^ rh'r,,,: ?*"; JK % If," miifi \fWHh (jim h *.i y *■ 'it ^'^w; ^-', .■ .x i^ 1 i' Wi/m 'mm LiLUiLili M'K^i 'Qhf^ .^^t^ ?«5f^ ■^.-■A^w *vy^ aiof ■p^^kJ^f^^^'"'^-^'^':,-^, ,^. o sA ir>f\AA- A^ «.#^5'-:s^fi*. r:r^;.^ixi^ ^^^rs.. ^^^^l^r^^'r^^^^^^ ^^' '^W" 1- k Jk /* /« ^ O^^J^a?! e^^S^'' ^^^f<^^^ mm ^fy' r- 'fS'> /^ A f^/^^f (^^•»^ ^^_n'^rflO'^r«(v*\.1«i/S, '^/^'l' ■^A^^^^ ^m^^ ^^r^,,-, - rn^/^' ^^^C)?^' '^f^/^^ k^.^'^^»*W^^Aai. i^^m'^' i^.AlAr' .»:. ^.^A^j^s^^^.^ :Mi A'a'' IPffinrr r^^^wi^ I'^fMi^U ™^^fc^iiik^R«^^j ^mrr:^ ■mYf^ 't!2»rM 'r^A'A AAA^^.n UA^^/5,. ^^,' ,Aftn^!s*%im ■m :>,^-->;, ^#^ •Aa^^^'^^C^^^C- i^p^ iW^ a^^fef \NW^^Ic^ ,^^r^' ^^^r^^^ !■^^»^.?^'^', '^■^"^'.'^rW '•'S'^'^r^: MM ., i:;t?f;-.^,reA5-5; :i;M^'W^eS^ n,^'' A' ^jAVt/./-/' #liy'x and Gold. xvt. cent. A BRONZE INKSTAND. ItaliaK. xvi. cent. .m:^^^ Ji_ A HANAR Silver -Gilt. cha; O u o o i i i A VASE. Pa/issy Ware. xvi. cent. I EWER. Majolica-TVare. xvi. gent. I FOUNDER'S CUP. Pembroke College. AN E NEK. Ne--uers Ware. xvn. cent. o p- CROZJER OF THE BISHOP OF LAON. StecLEnamclkd. xii. cenh AN EWER. Nenjers Ware, xvii, cent. TATSLA^ with Cover. Siher-Gilt. xvi. cent. i f)m CHRISMATORY. Siher. I A GROUP OF GLASS. Venetian, xv. and xvi. cent. J^.- A GOTHIC LOCK AND KEY. In wrought Steel, xvi cent. A CUP OF THE Lower Empire. Glass. Co 2S < < Pi w CO A CANDLESTICK. Henry II. Ware. xvi. cent. i m PENDANT. Gold, attributed to cellini. Ill A VASE. Palissy Ware. xvj. cent. GROUP OF GLASS THE MERCER'S CUP. Silver^GUt. xvi. cent. A FIGURE OF BACCHUS. Bron%e. roman. A TANKARD. (By Briot.) Peivter. xvi cent. EWER. Italian Work. Bronze, xvi. cent. k THE LYNN CUP. xiv. cent. STATUETTE. Virgin and Child, xv. cent. A PEDESTAL. Ivory. (Probably) xvii. cent. A PEDESTAL. Ivory. (Probably) xvii. cent. \ HANAP. Siher-Gilt. xvii. cent. ^ o o g o h a » o W •^ c s < UJ UJ < PC '■J r^ffA-'U '^ V ^''■>- ^ o c z s < o E- c s o w 3 w < " n. ^ •> '■■■■ V '.<■ ^ o 4. < o h C n u M t— t W I < pq 5 W <— I -J •^ O C < o h a a S u PINE- APPLE CUP. Sihcr-G'dt. xvii. cent. POWDER HORN. Ivory, xvi. cent. PEARL-SHELL CUP. Mounted In Siher-GUt. xVii. cent. A BAS-RELIEF AND FRAME. Carwd Boxwood, xvi. cent. A FIGURE OF VENUS. Brorrze. roman. ■ .-_. _^lif .f A TAZ7.A. WITH Cover. Sil'uer-Gilt. xvi. cent. IVORY TANKARD. Mounted in Silver, flemish, xvii. cent. A MONSTRANCE. Slher. xv. cent. CHOICE EXAMPLES OF Art Workmanship. -00- The Descriptions are Reprinted from the Catalogue published by the Committee of the Exhibition at the Society ^Arts. -00- Metal-Work. Working in metal includes casting, chiselling, engraving, chasing, embossing, and pouncing — arts which have in all probability been continued without intermission from the most remote ages to the present day. These, therefore, will not require elucidation, excepting when combined with auxiliary arts that will claim a notice for themselves ; especially as beyond them the only peculiarities in metal-work are those of epochs and individual handling. It was no unusual thing in the middle ages to find one man combining in himself a knowledge of all these arts, and praftising them in the base as well as in the precious metals. Indeed the goldsmiths of Italy of the 15th and i6th centuries, and those of Germany (principally at Augsburg and Nuremburg,) of the i6th and 17th cen- turies, did even more. Often, at the same time, architects, engineers, painters, sculptors, and lapidaries, they produced, besides smaller works, statues, fountains, armour, gates, altar-pieces, &c. But of all these versatile artists, Benvenuto Cellini is pre-eminently distinguished ; and although this may be owing in some degree to the assurance displayed in his autobiography, the authentic labours of his studio, still in existence, prove him to have been as remarkable for the power of his inventive faculties as for his executive skill and perfect acquaintance with the various processes connected with his art. ■000- #oItr, ^ilb^r, ani #ilt Jflttal;^* A Nautilus^ elaborately mounted in Silver-Gilt, With figures of Nereids playing musical instruments, on a stem composed of a figure of Neptune. Marine emblems and arabesques are profusely distributed, and the whole work is surmounted by a figure of Jupiter, xvii. cent. Her Majesty the ^een. A Silver-Gilt Hanap of the time of Charles I. Ornamented on the bowl with bulbs and arabesque ornaments, and on the stem with projecting foliations which are not gilt. Her Majesty the ^een. A Silver-Gilt Hanap, Which derives its form from a pine-apple, the arms of Augsburg, xvii. cent. Octavius Morgan^ Esq. b Choice Examples A Silver-Gilt Tazza, with Cover. The upper part is decorated with a frieze of Nereids and Tritons, and supported by four Satyrs. Shells and other marine emblems are introduced among the ornaments, together with the enamelled arms and quarterings of Sir Walter Mildmay, who founded Emmanuel College in 1584. Eminanuel College y Cambridge. A Pearl Shell-Cup, Mounted in Silver, which is gilt and richly perforated, xvii. cent. Her Majesty the ^een. A small upright Silver Chrismatory, On a foot of hexagonal form. The upper part rises in the shape of a crocketted pinnacle, and on two sides are tubes for the insertion of a cord or chain. H. MagniaCy Esq. A Glass Vessel, mounted as a Tankard, in Silver-Gilt Arabesques and Silver Filagree. This cup is called " the Poison Cup," in allusion to the superstition that if poison were poured into it the glass would break, and the crystal on the lid become discoloured. It was presented to Clare Hall by William Butler, an eminent physician in the time of James I., and a great benefactor to the college, xvi. cent. Clare Hally Cambridge. A Nautilus, mounted in Silver-Gilt, With figures, caryatides, and arabesque enrichments, and elaborately studded with emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones, xvii, cent. Messrs. Garrard. A Gothic Monstrance, in Silver, Enriched with tabernacle work and figures of" Saints. The foot on which it has been placed is of the fifteenth century. H. MagniaCy Esq. A Silver-Gilt Hanap, with Cover, Exquisitely elaborated with moresque ornaments, masks, shells, and heads in relief. Three Medallions on the bowl contain figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and a figure of Pomona surmounts the cover. Baron Lionel de Rothschild^ M.F. An Ewer, Silver-Gilt, elaborately chased. Lord Ilchester. A Silver-Gilt Pine-Apple Cup. Under the base is a coat of arms, and the date 163 i. Baroness Rothschild. A Saltcellar, Silver-Gilt, Of elegant form, ornamented with the rose, fleur-de-Hs, and portcullis. Christ'' s College, Cambridge. of Art-Workmanship. A Silver Ewer, Elaborately embossed and chased with subjects representing the triumph of Andrea Doria. All the numerous figures are in high relief, and exquisitely finished. This magnificent work, with a companion Ewer and Salvers, was purchased of the Lummelini family, the present representatives of the Dorias. xvi. cent. Lord de Mauley. -000- A Tankard, of Pewter. The work of Fran9ois Briot (a pupil of Cellini). It is embossed with three compartments of figures, divided by arabesques. T. Mackinlay, Esq. . 000 A Bronze Figure of the Youthful Bacchus, Of Greek workmanship, found in the neighbourhood of Naples. Hon, W, Temple. A Bronze Figure of Venus, Of ancient workmanship. Mr. B. Hertz. An Italian Bronze Ewer, in the style of Polidoro. It is boldly and elaborately modelled with masks, eagles, festoons, and fohated ornaments. The neck is relieved with arabesque, and the handle is composed of a terminal lion. xvi. cent. The Duke of Buccleuch. A Bronze Inkstand, of Italian work. Its enrichments consist of dolphins, eagles, and arabesques, surmounted by a figure of Cupid. XVI. CENT. J. K. Brunei y Esq. 000 A Gothic Lock, in Wrought Steel, Of rich florid design. Under a projefting canopy is the Crucifixion, and below this is a figure of St. James, xvi. cent. H, Magniac, Esq. A Gothic Steel Coffer, Of florid design, and with a singular lock. xv. cent. E. Hailstone, Esq. An Engraved Steel Casket. The sides are ornamented with figures under arches, divided from each other by columns, the ground of which has been originally gilt. The lock is elaborately made with 36 bolts. The remaining decorations comprise arabesques and fleurs-de-lys, with the addition of masks in bronze-gilt. xvi. cent. E. Hailstone, Esq. Choice Exami)les The art of damascening consists in expressing a design on one metal by the incrustation of another, and was introduced into Europe from the Levant, where it was greatly practised in the middle ages, especially in Damascus, — whence its present denomination. The metals most usually employed were silver or gold on iron or copper, or gold on silver, or silver on gold ; but any number or kind of metals thus combined would be equally classed under the head of Damascene-work. The modes of damascening were various. If the metal to be damascened were of a hard nature, its surface was wrought into fine lines, crossing each other, and the designs afterwards traced upon it. These were then filled in with the metal inlay, w^hich was fixed by a strong pressure, or the hammer, and the entire work was then burnished, by which the lines not covered with the incrustation were erased, and a fine polish given to the surface. Another process was that of hatching the incised lines only, and of fixing the incrus- tation as before. Some examples have the incrustations in relief. When the metal forming the enrich- ment was of a ductile nature, the pattern was simply incised in outline, and the body of the designs left on an equality with the surface of the field : a thin sheet of metal was then laid upon these designs, and fixed by the insertion of its edges into the exterior incisions. The incrustation thus produced was afterwards occasionally engraved or pounced, as fancy dictated. There is also a peculiar kind of damascene-work which partakes of the nature of picque (pricked with small pins or studs), which was a favourite style of ornamentation in England during the 17th century. In Europe, Venice and Milan were the cities most celebrated for their efibrts in damascene-w6rk. In copying oriental types, however, they frequently adhered to them so servilely, even to the adoption of Arabic inscriptions, as sometimes to render difiicult the task of distinguishing originals from imitations. -000- 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 nigellum, or niello, which was employed by the ancients — a fad: not generally known — is occasionally mentioned in documents from the 7th century to the 13 th, at which latter period it was greatly appreciated, as may be perceived by an examination of the Super-altar in the present Colleftion. The process used in its application was identical with one of those bestowed on enamel incrustations. The objeft 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 afterwards fused by the aftion 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 pidlure, the outlines only of which were formed sometimes by the metal and sometimes by the niello. Eventually, the designs on the metal were engraved with great delicacy, and, where needful, were carefully shaded by lines. The origin of taking paper impressions from metal plates is ascribed to the praftice of Finiguerra, a Florentine goldsmith, who, in the middle of the 15th 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 fe\v of these old im- pressions still exist, and equally with the plates themselves are styled " nielli." of Art-Workmanship , A Superaltare, or Portable Altar, Formed of a slab of jasper on a basis of wood, the whole mounted in silver, ornamented in niello. 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 produftion. xiii. cent. The Rev, Dr. Rock, -000- ScULPTURE AND CaRVING. A Carved Wood Bas-Relief, representing Adam and Eve in the Garden, Inserted in a frame of the same period. The latter is ornamented with masks, animals, skulls, festoons, and terminal figures. Groups of Satyrs in medallions, and Latin and Flemish inscriptions, are interspersed. In the produ6lion of this elaborate work two kinds of wood have been employed, xvi. cent. George Field, Esq. A Casket or Forcier, from the Church of the Holy Trinity at Eu in Normandy. It is elaborately decorated with carved traceries disposed in circles, and with small coats of arms enamelled and inserted. It is painted internally with the subject of the Coronation of the Virgin, surrounded by the evangelistic symbols, xiv. cent. S, Hodgkinsofif Esq. -000- A Cup, the Stem of which is formed by a Figure of Hercules supporting the Bowl, Which, as well as the cover, is elaborately carved with subjects of the chase. The whole is surmounted by a figure of Diana. This cup is the work of the Norwegian artist, Magnus Berger, who flourished 1690- 1739. ^^^ Majesty the ^een, A Salt of, Ornamented in relief with a frieze of Cupids, with peacock and Medusa's head. Messrs. Hunt and Roskell. A Companion Salt of, Ornamented with a frieze of Cupids, accompanied by a ram, a swan, and a dolphin. Messrs. Hunt and Roskell. An Ivory Pedestal, Carved with bas-reliefs of Cupids at sport. A masterly performance, attributed to Flamingo. XVII. cent. Messrs. Garrard. Choice Exa?nples A Tankard, of Flemish Workmanship, Carved in high relief, with an allegory of intemperance. The silver mountings are embossed with turkeys, grapes, and vine-leaves, xvii. cent. Baron Lionel de Rothschildy M.P. A Set of Knife, Fork, and Spoon, The handles of which are composed of Children, elaborately carved in ivory, xvi. cent. fV. Titey Esq, A Warder's Horn, Which, from the arms upon it, is shewn to have belonged to the German family of Henneberg. The Board of Ordnance. A Carved Tablet, with Bacchanalian Subjects. Ascribed to Flamingo. B. L. Fulliamyy Esq. A Carved Tablet, with BacchanaUan Subjects. Ascribed to Flamingo. B. L. Vulliam^y Esq. A Carved Tablet, with Bacchanalian Subjects. Ascribed to Flamingo. B. L. Fulliamyy Esq. A Carved Tablet, with Bacchanalian Subjects. Ascribed to Flamingo. B. L. Fulliamyy Esq. A Carved Tablet, with Bacchanalian Subjects. Ascribed to Flamingo. B. L. Fulliamyy Esq. A Carved Tablet, with Bacchanalian Subjects. Ascribed to Flamingo. B. L. Fulliamyy Esq. -000- Enamel. By enamel must be understood a vitrified substance, coloured by metallic oxides, and applied by fusion to an accipient. Two processes of applying it to metal seem to have been practised at periods equally remote. Both were incrustations into metal : but in one case the designs were produced in outline by bands of metal (usually gold), placed edgewise on a metal plate, and afterwards completed by enamel ; in the other, they were formed on a solid plate of metal (generally copper) by sculped recesses or channels, into which enamel was inlaid. Of all the auxiliaries employed in the decorations of metal-work, that of enamelling stands pre-eminent in point of interest and beauty. Adopted from an unknown source by the !£gyptians, it was eagerly embraced successively by the Greeks and Romans, and has since been a favourite material for embellishment among most nations. The Anglo-Romans were acquainted with this art, as were the Gallo-Romans ; and it is intimated by French antiquaries, that the enamel-manufactories of Limoges were but a perpetuation of the products of the latter people. Even if this be true, it is but reason- able to ascribe to the lessons of Byzantium (the refuge of the arts after the fall of Rome) those of Art-Workmanship. y beautiful works with which Limoges astonished the world in the twelfth century. She then supplied Europe with all varieties of articles used in the services of the Church, elegantly ornamented in enamel. Marked differences, in point of colour, distinguish works of this time from those of the following -century. They are recognised, for instance, by the variety of colours adopted for draperies and other decorations, whilst the fashion which afterwards obtained, of enamelling only the back-grounds of subjects, rendered fewer colours necessary. It was also frequent in the thirteenth century to place heads in relief on the metal figures, or to apply embossed figures, occasionally enamelled and jewelled. The fourteenth century was remarkable for the introduction of a novel process, by which the subject was engraved with a raised 'outline on a thin plate of gold or silver, beaten down so as to leave an edge for the retention of a coat of translucid enamel of various colours. This process, which was carried to the greatest perfection by the Italian goldsmiths, paved the way to superficial .enameHing on copper, which the artists of Limoges, still assiduous in extending the resources of their art, attained in the fifteenth century. Now, for the first time, appeared actual surface enamels, for the most part executed in transparent colours of the utmost bTilliancy, and enriched with small globules, receiving the effect of gems from silver spangles beneath them. The engravings with which Germany at this time inundated Europe, led to the adoption of her designs by foreign artists ; and those of Limoges, in falling into the prevailing taste, have created some doubt as to the true parentage of their productions. The most beautiful enamels of this period have been assigned to Monvearni, who, according to M. Labarthe, usually enclosed his works in a border of copper-gilt, enriched with pateras. We now arrive at a period when, under the auspices of Francis I., Limoges rivalled in a new phase of enamelling the wonders of her earlier skill. Leonard Limousin, and his brother artists, were the first to employ beneath their paintings a base-work of opaque enamel, occasionally retaining the brilliant colour of their predecessors, but more often employing grisaille on dark fields, the most artistic vehicle for designs in the Italian taste which was then predominant. Up to the end of the sixteenth century many artists distinguished themselves in this enamel painting, and particularly members of the families of Rexmon, Penicault, and Courteys. Contemporary with these was Jean Court dit Vigier, who has been, from the rarity of his works, and the singular fact that they never bear any date but that of 1556, confounded with Jean' Courteys. From the commencement of the seventeenth century we may date the decadence of Limoges enamel. Few artists of any merit, if we may except Noel Laudin and Pierre Nouaillher, were then existing; and step by step, as the invention of Jean Toutin, in 1630, of painting solidly in enamel upon gold, became improved and extended, the art, in the applications of it which we have described, gave way to the taste for miniature painting, and resulted in the marvels of Petitot and Bordier. In addition to the enamels above mentioned, in which the metal ground forms a subordinate feature, we must notice the use of enamel as an accessory to goldsmiths' work. The enamellers of Limoges had probably, from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries, the monopoly of what may be called enamels proper ; but the goldsmiths of other cities of France, Italy, and Germany, employed enamel decorations. In Tuscany enamel was employed at an early date as an enrichment to other arts; for, in 1286, John of Pisa sculptured a group for the high altar at Arezzo, which he ornamented with enamels on silver. His pupils, Agostino and Agnolo, and their pupils, Pietro and Paolo, carried on works of a similar nature. Among the enamelling goldsmiths of Italy, in the fourteenth century, may be mentioned Ugolino Veri and Andrea Petrucci, both of Sienna, and Forzore di Spinello, of Arezzo. In the following centuries appeared Antonio del Pollaiualo, Michelagnolo da Pinzidimonte, Salvadore Pilli, Caradosso, and Amerigo Amerighi, who are all mentioned favourably by Cellini in his Autobiography. Cellini himself employed enamel to heighten the beauty of his works in gold and silver. The art of enamelling was likewise pradised with great success by the German gold- 8 Choice Examples smiths, especially those of Nurembiirg and Augsburg. Among the most distinguished were Beit Hirschvogcl, his brother Augustin, and Wenzcl Jamnitzer. This last, under the patronage of Charles V. and the three succeeding Emperors, was encouraged to produce the wonders of his skill which are now preserved in the Grune Gewolhe at Dresden. Many beautiful designs by Holbein, for enamelled goldsmiths' work, are preserved in the British Museum, from which we may gather that the goldsmiths of this country were not unacquainted with the art of enamelling. -000- Jncru^teli^ A Crozier, found by the Marquis d'Aliancourt in the Tomb of Barthelemy de Vir, Bishop of Laon, Who died in Il8l, and was interred in the Abbey of Foigny. With the effigy of the Bishop on the exterior of his tomb was sculptured a fac-simile of this Crozier, from the staff of which an accurate copy has been made and substituted for the original, which was in a state of decay, xii. cent. H. Magniac, Esq. 000 Cran^Iuritr on a^eltef* A Cup belonging to the Corporation of Lynn^ and usually denominated " King John's Cup." It is of silver, partially gilt, and decorated with figures apparently engaged in hawking, accompanied by symbols of the chase on an enamelled field. From inscriptions beneath the foot, it would appear that this Cup has been re-enamelled four times within the comparatively short term of ninety years ; a statement which, in itself hardly credible, is strongly opposed by the appearance of the enamel, which it would be difficult to believe not coeval with the entire work. An attempt may be made towards reconciling these conflicting testimonies, by supposing that the enamel was originally covered with a varnish (which was frequently used in the Middle Ages to preserve enamel), and that the restorations made in the 17th and i8th centuries only extended to the renewing of this varnish, ignorantly regarded as part of the enamel. The tradition is, that this cup was presented to the Corporation of Lynn by King John at the time of his memorable visit to that town ; but all archaeologists agree that this is untenable. The costume of the figures, and many of the ornamental enrichments, are evidently of a much later period. It has been suggested that King John of France may have been the donor ; but he was a prisoner in the Savoy all the time he was in England, and there is no record of his ever having visited Lynn, and therefore no probability in the supposition. It will reconcile all difficulties, if we can find any evidence to prove that our King John made the Corporation of Lynn any gift of money at the time of his visit, and that the Corporation, in after years, purchased with it this beautiful cup. In the records of the Lynn Corporation appear the following entries: " 1548, Feast of St. Bartholomew, Plate delivered to y^ Mayor a cup called King John's Cup, with a Cover, enamelled." " ^S9S> May 7, King John's Cup and a Plate of y® Towns to be sent to London, that y*^ L^ Treasurer may see it." xiv. cent. The Corporation of Lynn. of Art-Workmanship . A Silver-Gilt Cup and Cover, Decorated wkh fret-work, in the intervals of whi<-h are repeated female busts and flasks. The feet are in the form of flasks, and the popular legend of an unicorn yielding its horn to a maiden surmounts the cover. This elaborate work is ornamented with enamelled coats of arms, and the following lines on blue enamel: ^' To elect the master of the mer eerie hither am I sent. And by Sir Thomas Leigh for the same intent.'''' The entire work, with the exception of the inscriptions, seems to be of the beginning of the XVI. CENT. , The Mercers' Company. An Ewer of Sardonyx, mounted in Gold, and enriched with Precious Stones. It is evidently of Italian work. This magnificent object formed a part of the crown jewels of France before the first Revolution, and was fully described in the inventory made by decree of the National Assembly in 1791, No. 410. Early xvi. cent. Viscountess Beresford. A Gold Pendant, Attributed to Cellini, and composed of figures, dogs, masks, strap-work, &c., enclosing a jewel surmounted by a stag's head, and having depending from it a large pearl. The reverse is enriched with brilliant arabesques, incrusted in gold. H. Farrer, Esq. An Order of St. George. xvii. CENT. E. Hawkins, Esq. ■000- FicTiLE Wares. A Vase, the body of which is formed of a female head. Found at Naples in 1835, ^^^ purchased there by the present possessor. Sir John Boileau, Bart. 000 fitaliait iMajoIira. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, under the auspices of Sforza, lord of Pesaro, Italy first produced enamelled earthenware vessels. They were first manufactured in imitation of those previously supplied from Majorca by the Spaniards, who, on recover- ing that island in 1230 from the Moors, became possessed of a knowledge of this branch of fictile art. Italy bestowed upon its own enamelled earthenware vessels the term Majolica (corrupted from Majorca), by which their Spanish prototypes had been previously lo Choice Exa??tples designated ; and this is indeed a more appropriate term than Faenza and RafFaelle ware, since these names can only properly refer to the works of a particular town and the designs of a particular artist. The earliest Italian examples with which we are acquainted were made at Pcsaro in 1480. They principally consist of large dishes, clumsily formed, and enamelled only on one side, but remarkable for their lustrous tints of gold and ruby, which were carried to perfection by Giorgio Andreoli, who worked at Gubbio from 1485 until 1537, and after his elevation to the rank of patrician signed his productions M°. G". (Maestro Giorgio). In 1 486 certain privileges were granted to the potters of Pesaro, though an equal reputation was enjoyed by those of Gubbio, Castel-Durante, and Urbino. At the last-named place the lustrous tints already alluded to were employed by Fran- cisco Xanto da Rovigo or Rovigdesc until about 1538, when Guidobaldo II. succeeded to the Duchy of Urbino, and by fostering the potter's art gave a higher ambition to its professors. The brilliant tints and prismatic glaze, relics of Moorish taste, which had hitherto been the prevailing features of this ware, were now neglected in favour of artistic composition, in aid of which this prince collected original drawings by RafFaelle Sanzio and his pupils, and engravings by Marc Antonio, besides employing Battisto Franco and RafFaelle dal Colle to furnish designs for the manufacture, which, under his magnificent patronage, achieved its greatest glories, and added to its resources the process of gilding on pottery. From the death of Guidobaldo in 1574, the perfection of this ware declined, though it had survived the deaths of Orazzio Fontana and Taddeo Zuccaro, and the defection of RafFaelle dal Colle, three of its principal artists. It sunk into utter insignificance in the following century, which furnished only one artist, Alfonso Patanizzi, whose name is worthy of mention. Tuscany does not appear ever to have been distinguished in this branch of art, not- withstanding that Flaminio Fontana, brother of Orazzio, was summoned to Florence by the Grand Duke. Naples, in adopting it towards the end of the i6th century, though she executed some highly-finished works, never excelled in it ; and Venice only made dishes which, though in many respects contemptible, are remarkable for their extreme lightness and peculiar sound on being struck, qualities which have caused them to be mistaken for thin sheets of metal embossed and enamelled. An Ewer^ rudely painted with flowers. XVII. CENT. A. Barker^ Esq. A Saltcellar, supported by three winged monsters. End of XVI. CENT. J. Swaby, Esq. -000- Imrp W. (of Jfrance) WBmu The singular fact that we are alike ignorant of the name of the artist who originated this branch of Fictile Art, and of the locality in which it was made, renders it compulsory to adopt the unsatisfactory term applied by the French to a ware which, though perfected in the reign of Henry II., first made its appearance under Francis I. Labarthe, in establishing it as a production of France, avoids allusion to the evidences of Italian taste and invention which characterise all examples, and which suggest that it may have been fashioned by some Italian artist. The distinguishing features of this pottery are very marked. Its paste is a veritable pipe-clay, fine, and so white as to require no superficial enamelling j its glaze is trans- of Art-Workmanship. 1 1 parent and slightly tinged with yellow ; and its decorations in relief blend with moresque designs in colour, which were probably printed, though supposed by some to have been \ incrusted in an incised field. That the manufacture of this elegant ware ceased about the end of the reign of Henry II. may be inferred from the small number of examples that are known (not exceeding forty), and that the devices they bear are restricted to the Salamander of Francis I., the united monogram of Henry II. and Diana of Poictiers, and the three crescents of the latter. A Candlestick of elaborate Italian design. Ornamented in high relief with masks, garlands, and three figures supporting escutcheons on which occur the arms of France, the interlaced monogram of Henry II. of France and Diana of Poictiers, and a coat which has not been identified. The surface decorations are of moresque design, in which the letter H frequently occurs, xvi. cent. Sir Anthony Rothschild, Bart. ■000- ^alie^dp OTare. This ware takes its name from Bernard of Palissy, a native of Chapelle-Biron in France, who, on seeing an enamelled earthenware vessel, turned from his profession as a surveyor and glass-painter to prosecute the pursuit of a white enamel with which to cover pottery; and though he never attained his aim, he succeeded, after fifteen years of intense labour and constant sacrifice, in discovering a kind of enamel in imitation of jasper, which he eventually adapted to earthenware objects in relief. Improving afterwards on this, he produced what he denominates rustic pieces, which consist of vessels having upon them reptiles, fish, insects, plants, and fossil shells in relief, and in their natural colours. There exist also by the same artist arabesque ornaments in relief, and of varied colours, and others that are perforated ; some of the former made after the designs of Francois Briot. ' He likewise executed figures and statuettes, some of them for garden decoration. He secured the patronage and favour of the French court, but was not saved from paying the penalty of his Huguenot principles in prison, where he is supposed to have died in 1589. His art was continued by Nicolas and Mathurin Palissy. It has been pretended that certain embossed and enamelled earthenwares assigned to Nuremberg were suggested by the operations of Palissy ; but it must be remembered that they may have been derived from the embossed stone-ware of Germany, if not at an earlier period from the productions of the Delia Robbias. A Vase-like Ornament, With festoons of fruit and flowers in relief. Sir Anthony Rothschild, Bart. Large Vase, Enriched with Cupids holding festoons of flowers and masks. H. T. Hope, Esq. -000- This class of stone-ware is remarkable as the first step towards the fabrication of European Porcelain, and derives its name from its inventor, who, in 1704, produced brown or red 1 2 Choice Exa^nples vessels devoid of glaze, and polished by the lathe ; and four years afterwards discovered the means of applying to them a black or brown varnish, enriched with painting and gilding, not fixed with fire. An Ewer, Of classical form, ornamented with arms and roses. Beginning of the xviii. cent. F. Slade, Esq. An Ewer, of Nevers Ware, Rudely ornamented on a blue ground, xvii. cent. F. Slade y Esq. ■000- Glass. A Greek Glass Vase, Of similar execution to the celebrated Portland Vase. Portions of it are preserved in the British Museum and the Museum at Naples, and a portion is in the possession of Mrs. T. Richardson Auldjo. This beautiful vase was found broken at Pompeii, in 1833, in the celebrated house of the Faun. 000 A Glass Cup of the Lower Empire, Having represented on its exterior, in high relief and in places undercut, a Bacchanalian subject ; in one portion of which a figure of a panther, broken, shews that, unlike the rest of the work, it was made hollow, and attached. This cup, which appears of an olive-green colour, assumes on being placed against the light that of a bright ruby, in one instance varied with amethyst. Baron Lionel de Rothschild, M.P. ■000- Wtwtimu It is to the participation of Venice in the taking of Constantinople by the Italians, a.d. 1204, that she owes, in all probability, the introduction of her manufacture of ornamental glass, which may have received a fresh impetus from the immigration of Greek artists into Italy in 1453, on the downfall of the empire of the East. Not long subsequently to the latter period Venice became celebrated for glass bowls, salvers, and bottles, painted with arms and devices in enamel ; also for glasses of a jasper- like appearance, afterwards known as schmelze j and vessels with threads of colour exte- riorly posed. These were the immediate results of the lessons of Byzantium ; but the Venetians were not content to remain the mere copyists of their contemporaries. They therefore soon began to revive processes which had been neglected since the Roman times, and of Art- Workmanship . 1 3 which consisted of imbedding glass mosaics in crystal, previously prepared, and of enclosing coloured glass reeds and threads in crystal. The next step of the Venetians was invention. We find original processes in their frosted crystal of the i6th century, and in their embossed crystal, the subjects upon which were blown hollow from within, and also in their insertion into crystal of exquisitely minute particles of gold, strewn together in regular patterns. This application of gold to glass differed entirely from that practised by the classical ancients, and was evidently unknown to Eraclius and Theophilus. Hitherto processes alone have been pointed out ; it remains to draw attention to the forms of the Venetian glasses of the i6th and 17th centuries. These are very diversified, and present either classic types or original designs ; among which latter may be noticed the grotesque vessels used, according to Fioravanti, in alchemical operations. These occasionally assume the forms of the Zodiacal signs. A tall Drinking Vessel, The stem of which is twisted. G. S. Nicholsoriy Esq. A tall Opal Goblet, The stem of which is crested with white, and the bowl veined with blue. The Duke of Buccleuch. A tall Drinking Vessel, The stem of which is twisted and enriched with blue in relief, and which has internally spiral threads of blue and white. G. S. Nicholsoriy Esq. An elevated Tazza, The bowl of which is frosted. F. Slade, Esq. A Venetian Ewer, Ornamented with white lace-work, and embossed with an arabesque pattern. A Topaz Goblet, fluted. H. Turner, Esq. G, S. Nicholson, Esq. A Tazza, The stem of which is enriched with blue in relief. F. Slade, Esq.^ A two-handled Vase, with Cover. It is ornamented in white, with a series of undulating patterns. G. S. Nicholson, Esq. A two-handled Vase, with Cover and Stand, of Crystal, Delicately enriched with white lace-work, in the intersections of which are introduced air- bubbles. The whole is surmounted by a flower, the colours of which are white and blue. F. Slade, Esq. ' A tall Tazza, The rim of which is undulated. F. Slade, Esq. i^ Choice Examples. A Cruet, Decorated with undulating bands of white, and with two bands of pale blue in relief. Mrs. H. Farrer. A Tazza, The stem of which is enriched with blue in relief F . Slade, Esq. An Ewer. G. S. Nicholson, Esq. •000' (grrman, $a. The earliest ornamental glass vessels which can with certainty be ascribed to Germany are painted in enamel, and none are known of a date prior to 1553 ; it may therefore be inferred that the suggestion of them is due to Venice. It is indeed probable that Germany was indebt'xl to the same source for most of the processes employed in her manufacture of glass at this period. In neglecting some of these, however, she gave to others an extension which had been unattained in Venice, especially favouring enamel-painting and schmelze, and practising the ancient art of tracing subjects on gold-leaf, and afterw^ards enclosing them between layers of transparent glass. In the 17th century she eiFected processes unknown to her contemporaries. It was in 1609 that Caspar Lehmann revived the lost art of engraving glass by the lathe. He worked at Prague, the capital of Bohemia, under the protection of the Emperor Rudolph II. Half a century later Henry Schwanhardj a pupil of Lehmann, who lived and worked at Nuremberg, discovered a peculiar mode of etching on glass, which secret he carried with him to the grave ; and shortly after Kunckel, who subsequently directed the glass manufactories at Potsdam, under the liberal patronage of the Elector of Brandenburgh, produced for the first time a perfect ruby colour in glass. ADDENDA. A Statuette of the Virgin and Child. Silver-gilt. xv. cent. J. W. Pugiriy Esq. A Silver-Gilt Cup, Having the following inscription on the bowl, ** Sayn denes y* es me dere for hes lof drenk ank mak gud cher," and that on the stem, '* God help at ned." On the stem also occur the letters " V. M." — in all probability for Valence Marie Col- lege, Cambridge, subsequently called Pembroke College, founded, in memory of her husband and herself, by Mary de St. Pol, widow of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. The letter M is repeated within the cup. xiv. cent. Pembroke College, Cambridge. A Morocco Book-Cover, Having sunk panels, in which are embossed arabesques on a gold ground, xvi. cent. The design from this book has been used on the binding of the smaller edition of the present work. S. Rdmy»Esq. Printed by Robsottj Lcvey^ and Franklyn, Great Nezv Street. Qr?. -■ 3 yo r- r? w W,^' illM n s l^W /v^ywv 'Wl»l vW»^ ,^.^X-V: Pl*^,'^, '-?-'^WWy^k^?^ I->I iW^VWv^ ^.^^VWi^ ^^.vy^y'VW' .^v:^^^ ,VW^ r w 'W.-^ •, ' I ,>;^w^,.. ^IL ■Qwy^Ofj^i^^i^^*! 'Li T Wy^^^i ^yi WWv, 'in oy^y^iy^r yy^. 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