institute. 
 
 Fig. 4. This lock-plate is the only one remaining out of three, which once served both to secure and ornament the gates 
 leading into the central aisle of Henry VII.'s Chapel. These doors are formed of plain wood rails and stiles, crossing one 
 another. These are covered with brass plates, secm'ed by nails with ornamented heads. The square spaces formed by the rails 
 and stiles are filled with open panels of cast brass ; the whole has been oiiginally gilt. The tracing of this lock has probably 
 been first of aU cast and then fUed up. 
 
 Fig. 5 is a pretty little escutcheon taken from the Schloss at Nuremberg; and fig. 6 is a lock-plate of modern workmanship, 
 in imitation of the ancients. It is carefully wrought from a design by Professor Heideloff, and now decorates the entrance, or 
 western door, of the Au, or Pfarr Kirclie, at Munich. 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 Is one of the most valuable specimens of Siennese metal-work now existing. It is known as the pastoral staff of San 
 Cerboni, and is preserved in the treasury of the cathedral at Sienna. Its design exhibits all the pecufiarities of Italian Gothic, 
 and leads us to assume its date to be the latter end of the fourteenth century. The engraving has been made from a careful 
 drawing by Mr. F. C. Penrose. 
 
 z 
 
76 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XXL 
 
 Represents, fiislly. an Italian chalice from Calahria, of the end of the fourteenth century, taken' from a drawing communicated 
 by Mr. Roberts Gowan. Secondly, of a ciborium of late date, but a good specimen of parcel-gilding, sketched at Venice by Mr. 
 John Johnson. And, thirdly and fourthly, of two monstrances, such as figure frequently in the paintings of Albert Durer, Van 
 Eyck, Hending, Martin Schongaucr, and otlier masters of the early German school. The execution of the little model monstrances, 
 contamed beneath the crystal of the large ones, is no less elaborate than that of the latter; indeed it may be remarked that, 
 excepting the figures, which are occasionally out of proportion and grotesque, nothing can be more perfect than the early German 
 metal-work generally, and more particularly those objects which reproduce the florid architecture of the age of interpenetration. 
 These monstrances were drawn at Gracfurt, near Dusscldorf, by Mr. Charles Barry, jun., and by Mr. Edward Barry. 
 
 PLATE XXII. 
 
 Pour pendent lamps. There are few more picturesque adjuncts to the eftect of the interiors of the foreign churches than the 
 lamps which the faith or hope of the pious keep continually burning before the altars or the images of their patron saints. On them 
 frequently rich decoration has been lavished ; and they may be met with in every material, from the humblest tin to imperial 
 gold. Pigs. 1 and 2 have been taken from the Chmch of San Domenico at Bologna; fig. 3, from the Chigi Chapel m the Church of 
 Santa Maria del Popolo at Rome, has been ascribed, and apparently with propriety, to no less a master than Pollaiuolo himself. 
 Fig. 4, from the Cathedral of St. Mark, is the most graceful specimen of pendent lamps which has faUen under the author's 
 observation, and presents a type of form by no means uncommon in Venice. Although its outline would appear at fu-st sight 
 of considerable antiquity, the object itself was certainly not executed previous to the year 1600. 
 
 PLATE XXm. 
 
 We have in this Plate a set of Hinges of German and Plemish design, of which the one in the centre of the Plate, with an 
 elbow contrived to retain a firm hold upon the door without interfering with the panelhng, and yet to be attached to the frame 
 at a convenient point, is the most remarkable, if not the most beautiful. 
 
 PLATE XXIV. 
 
 From a very careful drawing by Mr. Edward WiUson, furnishes us with an example of the fantastic, and yet generally 
 graceful, forms into which the artists of the Middle Ages contrived to twist the reUquaries which abounded in every church. 
 This elegant specimen of design and workmanship is preserved m the celebrated Treasury of St. Mark's. 
 
 In this Plate we have endeavoured to bring together such a series of objects, decorated with French enamel, as should 
 serve to illustrate, in some degree, the succession of the varieties of process most commonly in use at various periods in that 
 country, from the early to the late Limoges work. The whole of the articles were exhibited at the Salisbury meeting of the 
 Archa!ological Institute in 1849 by Mr. Octavius Morgan, Mr. Robert Curzon, and Mr. Tucker. 
 
 Fig. I is a small chasse, similar to those which were apphed to the same uses as the more elaborate reliquai-ies of later 
 times, and which were known as "Bahuts de Lhnoges," and " Coffres, or coffrets, de Limoges." They consist of sheets of 
 latteu, an alloy of copper, about one-eighth of an inch thick, nailed on to a wooden box, the box being generally made to open 
 by contriving one of the sides so as to be able to fall down. We have treated so fuUy of this mamd'actm'e in om- history of 
 French metal-work, that it will bo unnccessaj-y to dwell farther upon the subject at present. 
 
 Fig. a is an episcopal ring, ornamented with the Limoges enamel, which probably belonged to a cardinal, or some other 
 dignitary of the diocese of Lyons. 
 
 Fig. 3 is a small pix ; these and the bahuts are now the objects which are most commonly to be met with of ah the 
 productions of Limoges. They are frequently found with a cross at the top : this is generally, if not always, ^plain. The 
 conical head lifts up, being hinged on one side. These curious little boxes served to contain the " blessed Sacrament." 
 
 Pig. 4 is a pax, with translucid enamels upon relief, which is cm-ions as being probably a Prench imitation of the ItaUan 
 process. It dates from a time but little previous to the year 1500. The use of the pax, wliich was universal in the Roman 
 Cathohc Church, was to represent that kiss of the faithful which in the early ages was interchanged between true believers on 
 the receipt of the priestly benediction. Scandals caused the primitive practice to be abandoned, and as a substitute the "pax" 
 was introduced, which being held by the priest was presented in turn to the lips of each of his congregation. In the Middle 
 Ages they were always richly decorated, either with engraving, enamel, or niello. 
 
 Pig. 6 is a taiza, of late Limoges enamel, where the white figures have been partially glazed over with transparent tints of 
 grey. This beautiful object— whicli it appears probable, from its style, was the work either of Jean Comrtois or Pierre Rsxmon, 
 enaiuellers of the Prench court— may be regiirded as a specimen of the ordinary type of such vessels, which were manufactm-ed 
 in profusion for the decoration of those corner cupboards and " standing desks " of plate so ti-cquently referred to in descriptions 
 of courtly festivities. We have elsewhere alluded to the processes of this painting en griaaiUe, and to the artists by whom it 
 was best executed. 
 
 Pig. 6 is a girdle, ornamented with silver. These ghdles fonued no inconsiderable part of the jewellery of wealthy persons 
 in the Middle Ages ; and there is scarcely an effigy, or picture of a noble, from the beginning of the fom-teenth century to 
 the beginning of the sixteenth, which does not supply us with some varied form of this hidispensablc item of personal adornment. 
 
^^^^^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XXVI. 
 
 Pigs. 1, 2, and 3, are taken from the ornamental portions of tlie bronze gates of the Baptistery of Florence, hy Ghiberti ; 
 airil in their rainirte, yet free execution, merit all the praises which have been heaped upon them from the date of then- completion 
 to the present time. 
 
 Fig. 4 represerrts a fragment of a magnificent eandelabrmn, which now starrds in one of the transepts of the cathedral of 
 Milan. This splendid object, which is popularly krrown aa the Albero, rises to a considerable height, with seven branches, 
 covered over with beantifid ornaments of every description. It was presented in the year 1563 by Giovan' Batist^i Trevnlzio, 
 archpriest of the cathedral ; and although its general form would afford some basis for n supposition that it had been worked 
 at a period long anterior to its presentation, there can be brU little doubt that it was the production of some contemporary artist. 
 
 PLATE XXVn. 
 
 Affords us, in the foriu of a series of beautifid lamps, some further indications of the riches of Lubeek in artistic metal-work. 
 The whole of these objects were sketched in the cathedral of that town by Mr. Edward Falkener. 
 
 PLATE XXVIIL 
 
 Represents one of the largest and most imporiant reliquaries preserved in Italy. It belongs to the altar of San Giacomo, 
 in the Duomo at Pistoia, and is produced only upon the occasion of the most important festas. It will be remarked, that this 
 precious relic of ancient design has suffered considerably, — a large portion, in the form of a vase of the seventeenth century, 
 having been superadded to the original fomteenth-century work. 
 
 PLATE XXIX. 
 
 The n-on-work for this door was evidently produced by the same workman who executed the screen round Edward IV.'s 
 tomb. The most curious fcatme in this set of door fumitm-e is the remarkably beautiful specimen it exhibits of the little 
 apertm-e with a box and a slide to it, by the withdrawal of which an inspection of the visitor might be made, and a conversation 
 take place, prior to drawing back the bolt. Some modification of such an apparatus was invariably apphed to every doorway 
 of the period. There are several such contrivances in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, and many yet exist in the 
 remains of the monastic and conventual establishments. 1VL-. Pugin has introduced it in his doorway to Magdalen College, 
 Oxford. The plate in that ease is cut into a pattern of lihes. Several may also be met with in the new Houses of Parliament. 
 This Plate is taken from a Drawhig by Mr. Edward Falkener. 
 
 PLATE XXX. 
 
 Represents a very graceful chahee, with its accompanying paten, of the ordinary Italian type of the fifteenth century, drawn 
 at Handazzo, in Sicily, by Mr. Edward Falkener. In all such chalices we cannot but be struck by the simplicity of, aud uniform 
 adherence to, a constantly recmring combination of parts. In every one the plain cup, the jewelled or enamelled knop, the 
 straight pipe, as it is called, and the spreading foot, are to be found,— with varieties of decoration certamly, but never of 
 general form or purpose. 
 
 PLATE XXXI. 
 
 The two upper subjects in this Plate have been selected for their simplicity, aud the economy with which similar articles 
 might be reproduced in the present day. One is taken from the ehureli of St. Jacques at Liege, and the other from that of 
 St. Lawrence at Kui-emberg. The two lower objects are door-handles of wrought-ii-on : one from the church of St. Vincent 
 at Rouen, and the other from St. Mary at Bury St. Edmund's. 
 
 PLATE XXXII. 
 
 A group of chalices and patens, from sketches made by Mr. Edward Falkener at Eandazzo, in Sicily. The chahee on the 
 right-hand side of this Plate is the earliest speeiliien of such an object, exhibiting the peculiarities of ItaUan processes, which has 
 fahen under the author's observation. It dates, probably, from about the year 1300. Its antiquity is proclaimed by the peculiar 
 spreading of the cup, the rudeness of the form of the base, and the Early English, or rather Pisan, character of its foliated 
 ornauients. The chahee on the left of the Plate is, probably, nearly one hundred years later, and dlustratcs the progress made 
 by the Italians m the art of euameUing, since, while the subjects in the older vessels are executed precisely m accordance with 
 the practice of Limoges m the latter part of the thh-teenth century, those of the later example are the regular translucid 
 enamels mtrodueed by Giovanni di Pisa, and carried to such perfection by Ugolino of Sienna, in the magnificent " Corporale 
 di Molsena, in the year 1338. From the inti-oduetion of the stork, the heraldic cognisance of Perugia, into this later chalice 
 It does not appear mipossible that it may have been executed hi that city, which was almost as famous at a very early period 
 for Its school of goldsmiths, as for its painters and sculptors. For the sake of comparison, we have mtrodueed into this Plate 
 
jg DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 one of those proihicliom of the Cmqnc-ceiito period ivhich mnstrntc the ehm.gc from the Gothie forms to those in direet 
 imitation of the antiipe. The first indications of this change are the elongation of the cholice ; the increased si« and ronndness 
 of the knop; a subdivision of the pipe into various holbs i ornament creeping up the sides, and at last to the l,p of the cnp ; 
 a diminished spread to the foot; and a gradual relinquishment of the use of enamels, parcel-gilding fr-equently takoig its place as 
 an enrichment. In fact, the latest chalices approach as nearly as possible to tall driuking-cups, and lose altogether the simple and 
 severe forms of the original type. 
 
 PLATE XXXIII. 
 
 Displays various examples of Italian wronght-iron grilles and railings. These subjects, whicli have been procured (fig. 1) from 
 the church 'of Santa Maria degli Angeli at Rome (figs. 2 and 3), from private houses at Venice, and (fig. 4) hom the, tomb of 
 Kini> Roger in the cathedral at Palermo, have been selected with a view to their completing the series commenced in Plates II. 
 and°V. °The whole of these will be found well worthy the study of those connected with the production of iron enclosures in 
 the present day. 
 
 PLATE XXXIV. 
 
 Fig 1 represents the doorway from Mcrton College at OAiA, which was, probably, executed at the latter cud of the reign 
 of Henry III, Tina beautiful specunen may be regarded as a model Eariy English hinge. There is just the proper amount of 
 solidity and of decoration ; and the latter, while made subservient as it should be, is so perfectly wedded to the former, that tins 
 may fairly be pronounced to be one of the most " perfect specimens of the ancient" and honourable craft of the smith which 
 time has spared to us. In fact, there are but few doors to compare with it. Those in the Chapter-house at York, in Lmcoln 
 and Chester Cathedrals, in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and in the Sehool-honse at Norwich, being its principal competitors 
 tor " honom-able mention." The doorway is shown surrounded mth sketches of details of ancient u-on-work, enlarged so as to 
 convey an idea of the elaboration of the design of such productions, and of the laboin- involved in their execution. 
 
 Among these lig. 2 gives us the head of a hinge from St. Peter's at Oxford, one of the oldest churches m that town. The 
 hinge itself" was probably made early in the thirteenth century. The styles nailed over them are apparently of later date. The 
 ornamental manner in which the nails are used in all these specimens is weh worthy of attention. 
 
 Fig. 3 is from St. Mary's, Oxford. 
 
 All of these details are interesting tcchiically, since while some of them exhibit the flattened ends of the bars worked into 
 foliated forms by means of various heading tools; others show elegant little bands and rolls, set on, to conceal any possible 
 imperfection, at the wcldmg joints, and to give apparent strength and connexion at the point of impact of the vai-ious curves. 
 
 PLATE XXXV. 
 
 Is a curious lectern worked m brass, and now in use for the reading of the Gospels, in the cathedral at Messina in Sicily. 
 The upper portion is made to revolve, so that a copy of each evaiigelisfs writing being laid upon his proper emblem, the priest, 
 standing on a step at the side, has only to turn the desk round imtil he has opposite to him the requisite gospel. Thus each 
 evangelist's record is successively read from an appropriate emblem, the priest m all cases remaining with his face to the congregation. 
 It is impossible in any draxving, however carcfid, to render the exceeding accuracy and mechanical dexterity with which this object 
 has been executed. 
 
 PLATE XXXVI. 
 
 A group of hanaps, wiederkoms, tankards, &C., in the possession of Messrs. R. and S. Garrard of London. As the devotion 
 of the wealthy to the Church diminished throughout Europe, so their devotion to themselves increased; and hence we find that 
 the superfluous riches which, fi-om the tenth century to the middle of the flftcenth, were expended on enriching the shrines of 
 celebrated saints, from the later period until the middle of tile seventeenth century were employed in the execution of household 
 plate similar to that we now engrave. Beautiful as had been the old drinking-cups of the Plorentine and Venetian merchants, 
 they were as nothing compared to those which their yet more wealthy brethren the Germans and Flemings adopted. At Nuremberg, 
 Augsburg, Cologne, Lubeek, Hamburg, Hanover, Frankfort, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Bnissels, and Conrtray, an incredible 
 amount of capital was simk in the execution of those objects, which were looked on as their Penates by the wealthy burghers 
 of those towns and cities. To attempt to convey any idea of the pithy legends and quaint decorations which embeffish such 
 objects woldd be an interminable labour. Some representations of the leading types hi point of form the author has been enabled 
 to give through the kindness of Mr, Garrard ; but, to appreciate the eccentricities of such objects, a visit must be made to some 
 of the out-of-the-way German towns, where, as at Lnnenberg, some portions of the old plate of the municipaUties and guilds has 
 been preserved. As we noticed in oiu- EngUsh History the avidity with which our topers took up the study and accmnulation 
 of diinkiug-vessels, it will not be necessary to dwell further on the subject in this place, excepting to express our regret that 
 the fluctuations of fashion should have in so many cases consigned the quaint and often elegant forms of such objects to the 
 melting-pot, in order that they might rise again from it converted into Erenchifled epergnes and gadioon-edged salvers. 
 
 PLATE XXXVII. 
 
 A lock, plate, and key, formerly belonging to an old house at Wdton. This is a specimen of iron-work of very pleasing 
 design; the gl-ound being well fiUcd, and the voids and solids agreeably balanced. We are indebted to the kindness of Mr, E. 
 A. Spurr, m whose possession this lock now is, for an opportunity of reproducing it in the present work. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 ,79 
 
 PLATE XXXVIII. 
 
 Screen from Edward IV.'a tomb at Windsor. Tliis screen, whicli partly surrounds the tomb of Edward TV. is a most 
 beautiful example of the taste and labour which was bestowed on even the accessories of the tombs of the fifteenth century. That 
 which guards fi-om injiiry the tomb of Henry VII., at "Westminster, is, probably, the finest in existence. 
 
 The Windsor grille has generally been attributed to Quentin Matsys; it is certainly of his epoch, and the architecture in 
 some of its details approximates to that of Belgium ; we should, however, remember that in England all the iron-work in which 
 tracery is employed partook, more or less, of a flamboyant character. 
 
 It is difficult to tell the use of the canopies, as there is no provision for placing statues below them. Along the top of tlie 
 screen ran- a row of sconces for the lights, and at each end the screen is terminated by an octagon turret, ornamented in a similar 
 manner vAth niches. The whole is of wrought-iron, and executed with surprising shar|]ness and dexterity. 
 
 About two years ago Messrs. Bramali, Prestige, and Co. repaired in malleable iron this grille, which was brought up to London 
 for that purpose. On reviewing the circumstances of the case, as well as the style of execution, it appears by no means improbable 
 that this grille should have been of Flemisli workmaiiship, since we are fully aware of King Edward IV.'s numerous connexions in 
 Elanders, — that his sister married the Duke of Biu-gundy, and that he employed many Flemish artists himself, especially in the 
 illumination of manuscripts. 
 
 PLATE XXXIX. 
 
 Specmiens of revived cinque-cento jewellery, contributed to the Exhibitiou of 1851 by Froment Mcurice of Paris. The 
 circumstances of the extreme rarity of specimens of mediaeval, or Renaissance jewellery, being so great, and the fact that almost 
 every kuomi variety had been already figured, induced the autiior to decide on selecting from among the beautiful display made 
 by Froment Meurice in the Great Exhibition such examples as he thought most graceful and ap])ro])riate for reproduction in the 
 present day. 
 
 PLATE XL. 
 
 A chalice brought from La Marca, in the possession of the Marquis of Douglas. This vessel agrees so entirely in style with 
 that we have engraved in Plate XII. as to need no additional remarks. 
 
 PLATE XLI. 
 
 Wrought-iron gates of the Clarendon Printing-office, Oxford. This specimen of the skill of the smith belongs to that school 
 of art-workmanship, which attained its highest developement at Hampton Court, in the middle of the reign of King William III., 
 under the auspices of the artificer, by whom all the most elaborate gates and railings which decorate that Palace were executed. 
 In our historical notice of English metal-work, we have dwelt on the general characteristics of such objects of which the laliour 
 and consequent cost must have been very great. The Clarendon Prhifcing-office was completed in the year 1712, and the gates 
 engraved are no doubt of that period. 
 
 PLATE XLII. 
 
 In this Plate we have contrasted two agreeable specimens of parcel-gilding. One drawn by Mr. Falkener from a chalico in tliu 
 treasuiy of the clunch of Randazzo in Sicily, and the other drawn by Mr, John Johnson, from a very elegant drinking-cu]) Ibund 
 by liim in the possession of a dealer in curiosities and antiquities at Venice. The former of these two objects is very singular in 
 style, and belongs to a transitional period between the Gothic and the piu'e Cinque-cento which is exhibited in the latter. 
 
 PLATE XLIII. 
 
 Locks from Nm-emberg, probably of the end of the fifteenth century. Figs. 1, 2, and 3. have been sketched from various old 
 buildings in that ancient city. Fig. 4 was taken from a remarkably fine and large lock now in the possession of Mr. P. C. 
 Hardwick, who has much interested himself in the study of mediasval and Renaissance metal-work. Fig. 2 exhibits very clearly an 
 ingenious contrivance frequently employed by the old locksmiths, especially where the door was in a dark situation. It consisted of 
 so arranging the design of the ornament affixed to the lock-plate, as to guide the key at once to the key-hole, and to prevent the 
 waste of time so frequently incurred in poking about vaguely. It may be ciuions to notice, as illustrating the danger of copying 
 without perfect imderstanding, that in the modern lock, Plate XIX., fig. 8, Professor Heideloff has furnished us with an elaborate 
 and elegant-looking reproduction of this style of arrangement, but that he has at the same time efiectually deprived it of all utility 
 by blocking up the access to the key-hole. In many of these Nuremberg locks a good effect is given to the foliated ornaments 
 by punching them up with a point from the back, so as to raise the little rounded knobs, or nodules, so essential in late German 
 Gothic foliage. The line of fibre in the leaves is mcised with the graver. 
 
80 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XLIV. 
 
 Figs 1 nnd 3 are reliiiiwrics ; fig. 3, a pix : and fig. 4. an ancient crystal vessel, all preserved in the treasury of St. Mark's at 
 Venice Fig 4 is peculiarly interesting, as furnishing an early and good specimen of the Venetian imitation of Greek filagree 
 work and fig 2 is remarkably elegant in design. Fig. 3 presents us with a new and by no means unusual type of the pi,v It 
 retains the early hox form with the conical top, which we hove noticed as very common in the Limoges work of the thirteenth 
 century, and places it on a stand similar in the arrangements of its parts to a chafice, minus the cup. The knop m aU eases 
 serves to enable the oflicittting priest to grasp the vessel tightly and steadily. 
 
 PLATE XLV. 
 
 This Plate contains in the centre a portion of one of the bronze arabesques which enrich the pilasters on the sides of the 
 principal doorway of the Church of La Madeleme at Paris. The gates of that doorway, as well as its ornamentation generally, 
 were executed by Henri de Tiiqneti, a young French artist, whose talents as a sculptor, and worker in bronze, silver, and ivory, 
 are of the very highest order. The compositions illustrating the Ten Commandments, which enrich the panels of the above-men- 
 tioned gates, are very grand and severe in style, being finished, as respects the chasing of the details, with a breadth and vigour 
 which recall' the works of PoUaiuolo, Donatello, and VeiTocchio, rather than those of Ghiberti, Luca delta Robbia, or Sansovino. 
 In the bold style of bronze-working nothing cleverer has been produced in modern times. The treatment of the ornament 
 engraved is equal to the antique. 
 
 The dagger, the two sides of which are engraved, one on each side of the arabesque, is a charming specimen of cinque-cento 
 design, and is executed in silver repousse in the highest style of the art. 
 
 °At the top and bottom of the Plate are flgmred some of Cellini's most celebrated coins. The obverse, l-epresenting the 
 head of Alessaudro di Medici (II Moro) approaches, so far as we have been enabled to judge, more nearly to the excehence of 
 the coins of the Augustan age than any others which have been executed since that period. Vasari thus speaks of the abilities 
 of Benvenuto as an engraver of dies generally, and especially of the one in question. " There was no man in that age," says 
 he, " amongst the numbers who tried their hands at such work more successful in making the medals of Pope Clement VII. than 
 Cellini, as is well known to those who have seen such pieces and keep them m their possession. Hence he was employed to 
 make the stamps for the Roman mint, and there were never seen finer coins than those that were struck in Rome at that period. 
 After the death of Pope Clement, Benvenuto returned to Florence, where he hkewise made stamps with the head of Duke 
 Alessaudro for the mints of Florence, so wonderfully beautiful that some of them are preserved to this day as ancient medals, 
 and with good reason, for in them he surpassed himself." In his life Cellini has noticed the circumstances connected with the 
 production of his principal medals ; and in his " Trattato deff Oreficeria," he gives full directions for making the requisite dies, 
 and striking the medals and coins. 
 
 The whole of these objects were drawn by Mr. Frederick Warren. 
 
 PLATE XLVI. 
 
 Chalice in silvcr-gilt from the treasury of the Cathedral of Pistoia. In point of design and execution, we do not hesitate 
 to pronounce this to he the most perfect chalice we have ever seen. It is of the very best period of the Tuscan school of 
 goldsmiths. The author is dehghted lo be here enabled lo record his gi'atilude for the kindness and attention he received from 
 the mgeiiious Canonico Braschi, during the tune he spent in studying and thrawing the beautiful relics of ancient metal-work 
 preserved in the Cathedral at Pistoia. 
 
 PLATE XLVII. 
 
 Contains on the left a morse or brooch, preserved in the tresor of the Church of St. Ursula, at Cologne. In this object not 
 only is the design particularly pleasing, but there is introduced a variety of workmanship, of which the Germans were particularly 
 fond. It consists in cutting a number of long stripes of sheet metal into u-regular shapes, and then soldering or pmning them 
 by one end to the object to be decorated. By means of pliers and nippers the strips of metal were then twisted, inter- 
 woven, and fashioned, so as to produce the cfi'eet of foliage, round wires being here and there introduced to assist by contrast, 
 and to carry out the notion of the occasional appearance of stalks. Very happy results are frequently produced in ancient metal- 
 work by this hand-work process, the lightness of effect ensured by it being essentially concordant with the proper conditions of 
 metal-work design. Morses were used to fasten the copes or cloaks worn by priests m great processions. Upon then- elaboration 
 great sums were lavished during the Middle Ages, and on that most celebrated one, which was executed by command of Clement VII. 
 for the pontifical cope, Benvenuto Cellini lavished his most precious workmanship, and the Pope his most gorgeous diamonds and 
 other jewels. 
 
 On the right-hand side of this Plate are given some specimens of Italian enamelling, collected from the precious altar frontal 
 of San Giacomo di Pistoia. A description of this wonderful " fruntellum" will he found under its proper place in the notices of 
 the Italian history of metal-work. 
 
 In the centre of the Plate are engraved a portion of the arehiepiscopal sword of state, preserved in the tresor of the Cathedral 
 of Cologne, a specimen of smgularly beautiful and elaborate workmanship, and a brooch in filagree enamel, which is now preserved 
 among the Hamilton gems in the British Museum. This last is a remarkable object, as it is jn-obably the most perfect fragment 
 of Byzantme enamel in this country. Its design, and the aiTangement of the colom-ed pastes w-ith which it is decorated, combine 
 to render it au object no less worthy of the study of the artist than of the archaeologist. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 81 
 
 PLATE XLVIII. 
 
 Eig. 1 is a good specimen, from tlie An Kirclie at Munich, of an attempt to revive the old fonns and modes of working of 
 the medieeval door-handles. It was executed under the superinteudance of Professor Heideloff. Eig. 3 is likewise a door-handle, 
 pierced and engraved, from Innspruck. Eig. 5 is a curious specimen of smith's work from Brussels. Eig. 7 is a Florentine 
 door-handle, and fig. 9 is a similar object from Brescia. 
 
 Figs. 2, 4, 6, and 8. These are portions of a magnificent bracket for lifting off the cover of the brass font in the Cathedral 
 of Louvain. The outlines beside them show the form of the pieces of iron out of which they have been twisted. I'i^. 8 is the 
 great finial. Fig. 3 is the termination of oue of the crestings; and Pigs. 4 and 6 are terminations of cusps. This twisted iron 
 is exceedingly rare, very few specimens remaining, especially of piu'e Gothic work. The terminations of the iron railing round 
 the Eountain of Augustus at Augsburg, though of later date, are particularly deserving of attention. This kind of work has been 
 very successfully revived by Mr. Hardmau, under the aiispices of Mr. Pugin, and the execution of the finials, &c., which decorated 
 their mediiEval stove, contributed to the Great Exhibition, left little to be desired. 
 
 PLATE XLIX. 
 
 Exhibits m group of church plate, of which the most remarkable specimens are the celebrated enamelled chalice and paten 
 preserved in the treasury at Mayence ; both of which are remarkable as works of art and of technical skill, and are justly 
 regarded as being the finest existing specimens of old German handicraft. About this very point, however, some Httle difficulty 
 arises, since, on several accounts, we should feel rather inclined to suspect that they were of Itahan workmanship, and most 
 probably either a pontifical or an iuiperial gift. In the first place, if Gennan, they would be absolutely unique. In the second, 
 the enamels are translucid, and executed in strict accordance with Italian, practice; and, in the third place, they apparently include 
 among then- ornaments the stork, time out mind the cognisance of Perugia. Beside the chalice stands a very graceful thurible, 
 and m front of it a clirismatory, or vessel for liolding the chrism, available for the administration of extreme unction " in articulo." 
 Beliind the chalice is a rich book-cover, preserved in the public library at Sienna. The angles are decorated with nielh. Behind 
 the paten is shown a portion (from a sketch by Mr. Edward Falkener) of a curious processional cross, still preserved at Randazzo, 
 in Sicily. 
 
 PIRATE L. 
 
 Fig. 1 is a very ciu-ious iron doorway to the sacristy in the Cathedral at Rouen. The engraving has been made from a 
 careful drawing by Mr. Charles Barry, jun. It is essentially French in style; and every detail, including the door-handle and 
 other furniture, is carried into execution at an extraordinary outlay of patient industry. 
 
 Eig. 2 presents us with the door of Bishop West's Chapel at Ely. There is scarcely a single chapel in the whole of England 
 which offers more attractions than the one under consideration. The deUcacy of the stone-carving is almost marvellous ; while the 
 iron-work, though not so minute as we generally find it, is still admirable. The iron-work, as well as the stone-work, exhibits 
 traces of German design. In examining the ornamental portions of the metal-work, we shall find that those parts which 
 imitate foliage, are most descr\ing of attention. The roses are formed of several pieces of thin iron cut out, and then turned up 
 at the edges ; while the nail, which passes through and holds them together, has its head worked into the form of the petals of 
 the flower. It is to be regretted that the branch-work at the top of the gate is now out of shape, having been, no doubt, 
 accidentally distorted. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY GEOIIGE HAKrLAV, C.43TLE STIIEET, LEICESTER SIJUAJtE. 
 
LATE XVr." CENTURY BRONZE CANDELABRUM , PUR CHASED ATI 
 IN THE POSSESSION OF LEWIS WYATT, ESQ»« 
 
 M DICBV WYATT, DEL. 
 
PLATE 14 
 
PLATE N'-" 15 
 
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