Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/illustratedcatal00unse_3 LONDON: VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD. PRINTED LONDON : VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD. Pa^e THE EXHIBITION BUILDING.v THE STREET OF NATIONS.xi Exhibitors. Articles contributed. Page Adams & Co., Nottingham Lace . • 93 . n 9 Albinet, Paris. Bronze • 95 . 157 Allan, Benjamin J., and Son, London Wall Papers 120, 187 Bach, Madrid ...... Fans . . 201 Bagues, Eugene, Paris Bronze, &c. 109, 148, 156 Barbedienne, Paris .... Bronze, &-'c. • 153 . Hi Barbour and Miller, Glasgow . Curtains • • 158 Barlow and Jones, Bolton . Quilts • 151 Barwell, Son, and Fisher, Birmingham Lamps . 86 Bauer, Gilbert L., London . Pedal Harmonium . 182 Beauvais. ( Tapestry 65, 69, 75,80,83, t 89, 92, 194 Blanqui, Marseilles .... Furniture . • 133 . 149 Blot and Drouard, Paris . Bronze • 135 Bollarth, Franz, Vienna Lace . • 145 . 1 74 Boucheron, Paris. Jeavellery . • 17 Boyer and Sons, Paris Bronze . in Brinton & Co., Kidderminster Carpets 15, 196 Brovin Brothers, Edinburgh Brown-Westhead, Moore &c Co, Furniture . . 108 Stafford ...... Porcelain . 45 - 5 1 Brownhills Pottery Co., Tunstall Earthenware . . 78 Camm Brothers, Birmingham Stained Glass . . 116 Castellani, Rome . . . . Jewellery . . 166 Challen and Son, London . Pianos • i 34 Christesen, Copenhagen Jewellery , &-'c. 32, 48 Christoele. f Furniture Decorations 137, (. 149 Collinson and Lock, London Furniture . . 202 Constable, W. H., Cambridge Stained Glass . 16 Cooper, Henry and John, London Furniture . . 46 Copeland, London . . . . Porcelain 12,38 Craven, Dunnill & Co., Ironbridge Encaustic Tiles • 147 . 20 7 Daniell, Percival, London Porcelain . . 24 Diehl, Paris. Furniture . • 79 Dor£, Gustave . Sculpture . . 141 Doulton & Co., London Earthenware 10, 188 Ducel, Paris. Lamps . 52 Durenne, Paris. Cast Lron . . 173, 204 Ebbutt, A. C., Croydon Furniture . . 42 Ecole des Dentelles de Burano Lace . . . 100 Exhibitors. Articles contributed. Page Elkington & Co., London [ Silver, Sfc. 3, 20, i 107, 49. 81, 114, 150 Engelmann-Gruel, Paris Bookbinding . 89 Falizf. and Sons, Paris ... Carvings in Wood . 112 Farina, A., and Son, Faenza Earthenware • l6S Fitzaine, Paris. Silver, &c. . . 41 Flachat et Cochet, Lyons . Furniture . 127, I36 Fouracre and Watson, Plymouth Stained Glass • 23 Fourdinois, Paris. Furniture . 96, IOI, no Froment Meurice, Paris Jewellery . 99, 140 Frullini. Carved Furniture • 113 Gajani, Egtsto, Florence Carved Furniture 97 , no Gardner, London ..... Lamps . 60 Gatti, Giovanni, Florence . Furniture . . 160 Gillow & Co., London .... Furniture . 18, 164 Ginori-Lisci, Florence .... Earthenware . 167 Gobelins. Tapestry • 94 Graux, Jules, Paris .... Bronze 62 Green and Nephew, London Glass . . 161 Green, Charles, Sheffield . Furniture . . 146 Gueret, Paiis. Carved Furniture 154 , 194 Hall, Thomas, Edinburgh . Furniture . . 61 Hardman & Co., Birmingham Church Furniture . 181 Hare, John, & Co., Bristol . Floor-cloth . • 44 Harry, W. D., & Co., London Kamptulicon • 185 Hart, Son, Peard & Co., London Eccles. Metal-work 85, ns Hems, Harry', Exeter .... Carved Wood • 13 Henderson & Co., Durham . Carpets 53, 184 Hillier, James, London Hodgetts, Richardson & Co., Stour¬ Organ • 155 bridge . Glass . 90, 122 Holme, George, Bradford Engraved Brass . • 159 Hottot, Paris. Bronze 26 Houdebine, Paris. Bronze . . -37 C Porcelain Painting's, &C. 20, Howell and James, London i 106,183 Ipsen, Madame P., Copenhagen Terra-cotta . 28 Jackson and Graham, London . Furniture . 4 Jacoby, London. Carved Furniture 27, 199 Jeffrey & Co., London Wall Papers 3°, 88 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Exhibitors. Articles contributed. Page Jenkinson & Co., Edinburgh . . Glass . . . - IS 1 Johnstone, Jeanes & Co., London . Furniture . . 87, 139 JONES, London ..... Boudoir Boxes . . 194 Jones and WlLI.IS, Birmingham . . Church Furniture 58, 76,170 Keler, Alessandro, Rome . . . Bronze . . .166 Lefevre, Paris. Bronze ... 50 Lerolles, Paris. Bronze . . 13 1 LeRov, Paris. Clocks, Sfc. . .125 Lie, T. A., Christiania .... Silver, (pc. . . 133 Linoleum Patent Floor-cloth Com¬ pany, Staines. Linoleum . 157, 163, 168 Lobmeyr, H. J. and L., Vienna . . Glass. . 11,84,102,117 Lucraft, G. S., and Son, London . Furniture . . .118 Mallet, Henry, and Sons, Nottingham Marcotte, L., & Co., New York . Marsh, Jones, and Cribb, Leeds Marshall & Co., Edinburgh Massier, Clement, Cannes . Mathevon and Bouvard, Lyons Ma\v & Co., Broseley 105 144 Lace . Furniture Furniture 73 Jewellery . 63, 102, 186 Vallauris Pottery . 44 Silk .... 6 Encaustic Tiles . 40, 56 Meissner, Paris. Electro-plate 33 Mellerio, Paris. Jewellery . 198, 206 Minton, Stoke-upon-Trent Minton, Hollins & Co., Stoke-upon- ( Porcelain, (pc. 1 2 - 34 . 103, 128 Trent . Porcelain, (pc. 98, 189 Miroy Brothers, Paris and London Bronze 14 Nairn, Michael, & Co., Kirkcaldy Linoleum I 9 S Nelli, Alessandro, Rome . Bronze 166 Odiot, Paris. Gold and Silver 77 ,86 Ogden, Henry, and Son, Manchester . Furniture . 121 O’Hanlon, Manchester .... Quilts 68 Oppenheim, William, London Furniture . 193 Osler, F. and C., Birmingham Glass . 142, 176 Parvis, Joseph, Cairo .... Furniture . 8, 66, 204 Philippe, Emile, Paris .... Gold, (Pc. . 7 1 ! Pinder, Bourne & Co., Burslem . Earthenware J 43 ' Exhibitors. Articles contributed. Page Pitman and Cuthbertson, London Stained Glass . 197 Poussielque-Rusard, Paris . Eccles. Work . 180, 197 Pucci, Carlo, Florence . Furniture . . . 169 Ranvier, Jules, Paris . . . . Bronze . 169 Ridge, Woodcock, & Hardy, Sheffield Electro-plate • 57 Rogers, George Alfred, London Wood Carving 70, 124 Rouvenat & Co., Paris Jewellery 67, 132 Royal Porcelain Works, Worcester . Porcelain • 7 . 47 . 193 Schlossmacher, Paris . . . . Bronze • 37 Servant, Paris. Bronze, (Pc. 64, 74, 102 Sevres : The National Works . Porcelain 177, 200, 212 Shoolbred, James, & Co., London Furniture 39, 82, 104, 162 Simpson, W. B., and Sons, London Tiles . 72, 123 Singer, J. W., Frome .... Eccles. Metal-work, (pc. 9,25 Smee, W. A. and S., London Furniture . . . 187 Southwell, H. and hr., Bridgnorth Carpets . . 190 Steel and Garland, Sheffield Grates, Fenders, (pc. ss, 180 Stiff and Sons, London Earthe 7 iware . 191 Stoddard, A. F., & Co., Paisley . Carpets 163, 168, 205 Taplin & Co., London . . . . Carpets . . 76 Tiffany & Co., New York Silver, (Pc. • 130 Tomicinson and Adam, Kidderminster Carpets 21,35 ( Cocoa-nut Fibre, 1 reloar, London ..... { Kamptulicon 68, 208 Trollope, George, and Sons, London ( Carved Furniture, (Pc. 129, 209 Turpin, T., London .... Parquetage 22 Valerio, Joseph, Milan Lace . • 179 Venice and Murano Company . Glass 36, 126, 192 Villeroi and Boch, Paris Porcelain . . , 209 Waagnf.r, Vienna. Bronze, Src. • 144. ^ Walker, William, London . Furniture . 91 Walton, Frederick, Staines Linoleujn . 157, 175 Watcombe Terra-Cotta Co. Terra-Cotta * • ."> Webb, Thomas, and Sons, Stourbridge Glass . • 1.19,172 Wedgwood and Son, Etruria Porcelain . 54,210 Whitburn and Young, Milford . Xylography • 203 Willis & Co., Kidderminster Carpets • '59 Winfield, R. W., & Co., Birmingham . Brasswork, (Pc • 138,211 Woollams, William, & Co. Wall Papers . . 178 THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. F the many millions who visited the Exhibition j of 1878, none failed to be struck by its gigantic ! size, its endless variety, its imposing aspect. Few, however, very few, amongst that immense number had any idea of the difficulties that had been overcome in its construction, or, from the treasures it sheltered, turned aside to bestow a thought on the buildings themselves. Nevertheless these were as de¬ serving of admiration as anything they contained, not only from their intrinsic architectural merits, but likewise as tro¬ phies of the advance made by practical science in our day, and the marvellous command obtained over it by mankind, making it subservient to their every want, nay, wish, no matter how ambitious. Had the Exhibition of 1878 been suggested but for this one end alone, it would have answered a pur¬ pose, and marked, as it undoubtedly has done, an era in the history of the world. Those who saw the “Palace” on the Trocadero with its cascade, the glass building on the Champ de Mars rising above its beautiful gardens only when completely finished, can form no idea what the enclosure had been but eighteen months be¬ fore ; and we may venture to assert that at no previous epoch in history could such a transformation have been effected in so brief a period. Although the project had been spoken of for some time previously, the decree which authorised the Exhibi¬ tion of 1878 was only signed in April, 1876 ; the official Commis¬ sion was not appointed until the end of May, the plans and architects not selected until August, and the ground not handed over to them, nor the contracts finally concluded, before Sep¬ tember, when the work was at length commenced which all had undertaken to complete by the 1st of May, 1878. The Trocadero at that time was an uneven hillside, the Champ de Mars an arid desert, both separated by the Seine and its quays, the Pont de Jena being the connecting link. The order given was to join these two pieces of ground without interrupting the public traffic; to build two “palaces,” the one permanent, and therefore solid, on the Trocadero heights, the other of iron and glass on the Champ de Mars, for the usual purposes of an International Exhibition, but of one on an un¬ usual scale, the intention being to gather into this one the produce of modern art and industry; in the other, and for the first time, specimens of ancient work, both as models for im¬ provement and as standards of comparison whereby to judge of progress or amend shortcomings. The ground between was to be enclosed and filled with gardens and water, to serve for many subsidiary as well as ornamental purposes. In other days it would have required a fairy’s wand to carry out such a com¬ mand. In 1876 the schools, colleges, and ateliers of the nine¬ teenth century had produced minds educated to conceive, and which were trained to execute, almost any work that might be demanded. Still, it must be owned that so great were the difficulties, so enormous the expense, that this vast undertaking is said to have been twice on the verge of being abandoned ; and its final success is no doubt mainly due to the indomitable perseverance of M. Krantz, head of the Commission and its pre¬ siding genius, an engineer officer of infinite energy and resource. B VI THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. and who had distinguished himself highly in the defence of his country during the disastrous war of 1870. The space enclosed for these exhibition purposes is stated to have been about one hundred and sixty English acres, twenty of which are on the Trocadero side of the river. Of the one hundred and forty on the left, or the Champ de Mars bank, it was decided to lay out thirty in gardens between the Pont de Jena and the main building, sixty-seven to be covered by the latter, while the remainder was to be divided between the outer avenues surrounding it and those along the quays, to be occu¬ pied by numberless supplementary annexes for agricultural implements and sundry other smaller exhibitions, space for which would not exist within the large edifice itself. The variety, the number of subcommittees, architects, builders, artists, decorators, engineers, mechanics of all sorts, which such a scheme required, is more easily conceived than described; there was room for every kind of talent, every description of invention, but the harmonious manner in which all worked together, and the energetic administration of M. Krantz, which kept everything in its proper place, are just matter for admira¬ tion—in fact, beyond all ordinary praise. Especially given control over the Champ de Mars, M. Krantz at once selected M. Hardy, a distinguished architect, to provide the plan and commence the building on that portion. To level the uneven ground was the first object to be achieved. It had a descent towards the river which it was impossible to fill up ; nor was it more feasible to lower the whole surface: the removal of a mountain were not less formidable than either scheme. But, to meet the difficulty, M. Hardy decided on placing his river front on a terrace along its entire length, advantageous archi¬ tecturally, and eminently imposing ; while, slightly levelling the part under the main building, he purposely left it in a rough con¬ dition—the rubbish and loose earth being preserved for use in case of fire—placing over it the flooring, with a vacant space of ten feet between it and the ground, which space he then utilised as an air-reservoir, laying on twenty pipes of twelve and a half feet in diameter in every direction, worked by four huge ventilators erected in the outer avenues, and which contributed to maintain an even temperature during the whole summer amidst the enormous mass of human beings within the walls, often exceeding 100,000, or the population of many a large city. By this ingenious contrivance the atmosphere was always at a fair medium, the air in the air-reservoir being in the hottest months at 8° (Centigrade) lower than that inside, and the pres¬ sure upwards through the openings in the floor at the average rate of twenty-three and a half inches per second. In this space too were the water-pipes, supplying every corner of the enormous establishment with the utmost abundance of the pre¬ cious element, keeping down the dust, cleansing, cooling, and refreshing galleries, gardens, and human beings, on whatever side or in whatever direction one chanced to turn. Nay, under¬ neath the boards were also hidden away the tiny railroads used for the first time inside an exhibition building, and of which, when it was finally opened, the ordinary visitor had not the slightest conception. In the gardens and avenues they also existed, but as on former occasions. Nor can I easily forget the strange effect when, on returning to the Champ de Mars a week after its formal closing, I heard the whistle of an engine in one ot the most beautiful and retired corners of the gardens, and beheld labourers tearing up the smooth walks and dis¬ closing the rails beneath ; while inside the building the flooring had almost disappeared, and cases were being rolled on hand- cat ts along the rails that had then suddenly come to view. The narrow, oblong shape of the Champ de Mars, and the unexpected demands for space made by foreign countries—far exceeding all anticipation—were other difficulties awaiting the architect. More than once regret has been expressed that the circular form of 1867 was not repeated, as being better adapted for classification and for the labours of the jurors; but even if the idea had been entertained, it had to be instantly rejected, for the ever-increasing demands made its adoption utterly im¬ possible. M. Hardy consequently had no choice bjit to con¬ struct an edifice dictated to him by the circumstances, narrow for its extreme length, and made narrower even than the ground itself by the necessity of having avenues on either side for the steam-engines, railroads, and general system of communication. These seemingly unfavourable circumstances, however, enabled him to give his building a more architectural character than its predecessor of 1867. The form, a huge oblong, he terminated by twin facades, with cupolas at each angle, an additional centre one on the river front further relieving the monotony of a long unbroken line. These cupolas, moreover, rested on four¬ sided fan-shaped gables, giving lightness, height, and yet solidity to the whole structure. The breadth of the building was made to correspond with the front of the Ecole Militaire—three hundred and eighty yards— while from end to end it measured exactly eight hundred yards. The two facades led into two lofty and open galleries extending across its entire width, the one used for trades at work, the other, fronting the Seine, for the national manufactories—Gobe¬ lins and Sevres—on one side, the crown jewels in the centre, the Prince of Wales’s presents and Indian produce on the other. Two long and lower lines connected these two galleries, running the whole length of the building, lighted from the roof, which was covered with sheet iron, and subdivided again into numberless smaller ones for ordinary exhibitors, each side flanked by another one open from end to end, and seventy feet high, exclusively devoted to the machinery in constant motion. The low lines on the right were allotted to foreign sections, of which England claimed the eighth part; while the whole of the left was given up to the French, the main contributors, being upon their own ground. The Fine Arts had also to be accommodated as on no pre¬ vious occasion, and for them M. Hardy constructed two other lines : starting from the inner centre of each terminal gallery, and reaching to about one-third of the entire length, they abutted on secondary but handsome galleries which crossed the building at these points. In the vacant space between the Fine Arts it was originally intended to make a central garden, covered over by a velum, where visitors could rest during - the heat and gather fresh strength amidst their wanderings. But again the demands from without forced a modification of this portion of the plan, for the City of Paris, not being able to obtain the room it wished inside, claimed this ground for its share, offering to raise on it a pavilion at its own expense, and for its own especial exhibition. The utmost skill and talent were necessarily required to pre¬ vent this enormous mass of iron and glass from producing the heavy, monotonous effect of the building in 1867. But since then polychromy, faience, terra-cotta, the decorative arts in general, have made gigantic strides: their resources were now brought into play, and on a scale never before attempted. Nowhere was their aid disdained, but the two principal gal¬ leries were made the chief seats of their display. Externally the iron was everywhere painted blue, lines of red and yellow likewise running throughout the whole edifice ; but the gabled domes, and THE EXHIBITION BUILDING, vn especially the central “ Porte d’honneur,” were incrusted with masses of faience, terra-cotta, and gilding. Spiral staircases led up to a balcony in the centre fronting the Trocadero; life and colour reigned throughout, but so toned down by the intermediate glass that the effect never became either harsh or incongruous. The fa£ade fronting the Seine, being the most conspicuous, was especially chosen for the poetic representation of the underlying motive of the building—the gathering of nations in peaceful progress. Here the architecture had re¬ quired huge iron pillars to support the gigantic front, and these were now each made to represent a nation contributing a column to the common edifice. The idea was carried out by a colossal statue at the base characteristic of a country, surmounted by its shield, and its banner floating above. The conception was fine, the types in the main well rendered, and the statues stood as though guarding the twenty entrances which on each side of the large central one led from the terrace into the building. Internally the galleries were chiefly ornamented in staff—the material which in Paris has superseded stucco and plaster— while the light lines of the roof were full of colour, and the door mouldings ornamented with faience, and even mosaic. But the porches of the Fine Arts section—the “ Loggie ”—were, above all the rest, devoted to the decorative arts. The large blank wall surfaces afforded opportunity for every variety, and enabled connoisseurs to judge of their respective merits. At the northernmost Deck displayed a large mosaic in faience, but, alas ! too crude in colour; on the other hand, Ehrmann’s paint¬ ing, allegorical of the Arts, was in drawing, colour, and concep¬ tion full of poetry and imagination. The opposite “Loggia” showed a door designed by M. Paul Sedille, an architect of A Bird's-eye View. renown, profusely covered with faience and terra-cotta, though, like Deck’s, too harsh in tone, too heavily laden, to be viewed as a work of Art; but close by were a copy of Flandrin’s ‘ Con¬ fessors ’ and a bas-relief of Monk’s, both likewise in faience, the most beautiful and successful specimens of the mural arts which the Exhibition produced. These, then, were the leading features of M. Hardy’s gigantic work, executed within the prescribed eighteen months, and cost¬ ing about 20,000,000 francs, or £ 800,000. In the avenues out¬ side, however, were—besides endless, countless annexes for the produce of mines, for instance, for railroad trains, the wines of France, its telegraphs, lighthouses, and the like—good-sized buildings for the “ administration,” for the post and telegraph offices, with the “Press Pavilion” in immediate proximity to these its chief requirements. Steam-engines had also to be housed outside the building, four on the foreign section side, five on the French, of which the huge chimneys could not be hid, always in use for the machinery in the long side galleries, and the tubes of which ran underneath in all directions. Moreover, besides M. Hardy’s work, the Champ de Mars contained contributions from various other architects. The “ Pavilion de la Ville de Paris,” in its very centre, built by M. Bouvard, also claimed as its main decorator no less a per¬ sonage than M. Viollet-le-Duc himself. The building, of iron, and destined to be removed elsewhere, was considered a very model in its way; but, not content with simplicity ybtir et simple, the city determined to place it in full harmony with all its artistic surroundings. Hence the ornamentation, the dia¬ grams for friezes and flowers, were prepared with elaborate care by the first French architect of the day, which gave to THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. this separate exhibition an originality and interest far exceeding any which had been at first contemplated. Nor is it possible to forget the most distinctive characteristic of the Exhibition of 1878, the “Street of Nations,” considered by many as its most successful portion, and the merit of which belongs to M. Berger, “ Director of the Foreign Sections.” Though timidly suggested by him at first, the idea met with a ready response from all parts, and the consent of the different countries being obtained, the execution of the project lost all its difficulty. Every foreign Commission undertook to erect at its own expense and choice some specimen of its national archi¬ tecture, and no one who saw it can easily forget the varied, picturesque coup d'ceil which the long avenue between the Fine Arts and the Foreign sections presented, when the plan was fully carried out. England, being the largest foreign contributor, as a matter of right also claimed the largest share of ground, and speedily erected thereon several specimens of private habitations for present-day use of the Elizabethan and Queen Anne periods. The so-called “ Prince of Wales’s Pavilion” naturally attracted most attention, but the cottage built by Cubitt for Mr. Red¬ grave was looked upon by all foreigners, and described at length by them, as the type of that ideal “ home ” unknown out of England. Its comfort, perfect taste, above all, its snugness, were to them a never-ceasing theme of admiration : forgetting, however, with strange perverseness, the little sunshine we pos¬ sess, and how eagerly we consequently long for light, the large bay window was to them inexplicable in a land subject, as they believe, only to wind and rainy weather. Moreover, despite the admiration for English “home life” common to all foreigners, their innate architectural sense was somewhat shocked by the absence of any more stately buildings, such as they are accus¬ tomed to see in every corner of the continent. This deficiency was supplied by Belgium, whose Hotel de Ville not only told of her ancient days of glory and of present true artistic feeling, but served at the same time as an exhibition of all the marble and stone quarries for which that little country is now becoming celebrated. Next to Belgium, Russia constructed the most original building, one of olden style, truly national, and conse¬ quently most in accordance with that spirit which is there so rapidly reviving. It was said to be a copy of the palace at Kazan where Peter the Great was born, enriched, however, with balconies, staircases, and gables, coloured and painted as many old Russian dwellings no doubt are, but as his birthplace cer¬ tainly was not. Farther on, Portugal, having nothing new worth showing, with the utmost wisdom presented us with a fac-simile of the exquisite doorway to the cloisters of her famous Monastery of Belem. Switzerland, too, was true to her type ; but it would require a volume to describe each properly, and there is much else to see even before we reach the Trocadero. \V hile all this marvellous collection of buildings has been rising on the Champ de Mars, what a change has also taken place outside ! Ihe gardens have been made and studded with restaurants and minor erections, while the quays have been enclosed on both sides of the river. The difficulty of performing this feat without interrupting the traffic was surmounted by sinking the two roads—that on the left bank nearly sixty-six feet in one part, that on the right sixteen feet—and bridging them over at some spots for communication between the quays and gardens. The Pont de Jena also has been widened in view of the enormous crowds expected, large additional planking being laid upon it, supported by iron girders underneath. But before us, as we cross it, stands the Palace of the Tro¬ cadero, its cascade issuing from beneath, and its jets d'eau rising: and falling as the mass of water rolls down the hill, their spray showing iridescent in the sunshine around. Whatever may be the difference of opinion as to its architectural beauty, the mere fact of its creation under the circumstances is a-wonder¬ ful triumph of Art and energy. On the 15th of May, 1876, five- and-twenty days after the plan of this building was opened to international competition, and before any committee was officially appointed, no less than ninety-four designs were sgnt in from every part of Europe. Soon they were relegated to a sub¬ committee for inspection, and later MM. Lefuel and Viollet-le- Duc—members of the Chief Commission—were requested to make a final selection, when their choice alighted on that pre¬ sented by MM. Davioud and Bourdais. The style adopted has been vehemently criticized, and it is so new, or rather mixed, that it defies classification. The archi¬ tects themselves and their patron, M. Viollet-le-Duc, base its chief merits on the requirements of the edifice and the nature of the position. The primary objects they were ordered to achieve were a large circular concert-room, with lateral galleries for the Art collections to be gathered from all parts. They have also been blamed for occupying the entire height; but this was done designedly, to form a kind of closing curtain, and to disconnect the Exhibition from the outer world beyond. In all these aims they have eminently succeeded, and if truth and adaptation be leading essentials in architecture, time will silence criticism and ratify the favourable judgment of their friends. The concert-room naturally forms the central point of the building, its circular shape being perhaps somewhat too visible on the side towards the gardens, where it is surrounded by two stories of open galleries looking forth on the magnificent view. Larger than the Albert Hall, being two hundred feet in diameter, it accommodates an audience of four thousand five hundred persons, and is so carefully ventilated—the fresh air entering from the top, the bad driven out by its pressure through open¬ ings below—that on its hottest days and at its most crowded moments the atmosphere is always pure and clear. Here, too, “staff” and painting have been largely used in the decoration by some of the best Parisian artists. Under the same roof are several rooms for smaller (chamber) concerts, conferences, and the like; while the entrances from the “ Place du Trocadero” are through pillared vestibules below. This large building, of which the dome is twenty-three feet higher than that of St. Peter, is flanked by two towers one hundred and eighty feet in height, with belvederes on top, reached by large lifts, or ascenseurs, and forming the highest point of this part of Paris, forty-five feet higher than the tower of Notre-Dame. On either side stretch away the Art galleries and their open colonnades, two hundred yards in length, forming a hemicycle in a graceful bend. In this compass we have a little of every style. The masonry consists of alternate layers of yellow stone and the rose-coloured marble of Sampsano in the Jura, a system so common in the old province of Auvergne that the French have christened it “ Auvergnois.” The towers have a remi¬ niscence of the famed Giralda and of the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence ; the ornamentation, of which there is much, is Persian, Moorish, and Byzantine; the long colonnades are pure Greek, and the most appropriate portion of the whole; while the cascade recalls St. Cloud and the days of Louis XV. Seen from many points of Paris—for instance, from the Pont de la Concorde—its high towers, with their gilded tops, and the Greek colonnades, form a beautiful picture. On the other hand, the entrance faijade on the Place du Trocadero is far from attrac- THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. IX tive, cut up in straight lines, and telling no history, not even its own destination, making us all the more indulgent to the somewhat excessive rotundity of its other side. If we enter, however, from this quarter, instead of coming up from the Bridge of Jena, the glorious prospect which bursts upon our view as we saunter round the galleries makes us forgetful of all but admi¬ ration at the skilful manner in which the architects have fulfilled their task, and turned all the advantages of the position to the utmost account. Before us spreads one of the most beautiful panoramas existing, both for its intrinsic beauty and the crowd of associations it recalls. Beginning on our left rises the dome of the new church of St. Augustine, then the height of Mont¬ martre, the new Opera House, the two end wings of the Tuile- ries, with their burnt ruins between, overtopped by the heights of Communist Belleville ; next follow the tower of old St. Jacques, the spires of Louis Philippe’s Ste. Clotilde, Notre-Dame, and the Sainte Chapelle, telling of St. Louis and the Crusades, St. Sul- pice, the Pantheon, the gilt dome of the Invalides, that of Louis XIV.’s Val de Grice, the wooded hills of Meudon, Sevres, St. Cloud, with their sad memories of the siege and Commune; while right in front, on the Champ de Mars, stands M. Hardy’s gigantic edifice, its long lines visible from these points, and up to our very feet the fountains rise and fall, set in the framework of the verdant gardens, the Seine winding on between its banks of trees right from the centre of the old capital of France. For centuries past this site has been a favourite. As the village of Chaillot, we find it mentioned in the eleventh century. The district itself was first called Nimio, and was given by Clotaire II. to the Church of Paris. Later we find it divided into two, of which one village bore the name of Chail—meaning in Celtic the “ destruction of trees ”—the other Auteuil, as it exists in the present day. Constantly it seems to have been bestowed The Trocadero. on favourites by their kings. Louis XI., for instance, gave it to his historian, Philippe de Commines; and Bassompierre, Henri IV.’s friend and companion, possessed it for some time, building a handsome chateau, of which engravings still remain. Meantime Catherine de Medicis had obtained it for a short period ; but it became chiefly known when Henrietta, widow of Charles I., purchased it on her return from England, and there established a convent of “ Les Dames de la Visitation.” Here she insisted on being buried, and in its church, at her funeral, Bossuet pronounced that oration which founded his reputation for this branch of oratory. Strange to say, the “ improvements ” of 1867, by which it was intended to clear the ground, caused one of the greatest obstacles to the architects of 1878. Quarries, no doubt, were always known to have existed in this region, and although the ground under the left colonnade was found to be firm and untouched, that under the central building was, without surprise, discovered to be a mass of “ galleries,” which had to be filled up or strongly arched ; but the right wing was to stand over a portion of which, at first, the difficulties seemed almost insurmountable. Had it been merely excavated like an ordinary quarry, it could easily have been remedied, but the ancient “galleries” had in many places been filled up with loose rubbish, in others mined and undermined, during the works of 1869, in a way apparently well- nigh irremediable. The foundations, therefore, of this “ People’s Palace” have been the greatest achievements of its builders, one on which, and very justly, they most highly pride themselves ; and the substructions, unseen by the public eye, are considered models of such masonry. c X THE EXHIBITION BUILDING. Besides the decorative arts, which have been profusely used in every portion of the structure—polychromy, ceramics, mural painting, sculpture, and stained glass—as in the Champ de Mars, its mechanical works are also on a gigantic scale. Four huge hydraulic machines, of 400-horse power, placed on the Quai de Billy, force a perfect river of water up to the summit ! of the Trocadero, where it first enters reservoirs outside. Thence, passing through the basin of the fountain in the square, it rushes in a large volume underneath the building down the cascade, a fall of twenty-nine feet, supplies the aquarium, and, carried across the Seine by pipes, fills the miniature lakes in the garden, and the whole establishment of the Champ de Mars. Nay, more, the lifts in the two towers are worked by this same water ; the jet d'eau is thrown up to a height of sixty-two feet, and the gardens watered with an abundance which preserves their freshness in a manner astounding to all beholders. One account states that eighteen miles of cast-iron and five of leaden pipes were employed for these purposes, and there seems nothing incredible in the report. Before commencing the works on this side of the Seine, the Commissioners were relieved from much anxiety by the City of Paris agreeing, at the end of the Exhibition, to purchase it from them at a certain valuation. The sum originally contemplated was 9,000,000 francs, or £306,000. The state of the quarries, however, is said to have much increased the cost originally estimated. The grounds, too, are covered with erections not intended to be permanent, but many of great beauty, such as the Algerian, built by the colony at a cost of ,£20,000. These, however, are not, as a matter of course, included in the regular Exhibition expenses, which amount to a total of 46,000,000 francs, or £'1,840,000. The details of this large sum have not yet been officially published, but one account has supplied the following items, which, if not strictly accurate, are at least approximately so :— The construction of the cascade . . .£40,000 Canalisation of the water supply . . . 80*000 Hydraulic machines ...... 60,000 Cast metal statues round waterfall . . . 2,500 Candelabra in the Exhibition .... 1,800 Laying on and supplying gas .... 8,800 Wooden paling round enclosure . . . 4,400 Locksmiths’ work ...... 3,000 External painting on the facade of the Trocadero 3,200 Flooring of the machinery galleries . . . 6,000 Widening of the Pont de Jena, more than . 40,000 But, however great has been the cost, the French are both able and willing to bear it. While in 1867 but 42,337 exhibitors came forward, upwards of 52,000 now responded to the call, though Europe was agitated by the war in the East, and Turkey, for that reason, could take no part in this great gathering. The moral effect, moreover, has been incalculable, for it has proved that a strong nation still survives, and that where will and energy are present, almost any feat in Art and industry can nowadays be accomplished. O NE of the most characteristic features of the vast and marvellous Exhibition which attracted the world to the Champ de Mars and the Trocadero, from May to No¬ vember in the year 1878, was undoubtedly the collection of examples of the architec¬ ture of the civilised world. This interesting feature was first introduced in the fare of the Exhibition of 1867, and all who visited that will remember the Turkish mosque, the beautiful miniature palace of the Vice¬ roy of Egypt, the Cairo house, the Egyptian museum, the Russian farmhouse, stables, &c., and other timber structures of North¬ ern Europe, with many more interesting buildings. In the programme of the late Exhibition, however, the plan was broader and more ! systematic, and, although not carried out to the full extent, formed a most attractive [ feature. Almost every one must be ac- j quainted with the general plan of the build- j ing on the Champ de Mars: an immense i quadrangular edifice, of which the famous j vestibule where the exquisite productions of Sevres, Gobelins and Beauvais, and the | unrivalled work of our Indian fellow-sub- | jects, with the crown jewels of France, attracted all eyes, formed the front, the | interesting Process Court the back, and the J two noble machinery courts the sides, while j the buildings devoted to pictures and sculp- j ture occupied the middle line, being isolated, to protect them from the chance of fire, by a broad space of open ground on each side. Each of those spaces was more than two thousand feet long, and wide enough for four or more carriages to pass abreast, if I they had been allowed. That on the left formed the garden facade of the French half of the Exhibition ; that on the right held the same relation to the other sections. The entire line of both these fronts was intended to be filled with architectural examples, but from some cause or other the French half of the plan was not carried out. On the foreign side the Rue des Natio?is began to attract attention at a very early period of the works, and from May to November it was thronged from morning The House of the Prince of Wales. till evening with admiring crowds from almost every nation under the sun. Besides the beauty and novelty of the structures themselves,they were practically of much utility; they were really the fa<;ades of the several nations, commencing with Great Britain, and ending with the Netherlands. No one visiting the foreign portion of the Exhibition, even for the first, time had the slightest difficulty in finding the THE STREET OF NATIONS xii section he wanted, whether belonging to the scorching East, the balmy South, or the cold regions of the North. He had but to walk down the Street of Nations, where each was charmingly marked by its architecture, its flags, escutcheons, and other devices; and the features of the facades were so bold and so marked, and The House of Messrs. Doulton. the general effect so striking, that all was nearly taken in at a single glance. The Rue des Nations became truly the rendezvous of the feofles, and on all sides were heard, “We will meet—not at Philippi, but—at Japan, Greece, Russia,’’ &c. It The Early English House of Mr. Redgrave. is not easy to say how much this facade arrangement contributed to the comfort of visitors to the foreign side of the Exhibition, and how much it aided in the sys¬ tematic study of the whole. The amount of artistic skill and labour bestowed on those two thousand feet of frontage alone will never be known, but it must have been enormous; and amongst the contributions those of Great Britain must be classed, not as the largest or grandest, but as presenting the greatest variety, and they were further remarkable as being complete structures, and mostly fitted and furnished in a truly artistic man¬ ner. Two of the five English houses were, indeed, so attractive that tickets of admis¬ sion had to be issued, and long fines of visitors awaited their turn all day long. Entering the Rue des Nations from the Grand Vestibule, the first model edifice was the small red terra-cotta house of Mr. W. H. Lascelles, of London. It should, however, be mentioned previously that the frontage of the British section was more than five hundred and forty feet long, and that, by reserving small gardens between the five faijades, these appeared to much better effect than they would had they formed an unbroken line, as did nearly all the rest of the fafades, to say nothing of the admirable effect of grass, flowers, creep¬ ers, and fountains in completing the pic¬ ture. The idea was a very happy one, and eminently successful in its results. The Japanese alone, of all other Commissions, adopted a similar feature in their fa9ade. The house in question was constructed to illustrate a patented imitation of red brick¬ work, consisting of thin slabs of Portland- cement concrete, fixed by means of screws to wooden framework, and faced with thin slabs of red concrete representing bricks. The style of the architecture was that of Queen Anne, the house being after a de¬ sign by Mr. R. Norman Shaw, R.A. The next and largest of the English edifices, the pavilion of H.R.H. the Prince President of the Commission, designed for the Royal Commission by Mr. Gilbert R. Redgrave, is in the Elizabethan style. It was opened to the visitors generally, with the formality of a card, and proved one of the most attractive features of the Exhibition and one of the most frequent topics of conversation, not amongst English only, but amongst French and other ex¬ hibitors and visitors during the whole season of the Exhibition. That it should have been so will not be surprising when we say that Messrs. Gillow & Co. supplied the de¬ corations and furniture ; Messrs G. Jackson and Sons the enrichments of the drawing¬ room in carton-fierre; Messrs. James Templeton & Co. the carpets, curtains, and portieres; Messrs. Barnard, Bishop, and Barnards the iron entrance gate and dining-room grate ; Messrs. Mark, Feetham & Co. the wrought-steel stoves in the drawing and morning rooms ; Messrs. Min¬ ton, Hollins & Co. encaustic pavement, decorative tiles, &c.; Messrs. Dick, Rad- cliffe & Co. the conservatory attached to the drawing-room; Messrs. Mintons, and Doulton & Co., the fountains in the gar¬ dens ; that the ornaments, plate, and table furniture were supplied by Messrs. Elking- ton and Mintons, the glass by Messrs. James Powell and Sons, and the elegancies of the writing-table by Messrs. Betjemanns ; THE STREET OF NATIONS. xiii and, lastly, that a portrait of her Majesty the Queen, and eight pieces of tapestry, with subjects from that inimitable farce, The Merry Wives of Windsor, admirably executed at the Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory, formed a rich decoration for the walls of the principal room ; that the curtains and furniture of the drawing-room were charmingly embroidered at the Royal School of Art Needlework, the morning- room enlivened with a beautifully fanciful frieze in the Japanese style, in afflique work, and the wall panels executed at the Ladies’ Work Society. Here was a com¬ bination of decorative ability of which we may well be proud. But it required still another element to secure the fullest effect, and that was not overlooked : the entire fitting and furnishing of the pavilion were comprised in one general design, the work of Mr. Henry and Mr. Hay, Messrs. Gillow’s artists ; and it was this combined action which gave that delightful sense of harmony that every visitor felt, though he might not be able to express it, and without which no number of the best Art workmen in the world could have achieved success. The work was carried out in the true spirit of the grand old artists to whom nothing was unimportant that would in any degree contribute to the completion of a design. The productions of our Art manufacturers surprised many people, and these complete artistic triumphs perhaps more than any. The third structure was immensely attrac¬ tive, especially to builders and potters. It presented a charming specimen of design by Messrs. Tarring and Wilkinson, and an admirable example of English pottery. Most Londoners know the very striking structures built by Messrs. Doulton at Lambeth; the specimen erected by them in the Street of Nations was of the same class, constructed of red bricks with terra¬ cotta facings, colonnettes, and courses, the effect of which was greatly heightened by the introduction of brilliantly coloured bosses of the beautiful and well-known Lambeth ware, which glistened like gems in the sun. With one slight exception, this house was perfect: the bricks, being of French make, were not quite of the colour we should have preferred. The architects introduced a fea¬ ture which was new to us, and deserves notice: the windows, both in front and at the side, were provided with flower boxes, which formed part of the terra-cotta of the building—a very happy idea. The interior of this house was decorated, fitted, and fur¬ nished by Messrs. Shoolbred & Co.; and the lower room, a perfect gem of a bou¬ doir, in the English style, with stained-glass window, panelled silk walls, and exquisite satin-wood furniture, which was visible to all visitors, was immensely and most de¬ servedly admired. The whole of the work was designed by Mr. H. W. Batley. Totally unlike either of the three houses already mentioned, the last two were pecu¬ liarly remarkable for their strong indivi¬ duality, the first being a “half-timbered” house, a mode of building in high favour for two or three hundred years in England, with wooden frame slightly decorated with carving and plaster panels, designed by Mr. Gilbert R. Redgrave, and built by Messrs. Wm. Cubitt & Co.; the latter an English country house in the well-known style The Home of Messrs. Collinson a?id Lock. of the William III. period, designed by Mr. Collcutt, and erected by Messrs. Collinson and Lock. Both facades were of considerable length and highly effective, evidently relations, yet with very distinctive features, and their effect was much enhanced by gay parterres between them, behind a pair of beautiful wrought-iron The House of the United States of America. entrance gates, manufactured by Messrs. Cubitt, from the design of Mr. E. M. Barry, R.A., for Lord Crewe’s park. If these thoroughly comfortable-looking houses, with pretty climbers and other plants in the English manner, were specially pleasing D XIV THE STREET OF NATIONS, to English eyes, they were almost as attractive to our neighbours from their novelty and evident homeliness. With the exception of the wall papers, which were supplied by Messrs. Jeffrey & The House of Holland. Co., and some beautiful carpets by Messrs. John Brinton & Co., the fittings and furniture of the first of these houses were contributed by Canadian manufacturers, the rooms being used as the offices of the Commission of that colony, which, in its glass cases and other furniture, exhibited many beautiful ornamental woods and The House of Russia. admirable cabinet-work. The other house was decorated and furnished throughout with great taste by Messrs. Collinson and Lock, as described in the notes on Eumiture and Decoration already alluded to. It was a perfect bijou of a house or rather of the front portion of a house, with good entrance hall, containing an ample hearth, an extremely snug dining-room, an admirably constructed staircase, a fine drawing-room with grand bow window, and a neat little bedroom, apparently quite ready for its master, and enlivened throughout with choice specimens of china and earthen¬ ware : its success was complete. The first facade beyond the limits of the British Commission was that of the United States Government, a remarkably nice piece of construction in wood, and furnishing an example, as we understood, of a comfort¬ able residence, so planned as to be readily taken to pieces, packed, removed, and set up in a new position. The timber structure of the Sweden and Norway Commission attracted much atten¬ tion : the design was compound, yet the whole effect was of great simplicity. The construction consisted of two parts, one Swedish, the other Norwegian, the former to the left, and the latter to the right hand, and connected by a simple central portion, with a narrow porch supported by two colonnettes. The style adopted is that in common use in the southern portions of the two countries. Two kinds of fir-wood are employed: one for the main timbers, joists, and framing, and a second of a lighter tint for the filling in, boarding, &c. It will be seen, by the engraving we supply of this structure, that the Swedish pavilion is more taper in its construction than that of its neighbour ; moreover, it con¬ tains an extra floor. There are, .in fact, four distinct parts in the structure: the bell tower of a church of the fourteenth or fifteenth century; the arcades and galleries are repro¬ ductions of those of some very ancient houses still standing ; the portico is in the style of the churches of the Norwegian val¬ leys ; and the fourth section is the stabur, or storehouse, attached to all Scandinavian houses, and in which are kept the provi¬ sions for the long winter months. The de¬ sign was by Mr. Trap-Meyer, and was car¬ ried out by Mr. Haneborg, of Holmeus-Brug, near Drammen. The whole is mounted on a framing of stout timbers, which isolates it from the ground, and allows the air to circulate beneath. The joists of the ground floor extend beyond the outer walls of the structure, and form corbels ; these latter, together with two long consoles constructed of the projecting ends of the timbers of the side walls, support the advancing upper story. It has been remarked by an emi¬ nent French architect, M. Caesar Daly, whose admirable works are well known in England, that the disposition of the win¬ dows resembles that of Romanesque build¬ ings, especially in the Swedish pavilion, the capitals of which decidedly recall those fre¬ quently employed in the twelfth century. The faipade of the Italian Commission was a large structure, measuring about one hundred feet in length, and half as much as that in height, and, with the four follow¬ ing structures, formed the frontage of the central section of the foreign side, which faced the charming enclosed garden, in the THE STREET OF NATIONS xv midst of which stood the pavilion of the City of Paris, and opposite each end one of the handsomely decorated entrance porticos of the two sections of the Fine Art galleries. As this garden was the general place of rendezvous in the afternoon, these fine fa<;ades were amongst the most popular objects in the Exhibition. Ihe design of the Italian fagade was by an eminent architect, Professor G. B. F. Basile. It was in five parts, each having its special dedication: first, a grand central arch was devoted to Italy herself, the national arms surmounting it, while below were the arms of Rome, with medal¬ lions of four of the most illustrious citizens that ennoble her history, and, indeed, that of the Arts and civilisation of the whole world—Dante, Michael Angelo, Raphael, and Titian—a company of demigods. The first of four lateral arches was devoted to Music, and over it stood a grand lyre in¬ terlaced with laurels, while beneath were the effigies of Rossini, Bellini, and Doni¬ zetti. The second was given to Architec¬ ture, and bore the grand heads of Vitruvius, Palladius, and Bramante. Of the two other sections, the first was devoted to Commerce, and the other to the Applied Arts, the illustrations in the former case being por¬ traits of Columbus, Marco Polo, and Flavio Gioja, and in the latter those of Galileo, Volta, and Galvani. Italy might be ex¬ cused for being vain of such a band of Art heroes. On the cornice, too, were the por¬ traits of others of her great citizens, and shields with the arms of the various cities so long severed, but at last united; and high over all, supported by a fine speci¬ men of wrought-iron work, floated proudly the national flag. The arcade was deco¬ rated in perfect keeping with the exterior, and contained statues, busts, and medal¬ lions, in majolica and other ware, of the late King Victor Emmanuel and the present King and Queen of Italy, and many other distinguished persons. Amongst the sculp¬ ture were specimens by Signori Alegretti, Fontana, Massini, and other eminent artists. A greater contrast than that which ex¬ isted between the two neighbours, Italy and Japan, brought side by side by accidental circumstances, and not by an alphabetical arrangement, it would be difficult to imagine. So complete was the absence of approach to a resemblance, that each added to the effect of the other. The Japanese was fully as characteristic as the Italian structure, but small in com¬ parison. It consisted principally of a singu¬ larly bold porch formed of great beams of sandal-wood, with a heavily, studded door surmounted by a penthouse, and above all by a handsome frieze. In a panel on one side of the door was a map of Japan, and in an opposite panel one of the city of Tokio, which we call Jeddo. There was also a side door with the never-forgotten penthouse; even palisades in Japan are roofed over to keep out the wet. Right and left of the door were two fountains in the form of gigantic flowers, at the feet of which were fantastic groups of crabs, reptiles, and other creatures. The whole of the work for this fagade was executed in Japan. The Chinese fagade had also a very great success ; it was not large, but eminently characteristic, and, although certain critics maintain that Mr. Sun-Sing-Kung, the architect, while availing himself of all the resources of Chinese Art, had drawn upon his own fancy to an extent which he would not have ventured upon at home, the The House of Havannah. fa9ade, to our eyes, was as Chinese as possible. Whether the work was really classic Chinese or not matters little; it was highly effective, and Mr. Sun-Sing-Kung exhi¬ bited a decidedly artistic eye. The body of the structure was sombre in colour, and the upper portion brilliant in gold and vermilion. The walls had the . appearance of lattice or tile work, and were decorated in the following manner: the plaster was covered with a coating of black paint or stain, and then a pattern was incised, bringing the plaster to view, and producing an admirable resemblance of tiles which The House of Persia. are much in use in China. These tiles, ornamented with octagonal figures, are said to be principally employed on the walls of temples. In the middle of the fagade was a heavy wooden door, studded in an extraordinary manner on the inner side with a hundred circular wooden studs, about three inches in diameter and four or five inches high, some of them having a small ornament in brass on their faces. These studs are said to have originated entirely in the brain of Mr. Sun-Sing- XVI THE STREET OF NATIONS Kung. Doors and studs were all coloured with vermilion. Just above the frame of the doors, on the right and left, were two small gilt groups of two warriors menacing each other furiously, and between them a shield with the arms of the The House of Algiers. Celestial Empire. The entablature consisted, in the first place, of two courses of carved woodwork in low relief, painted of a grey slate colour, continued without interruption along the salient part of the cornice, which forms at once the crowning of the door and the central motive of the composition. The roof itself is of a slaty The House of Tunis. grey colour, slightly relieved with a few steel grey ornaments ; but an original and highly decorative idea is exhibited in having pieces of glass placed obliquely under the prolongation of the roof, which lighten up the portions that would otherwise have been in obscurity. This is, we should think, a purely Chinese notion, and is highly ingenious. The marvellous fancy and ma¬ nual dexterity of Chinese designers, carvers, and other ornamentalists were exhibited on a grand scale not only on this fagade, but in the court of the Commission. The cases which contained the choicest specimens of work in silk, ivory, jade, and porcelain were model pavilions, each with its curious roof turning up its angles in the air, carved in the most fantastic and elaborate manner, and coloured, gilded, and finished in a way that no Art workmen but Chinese and Japa¬ nese can effect. The amount of labour and skill lavished on that court was almost fabulous. The Spanish contribution to the Street of Nations requires little description. It will be seen, by reference to our engraving, that the able architect, Senor Villajos, went to the Alhambra—which Owen Jones had rendered familiar to his countrymen—not only for his design, but also for the details of his orna¬ mentation, and produced a very charming miniature palace. The pleasing lines of the arcades and the general design are given clearly in our engraving, but it must be observed that the whole was painted with great care and enlivened with brilliant colours. The door of the pavilion, towards the left hand, led into the Spanish section of the Exhibition, through an elegant vesti¬ bule, and it was in the latter, and on the facade of the central pavilion, that the greatest amount of decoration was applied with admirable taste and charming effect. This was not the only specimen of Spanish architecture at the Exhibition, but we must not anticipate. The central block, facing the enclosed garden already referred to, was completed by the grand fagade erected by the Austro- Hungarian Commission. This construc¬ tion was one of the very largest and most effective in the street: it was more than two hundred feet long, and the arcade had a width of about sixteen or seventeen feet. The end pavilions, one of which contained the offices of the Austrian and the other those of the Hungarian Commission, and the arcade with its coupled Doric columns, were highly effective; the decorations of the panels in the upper part of the pavi¬ lions, on the frieze, and between the arches, was executed in dark incised lines known as sgraffito, but the principal orna¬ ments were sculptural, as will be seen in the engraving. The winged figures represent genii, and the labels bear the names of the following eminent artists and others : — Fischer von Erlach, architect; Ressl, credited with the invention of the screw propeller ; Eiirich, painter ; K. Don- ner, sculptor ; Mozart Grillparer, poet; and two Hungarians, the poet Petofi, and Szicheayi, a great manufacturer. The statues arranged on the cornice represented the Sciences, Commerce, Navigation, Industry, Mining, Agriculture, and Cattle Rearing. The same subjects were admirably treated in the groups which crown the parapets of the two pavilions. The series of statues THE STREET OF NATIONS xvn and busts in the intercolumniations were examples or reproductions of the best sculp¬ tural work executed in the imperial and royal dominions since the last Great Exhi¬ bition held in Paris. Many other speci¬ mens of the same class stood within the arcade, the walls of which were painted with much taste. The architect of this fagade was HerrCorompay, who has earned a high reputation, and who contributed largely to the erection and decoration of the Vienna Exhibition building. It will be remembered that the Russian Commission erected two very remarkable timber constructions in the fare of the Exhibition held on the same spot in 1867, one a regular farmer’s homestead with its enclosed yard, which attracted much atten¬ tion, and a long range of stabling, which, with its grooms and fine horses, was per¬ haps more popular. From an architectural and historical point of view, however, the building to which we now refer is infinitely more interesting; it presents far more de¬ cided style than either of the former, and it represents a real structure of great interest, namely, the house in Kolomna in which was born Michel Romanof, afterwards the ec¬ centric but able emperor, Peter the Great, who first united a number of straggling dependencies into an empire. The solid logs of pine of which this really handsome house was built were put together so neatly that it was almost impossible to believe that the Russian builders scarcely use any other tool than a small sharp axe, by means of which they fit one log into the other by a halving process with marvellous neat¬ ness. As in the case of the Swedish and Norwegian fagade already referred to, woods of different tints are used to give variety of colour. The Swiss fagade was a great success: not only was the idea of the architect ad¬ mirably carried out, but the style of the building is very little known out of Switzer¬ land. Those of our readers who did not visit the Exhibition will form some idea of the effect of the fagade when told that the great bay shown in our engraving had an opening fifty feet in width, and afforded an admirable view of the principal court of the Swiss section. The style of the build¬ ing is a renaissance of the old architecture of the city of Berne. The great door was designed after the ancient gate of that city, while all the wooden parts of the structure, the roofing, and the painted decorations recall the elegant old chalets of the plains of Berne, Mittelland, and Upper Argovia. The massive raised roof is the principal feature of the chateaux of the great land- owners in that part of the world ; the effect of this roof-terrace, with its azure star- spangled ceiling, was remarkably bold, light, and pleasing. The fine old chateaux are rapidly disappearing, and those erected since are much more plain and less costly, and this fact added to the interest of the charming souvenir in question. Specimens of the old chateaux may, however, still be found in the cantons of Emanthale, Argo¬ via, Zurich, Turgovia, and Toggenburg. The large monumental clock in the front of the terrace, with two antique figures striking the hours and quarters, added greatly to the general effect, as did the gay- coloured coats of arms and the azure ceiling already mentioned. M. Jaeger, the architect of the fagade, is well known, not only in Switzerland and in France, where he has resided for some years, but also in Germany, having erected a grand edifice, called the Villa Helvetia, at Frankfort; and at the same time that he has preserved all the local colouring of the old architecture of his native country in The House of Norway. this fagade, he has contrived to give it a certain amount of originality, and has totally avoided the very common, although picturesque, character of the ordinary chalet. The largest, and in many respects the most remarkable, of all the fagades is that of the Belgian Commission, erected after the design, and under the superintendence, of M. Emile Janlet, architect, of Brussels, the builder being M. Hermebique-Gernay. The House of Japan. This superb facade is two hundred feet in length, the bell tower being upwards of one hundred feet high. M. Janlet had the happy idea of making his structure at once a perfect example of Flemish architecture and a collection of specimens of all the finest marbles and building stone furnished from Belgian quarries, as well as of the slate, bricks, &c., of the country, wisely seeing that, when brought together and carefully arranged, they would attract an amount of attention which could not be expected of mere samples of the materials themselves. Having designed a E THE STREET OF NATIONS. suitable facade, therefore, M. Janlet invited the proprietors of quarries and other producers of building materials to contribute specimens for its construction, each of which should be exhibited in its proper place and under a proper light, in such a way as to relieve and bring out the effect of all, and thus also to give a reality and effect' to the structure which no imitation process and materials could possibly produce, and render it a worthy representative of the national architecture. The marble and stone supplied were derived from twenty-two different quarries, The House of China. including the famous Carrieres des Ecaussines and Bombaux , which contributed the fine blue stone whereof the principal porch and the whole of the fa9ade to the right of it were composed. This is a wonderfully fine stone, which has served in the construction of the finest monuments and works of Art in Belgium, in ancient as well as modern times. It is very dense, weighing 2,700 kilogrammes to the cubic metre, will bear a pressure of 844 kilogrammes per square centimetre, and is so little affected by frost or damp that its durability is considered indefinite. The door oi the tower and other portions were constructed of another variety of this blue stone from the Carrieres des Spimont, in the province of Liege. The plinth and facings of the angles of the tower were of the black stone of Chercq-lez-Tournay and La Baguette. The beautiful red marble which formed the entire balustrading, and some blue stone colonnettes, came from Merbes-le-Chateau. The black marble employed on the first floor of the grand entrance, including the polished block bear¬ ing the word BELGIQUE, which weighed a ton and a half, was from Basedes, Hainaut. Amongst others there were white stone of Gobertange, of which the tower, the left gallery, and the left pavilion were con¬ structed ; several varieties of marble from Schaerbeck, Basecles, Waulsort, and Cheuot, used for plaques and pavement; a mag¬ nificent marble chimney-piece in what was called the royal salon, &c. Three eminent Art metal-workers, M. Schryvers, M. Wau- ters-Kocepx, and M. Fraigneux, supplied some beautiful hammered and other iron work, including the finials of the tower and other parts. The windows were painted by M. Dobbelaer, of Bruges, and M. Wal- ravens, of Brussels ; the great clock of the tower was by M. Taman, of Brussels; the four caryatides were by the well-known sculptor, M. Charles Auguste Fraikin, whose works have often been noted with admira¬ tion in the pages of the Art Journal; and the models for all the ornamental work of the fa9ade, doors, &c., were by M. G. Houtstont. M.Janlet naturally took for the style of his fa9ade the Flemish Renaissance of the latter part of the sixteenth century, as em¬ ployed in the Low Countries, not only as the most characteristic, but as being almost extinct; for, being the style which was in vogue during the worst period of the his¬ tory of the Netherlands, that of the Spanish domination, nothing remains but bits spread here and there over the country—not a single complete edifice. The example before us, then, is neither an entire nor a partial re¬ production of any building or buildings, but an entirely original composition, a renais¬ sance of this grand old national style of the Flemings, composed, as already stated, of the best and most beautiful of the mineral riches of the country. The great door of the faqade led directly into the Belgian Court of the Exhibition by what was called La Rue de Belgique. The debouchement of this street was nobly indicated by this fine porch, over which, in relief on the stones of the arch itself, are escutcheons, executed in enamels, of the nine provinces of the Netherlands, above which is the name of the country in gold letters on the polished marble block already mentioned. On each side of this main door is a pavilion, projecting and crowned by two gables, which stand in bold relief against the roof. The entablature of these pavi¬ lions is supported by caryatides, represent¬ ing the four public liberties—Religion, Pub¬ lic Meeting, Education, and the Press. On the frieze are inscribed, in Flemish and French, the two languages of the country, the two following articles, which form the basis of the Belgian constitution :—“ All Belgians are equal before the law;” and ‘‘All power emanates from the people.” Above the caryatides, between the consoles which frame the frieze, is inscribed the date 1831, which is that of the constitution. The central pavilion dominates the two of which we have just spoken : it is crowned THE STREET OF NATIONS xix by the arms of the country above an archi¬ tectural motive, in the centre of which is the royal cipher. This central portion, it will be seen, records in its composition the history of the foundation of the kingdom of Belgium : the proclamation of the four liberties above named, announcing, in 1831, the promulgation of the constitution, the foundation of the independence of the country under King Leopold. Right and left of this main portion of the building are two grand open galleries, abutting, that on the left hand on the pavi¬ lion terminating in the high characteristic clock tower common to old Flemish cha¬ teaux, and that on the right hand on the facade of the pavilion containing the royal saloon and its dependencies. In the middle of each of these galleries is a bold and effective supporting buttress, connected with the wall in the rear by means of a flat arch ; and on the roof above is a bronze figure of a warrior, with the face turned towards the main entrance, as a sentinel guarding the Belgian constitution. These statues stand out admirably against the slate roof. The fagade of the royal saloon, already alluded to, forms the second important ele¬ ment of the structure. It consists of a main gable, bearing in the centre a grand decorative escutcheon, on which is the royal monograph resting on fascines (emblem of the people), to which it is bound by olive- branches, picturing the union of sovereign and people in peace. The projecting and covered balcony of this pavilion is of oak, decorated with carved work, for which Bel¬ gian artists are famous, as each great Exhibition has shown. The elegant little door to the extreme right leads to a back staircase: the case of this door is sculp¬ tured, and crowned with an elegant cir¬ cular light, or ceil de bceuf, protected by handsome wrought-iron work. The door is also provided with a guichet, ox judas, and an ornamental wrought-iron knocker. The roof of the structure supplies several ex¬ amples of slate roofing, and the monotony of the long line is w r ell relieved by the two bold mansarde windows towards the right hand, and the many small dormers, each of which is surmounted by a wrought-iron terminal. The number of various materials employed in this fagade, differing not only in colour, but also, from the manner in which they are worked, producing various tints from blue grey to black, give it a remarkable aspect, and supply an admirable lesson in true polychromatic treatment, this variety being still further increased by the fact of the colonnettes, balustrades, and some other parts being polished, while the majority are left in the grey, and still further by the introduction with a liberal hand of old dark gold and enamelling, the effect being equally vigorous and brilliant. It should be added that black marble plaques bear in gold let¬ ters the names of each of the quarries and factories from which the marble, stone, and other materials were derived. This superb facade is said to have cost -£ 6,000 in constructing, and it is valued, including the materials, at ,£20,000; but the Belgian Commission has presented it, as it stands, to the French Government, and it will remain an admirable object of study for architectural pupils and others who love the old styles, and will be all the more valuable from the fact that it is in reality unique : even Belgium does not possess a second example. At the conclusion of the Paris Exhibition of 1867 the Morocco Commission, in like manner, presented to the French Government the handsome palace which formed The House of Austro-Hungary. a great attraction in what was called Exhibition fare during that season. This palace has been re-erected in the new fare of Montsouris, near Montrouge, and supplies a capital example of Moorish architecture. The preservation of such structures is a boon to the artist. Of course the great majority of those erected in Exhibition grounds are mere lath and plaster—imitation structures—presenting The House of Switzerland. nothing of permanent value whatever; but when such important and highly inter¬ esting examples as these, and some other fagades that might be named, are being constructed, a little forethought would preserve them for after service as educational models. In the grounds of the Trocadero still stands, or did not long since, the Algerian palace, which might well be retained as a semi-tropical garden house; and other picturesque buildings are being removed to sites in which they will be of service in more ways than one. XX THE STREET OF NATIONS A charming contrast to the preceding is formed by the fagade of the Greek Com¬ mission, an elegant reproduction in part of the “ House of Pericles. ’ This delicate example of Greek architecture consisted of a single room on the ground floor, which formed a vestibule to the Greek section of the Exhibition, and the fagade of an upper floor, the windows of which were boldly bracketed out from the wall. The colour of the wall was pure white, charmingly relieved with fine vermilion and azure The House of Belgium. lines marking the curves of the brackets, mouldings, &c. In the front of the house, between the two lower windows, stood an altar with a bust of Minerva, and on it a branch of olive and other offerings. The ceiling of the vestibule was peculiar and effective; it was formed into squares, apparently by crossed flooring joists, about nine inches deep by six inches wide, and the spaces between, about a foot square, were coloured of a brilliant azure, and decorated with various designs in gold, the joists being of a dead white. The Pavilion of Morocco. I he fagade of (he Danish Commission, which came next, was a simple though pleasing example in the Renaissance style as practised in that country. I lie Commissions of Central and South America made combined arrangements with an eminent architect, M. Alfred Vaudoyer, and presented a facade of con¬ siderable extent, affording examples of Spanish architecture, as modified in the se\eral countries since it was introduced in the early part of the sixteenth century. On one hand there was a slender pavilion with three floors, and surmounted by a mirador, or belvedere, in the style of the clock tower of Lima Cathedral. These miradors are common in good Lima houses, and are used by the inhabitants to catch a breath of the cool evening air so grateful in these climates. Sometimes these towers are filled in with brilliantly coloured glass , in the upper part, and, lights being placed within, a very gay and picturesque effect is produced. Next to this tower was a portico, composed of three semicircular arches rest¬ ing on pillars, the bases and capitals of which were richly carved. Above was a long covered wooden gallery supported by brackets, a reproduction of that of the bal¬ cony of the Casa Marques de Torre Tagle at Lima, except that in place of the elabo¬ rate carved work of the original, the arms of the city were emblazoned beneath the pent of the canopy. Connected with the balcony, and after the same original, was a two-storied building of some size, repre¬ senting the residence of an opulent inha¬ bitant of Lima, and which contained the offices and reception-rooms of the various Commissions. The style of architecture here illustrated is common not only to Lima, but to Montevideo, Buenos Ayres, and other cities of South America. It must be ad¬ mitted that the ornamentation is far more elaborate and less studied than meets Eu¬ ropean taste in general. Besides the main fagade above described, the characteristics of construction in various states were happily illustrated by the archi¬ tect in the various courts of the section. The Argentine Republic had a portico of three arches after a new building in Buenos Ayres. Peru was represented by a monu¬ ment from High Peru, the portico of Hua- nuco Viejo, and the frieze from the interior of the Temple of Paramonga. Uruguay was marked by an elegant light open gal¬ lery, or balcony, in woodwork, such as is common in Montevideo. Guatemala exhi¬ bited an example of the Indian style of polychromatic decoration. The Nicara¬ guan court consisted of a highly picturesque hut, or rancho , constructed of bamboo, and devoted to cocoa and the other natural pro¬ ductions of the country. It was proposed to complete the examples of the architecture of Central America by giving specimens of those wondrous struc- | tures which still form one of the most inter- | esting riddles in connection with the human race, the ruined Temples of Palenque, Uunal, and Chicken-Itza, but on consideration these supposed monuments of the Incas presented j such high walls decorated only with a few i bas-reliefs, and pierced with only a few win- ! dow's, and these not important, often with a single door in the whole length of a fagade, that a reproduction would have been at once j inconvenient and ineffective. Next to the Southern States of the New World was a striking specimen of construc¬ tion from remote Asia, a bold and charac¬ teristic portal in timber from Annam. The structure consisted of a flat arch supporting two large green dragons, looking fire and THE STREET OF NATIONS xxi fury at each other. Over the gate was a penthouse covered with thick tiles alter¬ nately flat and half-round, producing a very good effect. Within the gallery to which this porch led was another pleasing ex¬ ample of Annamite construction in the shape of a small pavilion forming a bazaar. Next were charming small specimens of the architecture and decoration of Persia, Siam, Morocco, and Tunis, cleverly com¬ bined into a pleasing whole by M. Dravet, the architect to whom it was intrusted by the combined Commissions. Each example was only a very few feet wide, but sufficient to at least indicate the prominent features of its country’s style. That from Persia was principally remarkable for clever imita¬ tions painted on wood of the brilliant faience tile-work in use in that country. The Siamese specimen was distinguished for its curiously fantastic decoration, including, of course, the famous animal venerated in that country, and for the severity of the coloration, the whole being constructed of dark brown wood, and the decorated work of a kind of bronze tint. The roof of the little edifice pretty closely resembled those of the Chinese buildings. The contribution of Morocco afforded another striking con¬ trast, the chief characteristics being a door capped by a pointed Mauresque arch, a window fitted with the jealous grating of the East, and walls decorated with hori¬ zontal strips of white and bright blue. A similar method of decoration was exhibited in the Tunisian example, which consisted of a square tower, with two round-topped doors below, a handsome pierced wooden moucharabieh over the windows of the upper floor, and over all a tourelle roofed with small green tiles in the form of leaves, which had a charming appearance. In this case also the walls were barred with coloured horizontal bands on a white ground, but of a bright brick colour in place of blue. In the courts behind were, amongst many other beautiful objects, admirable speci¬ mens of Siamese carved and pierced wood¬ work painted in gold on a red ground, and a very remarkable collection of chests, cof¬ fers, &c., inlaid with mother-o’-pearl in a highly artistic manner. The Prince of Monaco contributed a small example in the Ionic style as practised in his dominions, a neat little house coloured white, enlivened by the arms of the prin¬ cipality, consisting of brilliant red lozenges in a chequer arrangement on a white ground. The Prince also erected a very pretty and interesting pavilion in the grounds of the Champ de Mars. The Commission of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, like that of Denmark, supplied a very neat specimen of Renaissance as adopted in that country ; in fact, it was a fine example of Renaissance common to the Low Countries generally. In some cases from natural circumstances, and in others from what seem to have been accidental or arbitrary, the Street of Nations was a series of amusing surprises : thus, as we had before stepped from Nor¬ way into Italy, from Italy into Japan, from Flanders into Greece, and from Scandinavia to South America, so now, from a somewhat prim form of Renaissance, we come at once upon the most gorgeous example of Gothic decoration. The Pavilion of the Minister of Public Works, France. The Portuguese facade presents w’hat we must call Gothic decadence in its most elaborate development—an immense arch, very broad in proportion to its height, profusely sculptured in every moulding, and flanked with small towers capped with most curiously elaborate tracery in the shape of canopies, illustrating a form of the The Pavilion of French Department of Woods and Waters. flamboyant, compared with which our late decorated Gothic is absolutely classic, and on that account attracted considerable interest. Those who did not visit the Exhibition may form some idea of the elaboration of this Portuguese work from XX11 THE STREET OF NATIONS. specimens similar in style in the architectural court of the South Kensington Museum. The architectural specimens were conti¬ nued all through the Portuguese section, each court being fronted with an arch, in which the tracery resembled twisted cordage rather than carved stone, curiously elaborate, but certainly not to be emulated. The last house in the Rue des Nations is that of the Nether¬ lands Commission, represented in our engraving. This facade occupies considerable space, and is one of the most com¬ plete examples in the street. M. Van den Brink, architect to the Commission, who designed the fagade, borrowed his princi¬ pal elements from the Hotel de Ville of the Hague, but the whole may be accepted as typical of the style generally preva¬ lent in Holland in the middle of the seventeenth century. The Hotel de Ville in question is just two hundred years old. The date of 1678 is inscribed on the front. The elevation includes two principal floors, with a third partly attic and partly in¬ cluded in the central motive, which is terminated with a fronton of good proportions. The tower adds greatly to the importance of the whole structure : it is crowned by a cam¬ panile, which has a very bold and elegant effect. Over the door is a bust of William III., the present King of Hol¬ land. The smaller door at the foot of the tower gives access to the offices of the Commission in the upper floors. The fronton over this door supports the lion of the Netherlands holding a shield between its claws. The four windows of the first floor are each divided by means of stone mul- lions into four equal squares, and these are glazed with small panes set in lead, like the lattice windows of our Eliza¬ bethan period. The frieze of the entablature of this chief floor is ornamented with modillions and metopes, separated by roses. Right and left of the single bay of the second story are two niches containing allegorical figures, and above the fronton gable the arms of Holland. On the frieze of the second floor is the inscription, “ Ne Jupiter quidem omnibus placet.” The structure was formed of dark-coloured red bricks brought from Holland for the purpose, and every part of the work was executed with much care. We have spoken of the rooms occu¬ pied by the Commission on the upper floors, but the ground floor contained one of the most attractive collections of objects in the whole Exhibition, and was crowded with visitors from morning till evening. It consisted of a long series of figures of people of the middle and working classes, all life size, admirably modelled and dressed, and set up with much art. Each group h"Sd its appropriate setting, a bit of indoor fitting, or a rustic view: in one were two figures in a sledge, in another a severe old lady taxing her young giant of a son with some misconduct; here two women were knitting and chatting, there a porter bent under a heavy load, and in one we saw the meeting of two lovers on a plank bridge. In addition to this collection, which filled the lower part of the house, there was also a kitchen scene in which were figures of men, women, and children, comfortably seated in the midst of their quaint furniture and surroundings, and all busy with their every-day work ; while in a third place was a group consisting of the directress of a female orphan asylum, with one of her young charges standing before her. Besides that all these figures were most artistically modelled and dressed, the collection was remarkable from the fact that everything about them—furniture, utensils, tissues, ornaments, &c. — was real, making up an extremely interesting ethnographical museum of the Low Countries on a small scale. A series of very similar groups of Swedish, Norwegian, and other Scandinavian nations was shown in the vestibule of the grand retrospective galleries of the Trocadero.* * Besides the buildings in the attractive “Street of the Nations,’’ there were many others in the grounds of the Champ de Mars and on the Trocadero. Illustrations of three of these—namely, the building erected by the Morocco Commission, and the pavilions of the governmental departments of Public Works and Woods and Waters in France—are given above. Messrs. Thomas Webb & Co., of Stour¬ bridge, are the best makers of Crystal surpass us in the production of coloured glass, they are far behind us in the pure diamond-cutting; in the examples they now show of designing and engraving they Glass in England, and, consequently, in the world; for if Germany and France metal, worked or unworked. Messrs.Webb have long been renowned for supremacy in compete with the best manufacturers of the Continent—excelled by none of them. INTRODUCTORY. PART from special interests, an International Exhibi¬ tion to be held in Paris has greater attractions than any that might occur in the capital of another country. The heavy and ruder productions of industry have intense interest for the scientific, the commercial, and the economical worlds ; but it is the mass of beautiful works, in which Art and handicraft are happily blended, that attracts and delights not only the adept and the connoisseur, but also those who merely admire beauty and novelty. Paris is essentially a centre of artistic industry as well as of Art, and if her supremacy be not so commanding as it was, that is not because her ingenious artists and Art workmen have lost any of their cunning, but arises from the fact that the Art of other countries has reached more nearly than it has for a long time past the level of her own. Paris, moreover, is essentially the City of Exhibitions. The productions into which Art enters in any degree appeal especially to the eye, and consequently, next to makingthem beautiful, the object is to show off their beauty to the best advantage. An artist or a connoisseur will at a glance select a 2 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The firm of Minton & Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent, the capital in the New World also. They have given character to their of the Staffordshire Potteries, is known throughout Europe, and | country by producing the very highest order of ceramic Art, in every capable variety. We shall engrave many of their works : this page contains but one of them, a Candelabrum of much novelty and grace. But we give also examples of their charm¬ ing Tile-slabs—a branch, although somewhat recently “taken up,’’ in which they have arrived at great excellence. The hands they employ to design as well as to execute are those of a few gems from amidst the confusion and the dust of a bric-a- brac shop ; but the general public needs instruction with respect to things of which the value is not self-evident, like that of the diamond or other objects of natural beauty. This the sagacious goldsmith, bronzist, and others, could not fail to perceive, and they have added another to their many arts—that of enhancing in the public eye the value of the jewel by the appropriateness of the setting. They have almost raised exhibition to a fine Art ; form, colour, space, relief are all studied as it were intuitively. [ Most of our readers have doubtless revelled in the artistic | true and educated artists. There is no fear that we shall “ hold our own” in this important department of the Industrial Arts. delights of a Paris Exhibition, or have seen the contributions of Parisian artists and Art manufactures at our own. The princi¬ pal streets of Paris form long series of exhibitions, as do some few of those of London, in which objects of beauty attract the eye because they are artistically set off, and then rivet it by their own intrinsic qualities. It is now nearly a century ago since this art of the public exhi¬ bition of manufactured goods and objects of Art arose in Paris ; the exhibitions were at first of small extent and held in various places and at irregular intervals : but they were the natural pre- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION cy \\ e engrave on this page a Plateau, one of the munificent and magnificent contributions of Messrs. Elkington, designed by the presiding genius of their establishment—by whom it has been long directed—a true artist, Mr. A. W. Willms. It is a re¬ markably beautiful work of its class and order, and is not sur¬ passed by any of the productions of the fabricants of Paris. Indeed, the great merit of all the issues of the firm has been acknowledged and honoured in the several exhibitions that have been held since the year 1851. The composition here represented illustrates the chase. It is of silver reftoussee in cursors of the splendid “shows” we have since witnessed. The art of exhibiting has been perfected in an extraordinary manner ; in addition to the great general exhibitions, a series of collections of the works of artists of bygone times, and especially of the grand epochs of artistic workmanship in clay, marble, metal, and textile fabrics, in all countries, have been presented to the public by a society, supported by private individuals, artists in design and manufacturers principally, L’Union Centrale des Beaux Arts appliques a P Industrie, established in 1863, with the happy motto of “Le Beau dans l’Utile.” At first the Society had to low relief. The process of making a work of Art of this kind is to trace the outline of the ornamentation—as animals, &c.—by etching, and afterwards slightly embossing and modelling the same to the required forms by the chasing tool. encounter great difficulties ; private action in such matters was a novelty, the possessors of rare specimens had to be courted and were shy of parting with their idols, even for a short time ; but these obstacles were at last surmounted; the selection of objects was so judicious, the quality so rich, and the arrange¬ ments so good, that these exhibitions soon took firm hold upon the public, and are now looked forward to with the deepest interest. The first exhibition of the Union was held in 1865, and doubtless gave the idea of the admirable retrospective division of the International Exhibition of 1867. In the spacious galleries 4 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE On this pao-e is engraved one of the many beautiful works been such valuable helps to all Exhibitions since the memorable contributed by the firm of Jackson and Graham, who have year 1851. It is a Cabinet of refined Art-a production of great llllllll|[|||||lililliiiiiiiiiiiiii»iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii I m. linMili MrnmTRnmtimniirnnrninmnimummiHL'If ES55ES5E£s=K!===!iyi££y iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiHi merit—composed of ebony inlaid with ivory, but “ touched up’ here and there, and always judiciously, with mother-of-pearl. of the Trocadero building will be found another and a still larger collection of the productions of famous ancient art-workmen, which for richness and artistic arrangement will be admitted, we think, to surpass all former exhibitions of like character. Thus bit by bit, step by step, the art of exhibiting has been brought to perfection in Paris. When the cessation of hostilities in the beginning of the present century permitted our countrymen to visit the Continent, those who had any knowledge of Art saw what immense strides had been made in France in Art-manufactures; and the profu¬ The artists employed by the firm are of proved ability. The artist who designed this very charming work is Mr. J. B. Talbert. sion of china, bronzes, decorative furniture, and other objects of Art, still to be seen in the houses of the wealthy and the collections of connoisseurs, represents the tribute that was paid to that artistic progress. But it was some time before the revelation had any practical effect; the great manufacturers in general were too much occupied with the supply of ordinary wants to pay much attention to the cultivation of Art. But our backwardness in the ornamental arts soon attracted attention ; schools of design were founded, and after a time the idea of establishing exhibitions on the French system was taken up by PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 5 The Terra-Cotta Company of Watcombe owe much to the rich vein of singularly pure and delicately-tinted clay not long ago discovered in the beautiful locality that borders the picturesque bay of Torquay in the lovely shire of Devon. We have on several occasions represented their many classic forms | produced, with graceful and effective decoration, painted and moulded. The Company has obtained well-merited honours in We bring together a number of their recent works in two groups, all the Exhibitions where their productions have been shown. It will be seen they are not only very excellent but veiy varied. the Society of Arts and lovers of Art, but on a necessarily limited scale. The insufficiency of such small efforts became apparent, and proposals were made for an exhibition, on a grand scale, of British productions, but which finally took a new form, and London had the honour of first convoking all the world to a friendly competition in manufacturing art. We need not say more on a theme that has been discussed for upwards of a quarter of a century. The success of the Great Exhibition— 1851—fired the imagination of the whole world. Dublin was the first city to follow suit; Paris naturally determined not to be outdone in her own special way, and an International Exhi¬ bition was held there in 1855. Since that time such exhibitions have gone almost the round of the civilised world, have been repeated in London and Paris, and recently at Philadelphia, and now again the Champs de Mars is the scene of another. What are the benefits of such exhibitions ? some people may ask ; they give an immense deal of trouble, they interfere with the ordinary course of trade, they induce a kind of vagabond habit, they create a vast amount of excitement, and they confer rewards which are not always judicious. We have heard all b 6 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE MM. Mathevon et Bouvard, of Lyons, hold high rank among the silk manufacturers of the great capital of southern France, long renowned for the fabric that supplies half the world, and “ sets the fashion ” in the whole of it. Their Art is always of the best order, the artists they employ are true artists, and they have consequently obtained the renown that seldom these charges and queries raised against exhibitions, and un¬ doubtedly there is a grain of truth in each, and a good many grains in some of them. A great exhibition has been likened to a gigantic advertisement, and the resemblance is considerable. And what has not been said against the advertising system? and who can lay down anyt hinglike an acceptable theory concerning it ? It is true that hu ndreds of first-class manufacturers and deal ers do not advertisi 2; but of what force is this fact against the evidence of the en ormous masses of advertisements which app( sar, especially in th e daily, weekly, and monthly class papers, fails to follow desert. They are large contributors to the Exhibi¬ tion of the costly, yet pure and graceful, produce of their looms. that appertain particularly to our subject, amongst which will be found the names of the large majority of leading Art- manufacturers ? In like manner, in spite of all that has been said against exhibitions, in spite of the effort required to induce manufac¬ turers to contribute to our own first Great Exhibition, in in¬ finitely less time than the system of advertising took to reach its present gigantic proportions, the system of Grand Exhibitions has taken firm root in almost every country in the world ; but less in our own than in others ; and this is not surprising when PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 7 The Royal Porcelain Works They are very beautiful examples of ceramic Art, in at Worcester, under the direction of many instances competing with the best produc- Mr. R. W. Binns, F.S.A.—by whose great ability and devoted zeal they regained the renown they had lost for half a century—contribute, if not largely, a very choice collection to the Exhibition. The seven that grace tions of the Continent, and rivalling those that long ago gave renown to the fair city of Worcester. Mr. not unfrequently surpassing in re¬ finement of design and perfection of manufacture the original efforts this page are among them, and may convey a fair idea of the whole. Binns has directed much of his attention to the works of a marvellously artistic and skilful of Japan, not directly copying, but adapting, and people, who have taught us much. we consider the almost total absence of out-door life in England, and the individuality and exclusiveness that characterize our homes and our habits. Amongst the best arguments in favour of industrial exhibitions are the universal demand of the artistic world for exhibitions of its productions, and the throng of visitors that works of Art attract, not only at the Paris Salon and the Royal Academy of London annually, but at special, secondary, and even minor exhibitions in large and small towns all over the civilised world. And what is good in the case of paintings, drawings, sculpture and engravings, cannot be bad for china, glass, carving, jewel¬ lery and goldsmiths’ work. Let it be remembered that the prin¬ ciple of public exhibition is included in every shop window in the world. Beautiful goods are not made to be hidden away, and customers will not buy unless they are attracted in some way or other. An International Exhibition is an immense show-room, with the grand advantage of classification and the consequent facility for comparing the products of all the world. But it is more than that; its contents are made up, in a large degree, of selected articles ; of, in fact, the most excellent and the most beautiful 8 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Joseph Parvis, of Cairo, who was a large and highly esti¬ mated contributor to the Paris Exhibition of 1867, contributes designed with true artistic judgment and skill, and in execution vie with the productions of the best fabricants of Europe. We some of his many admirable works to that of 1878. They are Iaaaaaaaaaaa nnnri hnnn Wrecks yygre' engrave two of his Cabinets : they are of carved woods, of deli¬ cate and refined order, and in style Egyptian. Their peculiar merit is not only in their excellence of design and manufac- examples available ; and whereas in the best show-rooms there is generally a bewildering mass of products of various degrees of excellence, in an exhibition the examples are not only selected, but are arranged in such a manner as to show off their qualities to great advantage. A common objection to exhibitions is, that they afford unusual opportunities to those who prefer copying other people’s designs and methods to taking the trouble, even if they possess the necessary talent or knowledge, to invent others for themselves. Of all the objections we have ever heard, this is the weakest; in ture; they represent also the natural products of Egypt, a country with which we have now very intimate and established relations. ordinary cases it is supremely ridiculous. When a manufac¬ turer produces any novelty his first object is to introduce it to “the trade,’’ and the first object of the trade is to make it known to the public. But, it is argued, “foreigners who shut ourproduc- tions out of their markets by means of protective duties, will copy what we show at a heavy cost to ourselves, and make it for them¬ selves.” Foreigners require no such special opportunities ; the producers of every country have their special or general agents all over the world, and when any novelty appears it is exhibited, discussed, and if necessary purchased, sent abroad, and there PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 9 We engrave a Rose-water Dish, made by Mr. J. H. Singer, of Frome, from the design of his son. It is excellent in cha¬ racter and admirable in execution, doing honour to works in a comparatively isolated town, whence the enterprising manufac¬ turer continually sends out productions that are not surpassed by any of the metropolis. Yet the artist-artisans are all educated by him ; the establishment, formed by him, has been gradually increasing, and now he furnishes works of beauty to II 111 1 1 I 111 1 : 1 ; / M l llli all parts of the world. He has succeeded, indeed, in creating, in one of the minor provincial towns of England, a commerce in Art that is extensive and extending. In the dish we engrave there are four figures illustrating the four elements; the heads reproduced in the same or a slightly altered form, without the public, or, rather we should say the consumers of the article, knowing anything of its origin. Now the exhibition of novelties not only makes consumers acquainted with them, but tells them whence they came, and where they may be obtained. But it is fair to add, in connection with what occurred at a recent inter¬ national exhibition, that it would be absurd to expect manufac¬ turers to go to great expense to send their productions to be ex¬ hibited in a country where the customs duties are almost or quite prohibitive. At the same time it would be unwise to forget the in the border represent Mercury, Vulcan, Pluto, and Neptune. The darker parts of the dish are of copper, the border is of brass, with raised copper lines all round. The figures are of silver. There are few more admirable works in the Exhibition. fact, that the exhibition of superior or cheaper productions than those to be found in the country of exhibition is one of the best possible methods of combating prohibitive measures ; and there¬ fore, it should, we think, be the duty of every commission to aid manufacturers in such cases by all means in their power, espe¬ cially at the present moment, when there is a decided inclination in more quarters than one towards the old protective, not to say prohibitive system. Mr. Hewitt, who introduced the bill in con¬ gress for the grant for the Paris Exhibition, brought forward these striking arguments : “The information we (the Americans) IO ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE From the Lambeth Pottery new forms are constantly issued to meet the public requirements, that are now very large, yet increasing daily; the schools in which the artists think, study, and work, have greatly augmented, and the beau¬ tiful art which Messrs. DOULTON have revived, if they did not create, has assumed a character that classes it with the leading industrial arts of the period and the country. Honours have make in Paris will add to their renown. Although the two been obtained by them at all Exhibitions, and the “ show” they groups on this page contain copies of many of their more re¬ cent productions, we shall probably be called upon to engrave | true Art lovers everywhere in this Kingdom, and has made otrers. It is unnecessary to describe the style of these works; its way to favour throughout the Continent and in America. In it as been made familiar to the public, been greeted by all j America, indeed, they obtain very large popularity. obtained at the International Exhibition of 1867 respecting the fabrication of steel, increased that business to the extent of twenty millions of dollars in the past five years. In the same way the lessons learned at the Vienna Exhibition have already augmented the value of the leather manufacture by several millions.” To speak of exhibitions in a commercial sense as fraught with nothing but good would be to regard them as not of human origin. They have their faults, their shortcomings, their incon¬ veniences, like all other and especially large and novel, under¬ takings ; but we have this fact before us : that while many persons denounce them, many more hold them in high favour. When we find that such exhibitions have made the circuit of the w'orld, that one or more is opened every year, that our own colony in South Africa had a general exhibition last year and is now about to open another immediately, and that two exhibitions are determined on in our Australian colonies in the present and following year, it is evident that the world in general has decided in their favour, and that no amount of objections or arguments is likely to have much effect. Under PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 11 This page contains a Goblet and two engraved Plaques, contributed by H. J. and L. Lobmeyr, of Vienna, renowned manufacturers of works in glass. They are of great beauty in design and execu¬ tion, confirming, if they do not extend, the fame of the establishment. The plaques are designed by eminent artists, the one by Professor Stock, the other by Herr A. Kuhne. We have often had the satisfaction to engrave examples of their productions, which are always admirable as Art works. The refinement and matured knowledge shown in their costlier issues- are exhibited in those they produce for ordinary use, striving to promote taste and appreciation of beauty in their simplest forms, and achieving -that object in the very plainest things they send out to the world, and that bear the honoured name. such circumstances, it is evident that industrial exhibitions are unavoidable, and it is clearly the duty of every government and every class of producers to get as much good out of each as possible, and the business of every exhibitor to remember the ad¬ mirable maxim, “ Whatever you do, do it with all your might.” The preparations for the coming exhibition in Paris offer strik¬ ing lessons on this head. We there see Spain has erected a magnificent specimen of her architecture in the beautiful grounds that surround the Palais des Fetes, on the hill of the Trocadero, and has constituted within it an admirable museum of the products and industrial adaptations of the country, together with a large and complete collection of her finer wines. The Khedive of Egypt has commissioned Mariette Bey, the French savant who established the museum at Cairo, to make as com¬ plete a collection as possible of the antiquities of that country, and although we write before the exhibition has opened its doors we may say that the collection will be of extraordinary interest. The Shah of Persia has had built by his own architect an exquisite alais in the same grounds, the interior of the cupola of which presents an example of a beautiful style of ornament ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We have selected from the various and varied contributions of Messrs. Copeland for this page only the Flower Bouquet-holders—baskets, and so forth borne by figures—in statuary porcelain, a effective. These agreeable examples of ceramic Art are by no means the best and costliest of Messrs. Copeland’s contributions to the Exhibition ; material they were the first to introduce, and have since carried to a high degree of perfection. They are produced in great variety ; the four we engrave are but selections. For the most part, they are exceedingly graceful and pleasing, apt embellishments to the tables of drawing-rooms and boudoirs. They are of pure white, untouched by gilt or colour, and in that state are very we shall engrave others of a higher order, but these will not diminish the renown they have established in all the countries of the world. peculiar to Persia; the entire ceiling is covered with myriads ■of prisms faced with glass and arranged geometrically, pen¬ dent like stalactites, which must have cost a very large sum. The Japanese government prepared at home a temple and two small houses as illustrations of their methods of construction and decoration, the temple being an exquisite specimen of their unrivalled lacquer-work, and sent over a native architect and workmen to erect them. Japan also, in the latter part of last year, sent over two gardeners with afine collection of the rare and curious plants of the country, which we hope to see very soon in all their quaint elegance. The Dutch authorities have prepared a gigantic representation of the arms of Haarlem, with mottoes in tulips, forty thousand bulbs of which have, it is said, been employed in the floral picture. We might extend this list to ten times the length, but these examples are sufficient to show the deep interest that Europe, Asia, and Africa take in the exhibition. The excitement that hangs about an exhibition is extremely distasteful to many people, and especially to business-like people, and undoubtedly excitement is often mischievous; but PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION *3 models. It is a production of great ability, admirably designed, ) and finished with great skill. The Coffer is six feet in length, and when it takes the form of emulation it is one of the most valuable of stimulants, and almost as effective in invention as necessity herself. It rouses many a man out of drowsy habits in which he would otherwise, perhaps, have vegetated for the rest of his life ; it shakes, as it were, the dust out of us ; we are invited to show what skill and taste w r e possess, we are stimulated to think, we throw aside the rule-of-thumb which has tyrannized over us for years, and by this previous excitement and by the lessons learnt at the exhibition itself manufactures are improved, inven¬ tion flourishes, Art is carried a step farther on each occasion, and trade and commerce and, consequently, the world at large, are benefited. But there is another and a highly important view to be taken with respect to exhibitions, namely, their educational value, or, in other words, the benefit they confer on the public mind. As the worker seizes the best methods of bringing his productions before the commercial world, and as the merchant tries to find the best markets for his wares, so the public are naturally and most for¬ cibly attracted by exhibitions of the class of which we are treat¬ ing. We need not ask what is the use of Art; it would be more d 14 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Mi ROY Brothers, of Paris and of London, are extensive producers of works in bronze, and hold prominent rank in the capital of France. In England also they have established a but these will uphold the renown of the long-established firm. From time to time efforts have been made in England to compete with France in the manufacture of such indispensable high position, chiefly by the manufacture of drawing-room and office Clocks. These are, in all cases, examples of pure and true Art, designed by accomplished artists, and manifesting requirements in households and such extensive sources of profit¬ able commerce. Yet such competition has almost invariably much mechanical skill. The four specimens we engrave are copied from their ordinary productions; those they have made expressly for the Exhibition we shall engrave at a later period, in place here to say with Goethe, “Take care of the beautiful; the useful will take care of itself.” Art is a source of pleasure which the educated generally esteem highly, and which has its expression in the picture galleries and collections of thousands of connoisseurs. For the study of some special branch of Art- industry, museums and books supply the means, but the contents of the former are generally of past date, and must of necessity soon cease to be new. A great exhibition is a temporary museum on a gigantic scale of the new productions of all the civilised world. It attracts failed; our supplies are importations, but it is satisfactory to know that the articles are, for the most part, so good as to be valuable acquisitions, and often valuable instructors in Art. special attention because of its size and its temporary character. If it were permanent we should probably put off our visits for years ; being temporary, we rush to the doors as soon as they are opened, our curiosity is excited, and with the great majority of mankind some such stimulus to self-improvement is almost absolutely necessary. Novelty, again, is another attraction, and each universal exhibition is remembered by those who have paid special attention to it by one or two contributions, which were novelties to nearly all the world. We may recall a few of these from memory. The marvellous productions of India; PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 15 Messrs. John Brinton & Co., of Kidderminster, hold fore¬ most rank among the carpet manufacturers of England ; the principal, if not the exclusive, produce of their extensive esta¬ blishment is of the style known as “ Brussels,” the old “ Kidder¬ minster” not being made in the ancient and venerable town so ' large staff of artists, and the designs they issue are entirely their long identified with the fabric. Messrs. Brinton & Co. have a i own. The two we engrave on this page are examples of their . iii liliii.iiirm 1,111; .ii" 'in.iiiii'i ni . . ..HiiimmlfniiitliiUflir ' . 1 MI' h;,, . 11 , ' 1 iLMi ',1 ; ri' if, 1 ^ jf Sf ’ mSiiiiifJiMriji lllllilllli rtn n ij ipvfJUlijiiafTi i?f tffl PU iy gap BaByli MWIsK i > 'nfUmltWI ■BiSsja "’S, V \ Mb ii piiAjPO) f Srm&i few yja y ja iT. lllfcfT ordinary produce, and are not made directly for the Paris Exhi¬ bition of 1878; they are, however, as are all the productions of the exquisitely constructed machine-making tools of our own engineers ; the Art castings of Berlin ; the engraving on glass ; the band-saw ; the wood-working machinery ; the decoration of porcelain called cite-sur-ftate modelling by means of the brush in light clay on dark; and the revival of cloisonne enamelling, repousse, damascene, and niello work. Most of these and many other novelties were first made known to the general world at one or other of the universal exhibitions, and that which is now about to open its doors is not likely to prove an exception. their looms, of much excellence. The Carpets they have speci¬ ally prepared to show in Paris we shall engrave at a later period. We have spoken of exhibitions as superior shops on a large scale, but they include much that cannot be seen in any shop— chefs-d'oeuvre, unique objects of art which but for such exhibi¬ tions would be hidden from the outer world in palaces and grand mansions, the treasures of the Art-world, such as the Russian malachite work, Parisian goldsmith’s and enamelled work, the Devonshire cameos, and any beautiful thing which is never likely to be reproduced. Again, the emulation created by the universality of the collection gives rise to new and beautiful productions especially prepared for the exhibition. No one of the i6 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Mr. W. H. Constable, of Cam¬ bridge, whose stained glass works have supplied a very large number of our churches, restored and newly in the west window of All Saints’ Church, Newmarket, which has been rebuilt as a memorial to the late Lord George Manners. The single light, also by the same artist, is one of the six lights which are placed in the chancel of the same church, as memorials erected, supplies us with examples of his Art knowledge and matured skill. The one we engrave is to be placed to the Seaber family and others. In the principal window of our engraving the subjects illustrated are the six leading events in the life of our Lord, admirably designed and painted. past universal exhibitions has been without such examples, as the South Kensington and other museums testify, in exquisite shields, in porcelain, in bronze, in short in every department of decorated manufactures. An exhibition is usually as bright and cheerful as a museum is cold and dull ; and while the latter is undoubtedly the better atmosphere for study, brightness and cheerfulness are highly valuable in attracting observation; for men and women are but big children, and, speaking generally, w ? ant something attrac¬ tive. Two elements of these exhibitions are especially so to a vast proportion of the public who have a taste for the arts, but who are unconnected with Art or manufactures, to whom machinery is a mystery, and a workshop or studio a place unknown ; these are, machinery in motion and the exhibition of processes. The modes of producing even the simplest works of Art or ingenuity are necessarily secrets unknown to ninety-nine out of a hundred of the visitors to an exhibition, and nothing can exceed the intense interest exhibited in the faces of those who for the first time see a lump of clay formed into an elegant vase, a trinket covered with gold by electricity, a medal struck from a PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 17 The renowned firm of Boucheron, jeweller and goldsmith, of the Palais of great ability in design and execution. The prin¬ cipal is a Candlestick of silver, very beautifully en¬ graved by an accomplished artist. The other pieces we select are a Chatelaine com posed of rose diamonds and blue Royal, Paris, supplies us with examples crystals, a cross of lapis lazuli ijiiiiijiiiniiiiiiiiiijjiiiiij with a diamond rosette, and a ruby heart upheld by diamonds. beautiful die, a lace-maker at work with her hundred bobbins, a Jacquard loom producing apparently by magic the richest of silks, powdered with the most beautiful flowers. Such lessons as these excite the minds of all but the most frivolous; they give a peep behind the scenes of industry and Art. A man engaged in one art often obtains hints from the processes common in another, but previously unknown to him; an inventor may be saved the loss of time and money which so often attends the invention of something which previously existed, but of which he had no knowledge; and to boys of even the most ordinary The contributions of the eminent firm are of great value. capacity the secrets of the atelier and the workshop are full of delightful interest, and an acquaintance with them may have an influence on their future career in life. Universal exhibitions offer to the public what neither museums nor collections nor shops present—the opportunity of comparing the productions of all nations with each other, and of learning our own deficiencies. It is not necessary to dwell here upon what the first great exhibition taught our own countrymen, nor on the immense improvement which has taken place in our Art- manufactures since that event. The lesson was one of the most e 18 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave a side elevation of the Dining-room in the Pavilion of the Prince of Wales in the English section of the Exhibition. The woodwork is of solid walnut, having panels inlaid with ebony and ivory. Above the dado are eight com¬ partments, representing scenes from The Merry Wives of Windsor, and produced at the Royal Windsor Tapestry Works. n _ . 1 : ' T ill Illiiilll III |ll J 'I 1 ' ! Mill, 1 I I 1 1 I I I T 1 fv 'til ; mix’" sssai Over the mantelpiece is a portrait of her Majesty the Queen, also in tapestry, from the original painting, graciously lent for this purpose. The whole arrangement is from designs executed valuable we could have received. What lessons other exhibi¬ tions have taught is well illustrated in the reports which have appeared in this and other countries, and amongst others in the short, simple, practical reports of intelligent French and English working-men, writing shortly upon that which forms the business of their lives—their art. These are full of instruction. There is still another important feature in great exhibitions —they create much emulation amongst exhibitors, and the public get information they would not easily obtain elsewhere ; by the artists of Messrs. Gillow & Co.’s firm, the object being to secure unity of effect, which has been perfectly obtained. We shall refer to it at greater length, with full descriptions, elsewhere. objects are compared and discussed with much interest; the reports of juries and the awards of medals add to that interest, and thus attention is drawn and information is obtained respect¬ ing productions which otherwise would have been unnoticed or unappreciated by hundreds of visitors. The effects produced often do not reveal the processes employed, as, for instance, in the case of the j)atc-sur-j)ate decoration of porcelain mentioned above, but this and other processes could not be easily exhibited. We have spoken of the characteristics of museums, collections, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 19 We give other examples of the much ability, and with careful and educated skill. Our canters and Water Jugs ; but their works of Messrs. Thomas Webb & Co., of Stourbridge. They are selections from their numerous “exhibits” are at pre- “show” comprises a large variety of objects of all classes and orders . singularly beautiful specimens of engraved glass, designed with to which the engraving and cuttin of the pure metal can be applied. sent limited—as best suited to our purpose—to De f 1 11 w 18 a t r II Mm ’n and shops in relation to exhibitions, and have attempted to show in what they differ; but there is one fact that adds greatly to the arguments in favour of exhibitions, which is, that while France possesses some of the finest collections of works of Art in the world, that are thrown open gratuitously to the public with the utmost freedom, and are thronged with visitors ; while special museums of all kinds are constantly being established; while the out-of-door habits of the people and other circumstances have given rise to the decoration of public buildings, and raised the setting out of objects of beauty to an art, France is the very country in which exhibitions are most popular. To our minds this is perfectly natural. In our own country the case is totally different, and the objec¬ tions to exhibitions flow naturally from the circumstances of the case. We resent having our habits interfered with ; we are not accustomed to live much in public, and the consequence is, that generally speaking, our buildings and streets are made little ornamental, and we have but few museums. It is true that 20 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Plaque engraved on this page is another of the works of Ei.kington, from the design, and mainly executed by, the artist A. W. Willms. It is of repousse steel, in bold relief. The subject represented is ‘ Love brought to Reason,’ the idea being taken from the painting of the famous French artist, P. Prudhon, of the first Empire. The picture portrays Cupid bound to the statue of Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, and being teased by a maiden ; the boy is represented as endeavouring to break his bonds. The border of this work of Art is ornamented by immense improvements have taken and are still taking place, and as results of Art study and exhibitions we may point with pride to one of the most magnificent collections of objects of Art in the world, and to the system of Art education which is doing its work all over the country. We have said that the different feeling which exists in France and England respecting exhibitions arises logically from the different conditions and habits of the two countries, but the logic is not satisfactory ; the want of a national taste for Art causes poor architecture, ugly houses, coarse ornamentation, tawdri- four trophies of arms, richly damascened in gold, and also by four Cupids, imagined to be ambassadors of the one captured, who are flying in different directions, holding in their hands emblems of Love. ness, want of finish in almost everything, and amongst other wants that of cleanliness, neatness, elegance. To all this we had to plead guilty not long since, and although much has been done, a vast deal still remains to be effected. Our acquaintance with Art has enormously enlarged our capacity for drawing and for decorative Art of many kinds, furniture, metal-work, textile fabrics, and ceramic manufactures in particular; the love of Art and the intelligence of it have deepened and widened, but they have not yet permeated the mass of the people—they are not yet, to borrow a phrase from the horticulturist, thoroughly PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 2 I Messrs. TOMKINSON and Adam, of Kidderminster, are im- extensive works, and designed by their own staff of artists, portant contributors of Carpets and Rugs, the produce of their , They are of the class known as “Axminster;” of the old fabric historically recorded as “Kidderminster,” none is now | Adam are not only large manufacturers and exporters, they have produced in the long-renowned town. Messrs. Tomkinson and | obtained high repute for the excellence of their designs and the value and durability of the materials they use. The two exam¬ ples we engrave are not made expressly for the Exhibition ; of those we shall give engravings at a later period. They suffice, acclimatized. But just because acquaintance with and love for Art are not yet common in our country, because our houses are often inelegant and our streets ungraceful, and the decorations of our public buildings and promenades mostly poor; because such is the case it seems to us that to no nation are exhibitions of the artistic productions of the rest of the world likely to produce more important results ; nay, we may go further and say that the effects which have already been produced by exhibitions, which are, comparatively, but of yesterday, place their value from an Art-educational point of view beyond all question. however, to do credit to the staff of artists by whom they are efficiently aided. The produce of their looms, among the best in England, has made its way into every part of the world. THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851. So much has been written about the first International Exhi¬ bition—the Great Exhibition as it was called—that it would almost seem superfluous to add more ; but upwards of a quarter of a century has passed since the Crystal Palace was set up in Hyde Park, and a new generation now supplies us with readers, to whom a sketch of the history of exhibitions will not, we are convinced, be unwelcome ; not as a mere narrative, not as a curiosity, but as furnishing material for future consideration. / 22 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Parquetage of which we give examples on this page is made by Mr. T. Turpin, of Bayswater, who has obtained high reputation for a class of work now very largely used in England, as well as on the Continent, as flooring in aristocratic mansions. Mr. Turpin claims that, by his patent right, he has secured many advantages, the greatest of which is, perhaps, the thinness of the layers of coloured woods, yet rendering the parquet flooring sufficiently strong to resist the strain of heavy bodies. It is with the designs we have most to do ; these, while very varied, mani¬ fest sound Art knowledge and careful study of the appropriate. Everything seemed at the outset to conspire against the pro¬ posed exhibition ; such undertakings were almost unknown to us as a nation, in spite of the fact that Paris had known them for half a century, that those who visited the Continent had seen them in the court of the Louvre and on the Champ de Mars, and that some praiseworthy attempts on a small scale had been j made in London. But all these were national, not international undertakings; and when it was proposed not only to invite all the world to come and see our productions, but to bring theirs to show to our countrymen, the objections raised in and out of That the process can be elaborately worked out is evidenced by the larger cut copied from a floor executed for the Earl of Dudley. Parliament, in public and private meetings, amongst manufac¬ turers and workmen, were so numerous, and in many cases so strenuously urged, that had not the projectors exhibited the greatest determination the scheme would certainly have been nipped in the bud. We have no intention of entering into the ; secret history of certain difficulties ; they were of the kind that commonly occur in large and new undertakings, they were ephe¬ meral, and are not worth reviving. The first grand difficulty that appeared was in connection with the building: prizes had been offered and awarded for PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 2 The Painted Windows, contributed by Messrs. Fouracre and Watson, of Plymouth, are excellent examples of their order. We give the figures without the attendant traceries The picture consists mainly of four subjects: r. Brotherly Love— one figure supporting another in distress. 2. Relief—a female with a child receiving relief from a second figure. 3. Truth—a and armorial bearings. It is a Masonic Window, and is executed for the Guildhall of the old Devon town, designed, and to be placed there, to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales. designs, and the designs themselves had been exhibited in public, when it was found, or believed to have been found, that no means existed by which any of the prize designs could be executed in the limited space of time which remained for the accomplishment of the work. It so happened that the late Duke of Devonshire had recently erected a very handsome conservatory at his seat at Chatsworth, and that his gardener, Joseph Paxton, a man of original genius, had been greatly in¬ terested in the proposed exhibition. The consequence was, in a few words, that Mr. Paxton sketched out a plan for the required figure with a square at his feet, the perfect ashlar, the volume of the sacred law, the compasses, and pencil. 4. Obedience—two figures representing the Fellow Craft and Entered Apprentice. building, which at once called forth the admiration and support of all the practical men engaged or interested in the undertaking. The building, or at least the principal part of it, now stands, as nearly all the world knows, at Sydenham, but to judge of the merits of Mr. Paxton’s design merely from the appearance of the build¬ ing as it stands would be a gross injustice. The plan was based on this important principle, namely, that the building should be, as regarded all the body of it, produced by the repe¬ tition of simple elements, that is to say, glazed bays or frames, all of the same height and width, columns whose duty it was to 2 4 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave the principal pieces of a remarkably beautiful Dessert Ser¬ vice exhibited by Mr. Percival Daniell, of New Bond Street, for whom it was specially painted on porcelain (the manufacture of Messrs. Minton) by the artist, Mr. Thomas Allen. The w'hole of the subjects are copied from drawings by Angelica Kauffmann. The series will be classed among the most successful examples of British ceramic Art, and is not likely to be surpassed by any of the modern productions of the Continent. It is certainly gratifying to find that notable advances in this important branch of Art manufacture have been gradually made since 1851. support the roof and to act as pipes from the gutters above and other like parts, all of which could be produced anywhere, and put together like a puzzle, which a stone or a brick building could not be. The principle has since been extended and greatly developed, but the original sketch of Mr. (afterwards Sir) Joseph Paxton contained the complete idea. 1 lie working out of the plan had important consequences ; it gave rise to the necessity for bringing machinery to the aid of the carpenter. Some machines which had been invented for special purposes were hunted up and modified, and others in¬ vented, and every part of the woodwork of the building was produced by mechanical means, laying the foundation of that important class of machinery which now performs with marvel¬ lous rapidity and accuracy all the operations of planing, mould¬ ing, boring, mortising, tenoning, and even dovetailing, which formerly occupied a skilled joiner more hours than the machines take seconds to produce the work. This was one of the un¬ looked-for effects of the Great Exhibition of 1851. It is not within the plan of these notes to enter further into the subject of the construction of the Crystal Palace and its PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 2 5 We engrave other of the works of Mr. J. W. Singer, of Frome, from the designs of his son. The the whole of which is beaten up from one piece, and then enamelled; from the base rise two very enriched pillars, with carved capitals, support - Monument is a mural brass, nine feet high, a very elaborate example of high-class workmanship, having a curious piece of hammered work for the base, ing the canopy above, on which the four Evangelists are incised, and filled in with colours ; the head being a likeness in repousse work in copper, let into the brass triangular part, while the two angels are chased in bronze.. The other two objects are a Rose-water Dish in repousse work, and a brass Coffee Tray of very fine incised work, entirely cut by the artist’s chisel. consequences; we refer all who may take an interest in it to the Illustrated Catalogue (vol. i.) of the Exhibition in question, or to the article, Wood-shaping Machinery, in the Appendix to the Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts , edited by Charles Tomlinson, F.C.C., where the whole subject is fully treated, with illus¬ trations. The idea of such an exhibition was new to the majority of English manufacturers, and while some of that body took up the project and supported it warmly, not a few were entirely hostile, and perhaps the great majority against rather than in favour of it. Fortunately, as we think, all the world had been invited, so the feast must be spread; there was no avoiding that, except by placing England in an unpleasant position ; so committees were formed all over the country, and, with the assistance of sub-commissioners and the press, to which much was due, a sufficient number of exhibitors was obtained to insure a good show of our best productions. There were political opponents also within Parliament as well as without, who strenuously opposed the idea, for reasons into which it is not necessary to enter, especially as such matters 2 6 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TIIE M. Hottot, of Paris, an eminent manufacturer of works in bronze, sup¬ plies us with examples of his produc¬ tions. They are of the usual order, of the class for which Paris has long been renowned—Statuettes, Vases, Clocks, Candelabra, with France. There the artisans are and so forth—conspicuous for good and true model¬ ling and excellence of finish. In Art works of this artists ; it is not so with us. order England has never attempted to compete We import rather than create. do not come within our range ; and there were persons who, as usual when any new proposal comes forth, imagined all kinds of danger imminent, and felt it their duty to give warning to the world. One of the dangers thus put forth was that such a col¬ lection would attract all the clever scoundrels in Europe, and property would no longer be safe in London. It did attract a few well-known chevaliers cT Industrie, but no inconvenience was caused thereby except to themselves. Members of the police of the principal countries in Europe were on duty; and as the chevaliers arrived at the doors of the Exhibition they were shown into a room where they met each other, and thejr missed the view of the interior. On the first day of May the doors were thrown open according to promise, and no one who was present can forget the mag¬ nificent sight that was then unveiled. More than nine mil¬ lions of persons, or, to speak accurately, more than nine millions of visits were paid to the Exhibition, and its success was im¬ mediate and without a check till the doors closed on the last day of October. The receipts at the doors far exceeded the expenses, and one of the results of the first International Exhi- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 27 .M. JACOBY, a manufacturer of Carved hurni- England by English workmen. The styles are varied, though principally Gothic, and are for all purposes—for use as well as ornament; we cannot ture of high order, exhibits several works that do credit to the artists and artisans employed to produce them. They are all executed in overpraise the skill of the workmen, every production exhibited being remarkable for finish. Works specially for the Exhibition we shah engrave in a later part. bition was the purchase of land at South Kensington, the establishment of the Museum and Art schools there, and the gradual extension of schools of Art over the whole country. The general, the popular success of the Exhibition surpassed ah expectations; but its contents were soon scanned by practised eyes, and it must be admitted that while in some departments Great Britain made a magnificent show of productions, in others her deficiencies were too apparent to escape notice. Every class of articles was examined and reported on by juries com¬ posed of men of science and practical knowledge, delegated by the Commissioners of all the exhibiting nations, and the result was, for those who took the trouble to study the matter, that while Great Britain had achieved great triumphs in many directions, other nations had done the same in other lines, and each had much to learn of the other. And here it may be well to speak of the important subject of the composition of the juries and the method of their action, as this was the first case of the kind, and, with some modifications, furnished a model for all International Exhibitions which have occurred since. The jurors were half English and half foreign, 2 8 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave on this page examples of works in Terra-cotta from the renowned factory of Madame P. Ipsen, “widow,” of Copenhagen, a large collection of which may be seen at the London esta¬ blishment of her agents, Messrs. Arup Brothers, of New Bond Street. They are in great variety, of all sizes, and in all instances pure as examples of true Art, based usually on the antique ; copies, in many instances, of ancient examples pre¬ served in the Museum at Copenhagen. The clay is remarkably fine, found, we understand, in Denmark; and if it be mixed, that process is effected judiciously - The collection will be regarded as of no small value to those who prefer the solid m\mm to the meretricious in Art. The specimens are by no means without ornament; in some cases they are painted, in others they contain well-drawn figures in low relief. and this applied also to the chairmen, who were selected by the Royal Commissioners, the deputy-chairmen and reporter being elected by the jurors themselves. The juries were classed toge¬ ther in groups, of which there were six, including all the classes of raw materials, machinery', textile fabrics, Fine Arts, &c. ; they reported their proposed awards to the assembled group to which they belonged for approval, and the chairmen were formed into a council to consider and regulate the mode of action of the juries. At first it was proposed that there should be three classes of medals awarded, but one was dropped, while one of the remaining two was awarded for whatever ex¬ hibited a certain standard of excellence, avoiding as far as possible the recognition of competition between individual ex¬ hibitors ; the larger, or council medal, as it was called, -was awarded only for some novelty in invention or application, or for originality combined with beauty of design. For articles pos¬ sessing a less amount of merit than those for which medals were given, honourable mention was made in the reports. This short notice of the principles upon which the awards were based is due to the originators of the first International Exhibition, and PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 29 The prevailing taste for “ Early English” and “Queen Anne” furniture has necessitated the introduction of Clocks designed in the style of the period. With the aid examples from special designs by Mr. Thomas Harris, F.R.I.B.A. They are respectively in the Jacobean and Queen Anne styles, are made in walnut and ebony, inlaid with panels of artistically designed [r-T ;! .-.c *■'\' WlM of eminent Art authorities, Messrs. Howell and JAMES, of Regent Street, have produced a series of authentic models, of which the two illustrations here given are painted china. These two Clocks are intended to hang on the walls of a room, and to be decorated with vases, &c., as shown. Messrs. Howell and James are the originators of this new style of Clock. may be of service on some future occasion. The number of exhibitors was about 17,000, the number of ordinary prize medals awarded 2,918, and of council medals only 170. The classification of all the productions of human ingenuity under a few heads is a matter of extreme difficulty, even with sufficient scientific accuracy for such a purpose as that of an exhibition. Much care was devoted to this subject, and although the classification adopted in 1851 has been departed from more or less in the case of other exhibitions, we doubt if it has been much improved upon, and recommend all whose taste or occu- [ pations lead them to the consideration of such subjects, to examine that first adopted, which will be found in full detail in the Official Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition, or in the Jury Reports of the Great Exhibition of 1851. In examining the position of Great Britain with respect to manufactured productions, as exemplified by comparison with those of other nations at the first Great Exhibition, we shall pass very lightly over machinery and ordinary manufactures, for two reasons : first, because in these the superiority of England was in most cases conceded, and therefore served as lessons for h 30 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TIIE We engrave three of the Wall Papers manufactured by JEFFREYS & Co., of Islington ; they are of a high class of Art, laboured earnestly, and with great suc¬ cess, to improve this class of Art produc¬ tions ; but we shall require larger space best effect harmony of colour and appro¬ priateness of position, and have not only rivalled, but surpassed, the produce of designed by eminent artists ; but of those specially produced for the Exhibition we shall give engravings later. The firm has than is here at our command to render them justice. Their papers are not only of excellent design, they study with the Paris, that for so long a period monopo¬ lized the market, and had almost exclu¬ sive possession of the important “ trade.” other nations rather than our own ; and, secondly, because our special business is with those productions in which Art forms an essential element. In the class of steam and other engines, railway carriages, tCc., Great Britain obtained five out of seven council’s medals awarded, and fifty-four out of sixty-six ordinary prize medals ; but little inference can be drawn from this fact on account of the difficulty and cost of bringing such articles over sea. For her carriages she obtained thirteen prize medals out of nineteen awarded. In the class of manufacturing machines of all kinds Great Britain took fifteen council medals out of twenty-two, and an enormous share of the ordinary medals. In this class, and in the most important division of it, England achieved perhaps her highest honour; the engineers’ tools, or machine tools as the}' are now called, those for planing, shaping, boring, drilling, turning, and performing other operations, exhibited by Whit¬ worth, Fairbairn, Maudslay, Sharp, and other engineers, displayed an amount of science and skill combined which called forth the highest astonishment and admiration. This class of machinery was then in its infancy; it has since attained gigantic dimen- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. o i Messrs. Henry Mallet and Sons, eminent lace manufac¬ turers of Nottingham, contribute many specimens of “ Machine- material ; and by using only the most carefully selected thread, giving to the produce of the machine all the delicacy and grace i *' -w!'- PHKaai iSlSS kJwS0Bl®K^ i> n ^;¥ 4 a IW M.MiS aiMa made Lace,” of which we engrave two examples. They are charming in design. The firm employs and is directed by intelligent artists well acquainted with the capabilities of the of hand work, at probably a tithe of the cost of that which issues from the cushion. Messrs. Mallet have thus done much to- uphold the supremacy of England as to its power of machinery. sions, and has revolutionised mechanical engineering. The perfection of scientific workmanship was perhaps attained when Mr., now Sir Joseph Whitworth, Bart., produced an apparatus which detected a difference of the one-millionth part of an inch, and other means of precise gauging, the original forms of which were exhibited in 1851. In like manner England surpassed all competitors in her marine chronometers, one of the most perfect pieces of mechanism ever yet produced, and in marine instru¬ ments ; and she showed advantageously in other classes of manu¬ facture, such as hardware, glass, china, and earthenware. In the working of the precious metals England had already commenced a reform, and there were exhibited some excellent examples of goldsmiths’ work and jewellery, and metal-work quite as artistic, principally of mediaeval character; but the old racing cups had not yet disappeared—diamonds and other gems were still massed together with scarcely any design, although there were some remarkable exceptions. France, Germany, and Russia showed jewellery in which the value of the finest gems was often surpassed by the exquisitely designed and per¬ fectly executed setting, enamelling, &c., and goldsmiths’ work,. 32 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Christesen, of Copenhagen, has made his principal exhibitions. Denmark has reason to be proud of its artist-manufacturer. On this page we engrave a silver Tea-service and a silver Salver; the latter is name famous among the more eminent g smiths of Europe, and has achieved a renown second to none. We have engraved, from gilt: both are slightly oxidized. The designs that ornament the whole are of veiy high merit; they are from drawings made for Herr Christesen by Professor Peters and HerrOlrich, artists high in repute, and who do not consider they condescend when they work for the manufacturer. His London agent is Mr. F. Ahrends, of Piccadilly. time to time, several of his productions as shown at the designed by true artists, executed in the all-but-forgotten manner of the ancients, the most beautiful of all arts on metal, repousse , or cast and chased with a delicacy worthy of Italy at the period when her merchants were princes, and her goldsmiths artists. In modern times the divisions in the Art world are more positive than they were three hundred years ago. It would be out of keeping with our ideas for a Michael Angelo to build a fortification or a church one year, and to chisel a statue out of a block of marble the next; but we find high Art aiding industry in another way, and this was admirably illustrated by foreign contributions to the Great Exhibition. In the first place we find such workers in the precious metals as the late Froment Meurice, aptly called the Benvenuto Cellini of France, prepared for his beautiful art by sound education in the principles of Art and in all its styles. You see, at a glance at his works, that his pencil moved with the accuracy which is only to be obtained by completeness of study ; he produced the style of the cinque- cento, or that of the Renaissance, with the same ease and accuracy as a good penman traces German text or Italian letters on his paper; but in the work of Froment Meurice and of PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 33 M. Meissner, of Paris, long ago established renown for works that are styled “electro-plated;” he is that which we encounter frequently in France, but seldom elsewhere, and never in England—at once the artist, the manufacturer, and the mer¬ chant. As a designer his productions manifest great excel¬ lence ; sometimes, no doubt, they are based upon the antique, yi ms Mpijw « E® S the museums of the French capital furnishing an ample supply of models. Generally, however, they are original, emanations of his own fertile mind and fancy. On this page we en- other great French goldsmiths there is this beyond what the writer can show ; that is to say, a freedom from copying, and an originality which springs from full study and knowledge, coupled with perfect manipulation. The other mode in which artist and Art workmen combine their efforts has been admirably illustrated by Pugin and others in the production of Mediasval work, and it is shown in many ways on the continent; for instance, at the Great Exhibition there was seen a shield, presented by the late King of Prussia to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, which was designed by the great painter Cornelius, its ornaments by Flerr grave two of them; they illustrate what we have said. It must be borne in mind that his productions are issued at small cost, while as Art objects they are worthy of any collection. Shi'ler, counsellor and architect, the modelling by a sculptor named Fisher, the repousse work by M. Mertens, and the engraving of the precious stones which studded it by Signor Calandrelli. It is true that this is an extraordinary case, but our own pages, past and present, show how complete is the union between artists and Art workmen of the higher class. These facts were first made generally known to the world of England by that Exhibition, and great has been the result, as shown not only by the fine works of Art since exhibited in public, but by the contents, of every goldsmith’s window and the tables 34 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE To praise the works of MINTON & do not lessen their fame ; it would be difficult to Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent, would be to “gild refined gold.” Their contri- increase it. They are represented chiefly, as to extent, by several English dealers, for some of whom TfiitTTiTTiTrrrr butions to the Paris Exhibition of 1878 they have executed designs specially furnished to them by such “houses.” We give on this page six of their more promi¬ nent productions: some are large; we can make no reference to scale. of every important mansion in the United Kingdom : the stand¬ ard has been raised and is still rising. Ihe show of bronzes from Paris was a marked feature of the Great Exhibition. The perfection of Art bronze-casting in Paris was previously well known to connoisseurs and dealers, but not to the public. This beautiful art has been gradually brought to a wonderful state of perfection in France, and the modelling, casting, and finishing can scarcely be surpassed. In this trade there is complete division of labour; one man models, a second casts, a third turns and fits, a fourth chases ; but they are all artists, well taught in special schools, and afterwards under skilled masters. Beside real bronze, the production of imitation bronzes in zinc (zinc d'art) has attained great perfection ; often the designs are as good as those employed for real bronze— sometimes the same model is produced both in bronze and zinc—and, when finished in the best manner, it is extremely difficult to tell one from the other unless they are brought into close contact. Zinc, however, is too brittle for very small details. England has produced few small bronzes, but the Exhibition of 1851 showed that in large works the skill of some of her PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 35 The very famous establishment of Tomkinson and Adam, of Kidderminster, furnishes us with another example of Carpet, in the fabric known as Axminster. Their establishment in the great capital of the trade is very large, and the supply thence issued—for home consumption and for exportation to America and the various states of Europe—can be described only by the word enormous. The firm produces, and has in a measure exhibited, examples in all styles, to suit variety of tastes, for libraries, halls, staircases, bedrooms, boudoirs, dining-rooms— founders was great. The Coalbrookdale Company exhibited admirable statuary in bronze as well as in iron. At that period there were few founders in England who produced bronze statuary; now there are several establishments of importance, and many statues and even groups are produced by the electro- galvanic process. The decorated furniture, cabinets, &c., contributed by France, Germany, and Italy to the Great Exhibition excited much interest. Previously to the modes of ornamentation now generally adopted, Buhl,or other inlaid work, was the fashion, and when the form of for every conceivable application; and some of them are of prodigious size, “ in one piece that is to say, entirely fitted to. a room without any aid from the needle of the upholsterer. the cabinet or piece of furniture was good, the result was cer¬ tainly very pleasing; but the style of decoration which now appeared was of a much higher character, outlines carefully studied, wood, metal, gilding, admirably selected and contrasted, wood-carving, bronze, ormolu, steel, silver, and even gold mount¬ ings sparingly and delicately applied, the effect of the whole being often heightened by the introduction of precious stones or pebbles, or by exquisitely painted plaques or medallions in por¬ celain or faience. The most remarkable of these cabinets were, of course, very costly, but generally there was such an evident 36 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE This page contains engravings of the delicate, very beautiful, and truly artistic Glass of Venice—the recent manufacture— issued by the Venice and Murano Company, whose London establishment is in St. James’s Street. The beauty of the forms, combined with richness of colour and application to articles of every-day use, produces an artistic result that has been publicly recognised by the award of prize medals at all the principal International Exhibitions of Europe. Connoisseurs in such matters will at once perceive that mixed with new productions are copies from ancient models, of which large collections exist improvement upon the meretricious, overloaded, and often merely conventional work which had long been in vogue, as to constitute a complete renaissance. Happily the revival was partly due to Englishmen. Ihe wood-carving of the late Mr. Rogers, at that period in the zenith of his fame, was unsurpassed by any living artist. Daring and successful as Grinling Gibbons in the mere imitation of natural objects, he succeeded in producing every style of classic ornamentation with unerring skill and marvel¬ lous effect; while our great cabinet-makers contributed largely to the collection ot truly artistically decorated furniture, which, not only in Italy, but in England and in other countries—a proce¬ dure of the Venice and Murano Company much to be commended. since that date, they have cultivated with admirable taste and skill; but France and Austria carried off all the Council medals in the class. We shall see presently what progress was made afterwards by our countrymen. Amongst the artists who, at the period in question, were striving, and successfully, to raise the standard of English Art workmanship, Owen Jones, since departed, deserves special mention. There is scarcely a branch of decorative manufacture which has not been improved, either directly or indirectly, by his genius, and the works he has left behind him are text-books PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 37 M. Houdebine, an eminent bronze manufacturer, exhibits chiefly statues and statuettes, such as Paris has long supplied to all other parts of the world: they are for the most part modelled by rightly educated artists. Such productions, however merito¬ rious, do not “ tell ” favourably when engraved on wood, and we prefer to copy one of the Vases of the manu¬ facturer, on which there are figures in relief. It is probable that at a future time we shall accord justice to one of the most eminent fabricants of France, who has aided largely to extend the renown of his country. all over Europe. The late Sir Digby Wyatt, like Owen Jones an architect, should also be honourably mentioned in the same way. In the reply made by H.R.H. Prince Albert to the report of Lord Canning on the operations of the juries of this Exhibition we find the following expressions :—“Valuable as this Exhi¬ bition has proved in many respects, it appears to the Com¬ missioners that there is no direction in which its effects will be more sensibly and immediately perceived than in the improve¬ ment which it may be expected to produce in taste, and the impulse it has given to the arts of design.” That such has been the case may, we think, be declared unhesitatingly. INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS FROM 1855 TO 1876, INCLUSIVE. The first International Exhibition held in France was that of Paris, in 1855. Many people considered that the interval which had elapsed since 1851 was too short, and the results, to a certain extent, bore out that opinion; there had not been time for the Arts to show much progress. k 38 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Of the works of Messrs. Copeland, of Stoke-upon-Trent and chiefly. Specimens of figures in statuary porcelain we have New Bond Street, we give six examples; they are of Vases already given. These vases, and others from which they are selected, are good and true in form ; they claim attention and laudation, however, mainly because of their merit as paintings The first Paris International Exhibition presented marked differences from that of London ; the Fine Arts formed a large and highly interesting feature, but they were separated from the industrial portions, and altogether the Exhibition wanted grandeur and completeness of arrangement. The edifice was too small for the purpose; an immensely long annex for machinery was erected by the side of the Seine, a panorama building between the two was purchased, and wooden bridges and pas- i on porcelain, and that is of the highest order. The efforts of the firm to maintain its high character have been entirely successful. sages constructed to join the main building and the machinery annex; but the dislocation of the parts was extremely inconvenient. Still the number of exhibitors was very large—24,000 against 14,000 in 1851—and more than five millions of visits were paid to the Exhibition ; but then it must be observed that the doors were open seven days in the week instead of six, making a total of two hundred days ; while more than six millions of visits were paid to the first Great Exhibition in one hundred and forty-one days. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 39 The Mantel-piece engraved on this page forms part of a dining¬ room suite exhibited by Jaiies Shoolbred & Co., of Tottenham Court Road ; manufactured by them in their extensive factories, where every new appliance for cabinet-work has been introduced in a manner the most thorough as regards Art. The work has ] been carried out under the superintendence of Mr. H. W. Dailey. It is not necessary to occupy our space with the small results which could be, and have already been, pointed out as proofs of progress during the short interval that had elapsed since 1851 ; but this fact remains very clear and distinct—that while the first Great Exhibition gave thousands of our countrymen the first idea of the superiority of France in many depart¬ ments of industrial Art, that of 1855 extended and improved our knowledge of such matters to an enormous degree. The former event had thrown the subjects of Art, Art industry’, and Art education into the debating arena : they had been, and they were still being, discussed in a dozen forms, and the dis¬ cussions were beginning to bear good fruit. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of our own countrymen went to Paris in 1855 fairly prepared for the second lesson; and they learnt it, not only at the Exhibition, but from the shop-windows of Paris, and in many instances in the atelier of the designer and the shop of the Art manufacturer. Again, many classes of productions were very inadequately represented in 1851, but in 1855 every section, and almost every subdivision of a section, was well, and in many cases splendidly, represented. This was particularly 40 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. Maw & Co., of the Benthall Works, Moseley, exhibit largely. They enable us to engrave many of their best speci¬ mens of Tiles, but a description of them must be postponed. Of tiles specially designed for hearths there is a great variety. evident in the admirable show of silks and other decorated textile productions of Lyons and the other great centres of the trade in France, and in the combined exhibition of our own textile manu¬ factures. Another section attracted immense attention, that of porcelain and earthenware, in which the French and the English ceramists made magnificent displays, and fairly divided the honours. The second International Exhibition which occurred in London, that of 1862, possessed, as respected building and organization, some of the advantages and some of the drawbacks which belonged to its predecessors. It wanted the unity of design which was characteristic of the Crystal Palace ; the nave was large, bold, well lighted, but it was not on a level with the rest of the building, and steps in such places are not only incon¬ venient, but positively dangerous. The centre of the plot was devoted to the uses of the Horticultural Society, so that the wings were separated by a vast space, as may be seen at the present day, for although the main building has been removed, the wings, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 4i M. Fitzaine holds foremost rank among the most eminent goldsmiths bably among the best of his works for which he of Pans; he has supplied us with specimens of his always admirable seeks the approval of the public; ’and no doubt works, the principal of which is an Inkstand of much artistic beauty. A Basin and Jug, distinguished as Syrene, are also of sterling merit; and the high repute he has long maintained in Paris will thus be extended to other parts of the world. But of so, indeed, is the very graceful Candelabrum. These he has selected for us to engrave as examples of his skill in designing; they are pro¬ goldsmiths there are few exhibitors. Of the precious- produce of the Art manufacturer not much is shown. which contain the existing galleries, retain relatively the same position. On the other hand, the picture galleries of the 1862 Exhibition were grand and admirably lighted, and the show of pictures remarkably fine. We have given the results as regards visitors to the two former Great International Exhibitions, and may add that in spite of grievous mismanagement, which seriously endangered the under¬ taking, the Exhibition received 6,211,103 visits, or nearly 200,000 above the number of 1851, but it was open thirty days longer. The space of time that had elapsed since the first Exhibition was considered sufficient to show a marked advance in many branches of Art, and expectation was not disappointed. One of the most striking changes had come over the dyer’s art, and this was admirably illustrated at the Exhibition. The- dyer had formerly to depend for his purples on indigo, which was terribly expensive, or on orchil, which gave but a fugitive dye. In 1856 a superior preparation of orchil was discovered in France, which produced a purple lake much superior to the old orchil, or cudbear, dye; but in the same year Mr. Perkin, a pupil of Dr. Hofmann, brought out the first of the coal-tar colours, l 42 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Mr. A. C. Ebbutt, of Croydon, exhibits a Cabinet of much merit and value as a work of Art. I he frame, or groundwork, is of oak, but it is largely ornamented by various rare woods, skilfully and artistically introduced. It is impossible to describe its more ornamental parts ; but our engraving may convey an idea of its ample Art adornments. There are figures emblematic of Painting, Music, and Literature; the centre panels represent the four elements ; and wild flowers and fruits are abundantly Tirii'illlillllMHU'iiilil 111 m 1111 ■ 11 > 111~ mnim i im’in ■ ‘ * * * . . . UiIiiiiiiiiiiimiP i iium iininin n hi .mn TTiinmtiiim ' me _ ■ ■ iSSES!!!!!! SUHiiuimAjiTmT? introduced. Twelve inlaid panels depict the twelve signs of the .z-odiac, and over these are two ornamental scrolls forming the word Croydon—the work being named the “ Croydon Cabinet”—and “ Perkin’s purple,” which has been followed by a marvellous family. These colours were called aniline, the name given to one of the components of indigo. The discovery was of im¬ mense importance, for not only was the purple produced dif¬ ferent and finer than any before known, but cheaper than indigo, and so fast as to be fairly called permanent. Many new colours had been found within a few years—a fine purple, called muroxide, for instance, was obtained from Peru¬ vian guano—but no new pigments have been so successful in printing and dyeing as Perkin’s purple, and the beautiful series the date 1876. It is a most elaborate work of the very highest class, a complete triumph of the cabinet-maker, and confers the utmost credit on all who have been engaged in its production. of magentas, blues, violets, and greens, which like it have all been drawn out of the waste of the gas works by the magic art of the chemist. The Indian and other Oriental exhibits in 1851 and 1855 taught not only England, but all Europe, that their carpet designs were far indeed from what designs for such articles should be. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the architectural columns and friezes, birds, beasts, reptiles, and similar abomi¬ nations, which have been often exposed in our columns ; the important fact is to show how better taste grew little by little, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 4 -> -to The Vallauris Pottery, which supplies us with objects that compose this page, is not far from Cannes, in the South of France. It was formed by the father of the present proprietor, M. CLEMENT MASSIER, about thirty years ago, and has from year to year sent forth abundant examples of good Art. The forms are chiefly copied from ancient productions of Greece and Rome, with “occasional borrowings” from Per¬ sian and Moorish originals, freely supplied from the museums of France. They owe their popularity, however, mainly to their brilliant glaze, gene¬ rally of a dark green or brown, but often varied by other colours. and brought in a totally new treatment of carpet patterns. Immense progress had been made in the carpet loom ; but machinery can only copy, and a bad design, however often or rapidly copied, is still a bad design. And the same is true of dyeing and printing; machinery does enable you to use all the colours in existence, and yet to produce cheap decorative fabrics : still, from the Art point of view, the design is all in all. At this Exhibition it was admitted that a vast change had taken place; propriety of design and harmony of colour had been studied with great success by manufacturers and designers in all countries, and an immense improvement achieved. Before quitting the subject of carpets, it should be mentioned that many excellent examples are not seen to advantage at exhibi¬ tions, on account of their being almost necessarily, from want of space, suspended instead of being laid flat as intended. A visitor might remedy this to a certain extent by lying down on his back, but this would be inconvenient; the position, how¬ ever, should always be taken into account on looking at a sus¬ pended carpet. Hand and machine lace and embroidery also exhibited great 44 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. John Hare & Co., of Bristol, have long held a foremost position among British manufacturers of Floor Cloths, a class of useful ornamental Art that still keeps its place, not¬ withstanding the many “ inventions” that have been “found out” to displace it. We supply one example of their work; the infor¬ mation suggested by it would require more space than we can give. Established in 1782, the firm has endeavoured to utilise Art in such a way as not to interfere with the purposes to which floor-cloth is applied, the chief considerations being strength and durability. To insure these, every article used in making the fabric is prepared by them. The hemp and flax enter the works in the raw state as imported, and are spun and woven by them. The colours are all manufactured by them, the finer chemical colours being struck on whitelead, which is produced in improvement in design, and the works and manufactures of Great Britain showed a full share of the progress; gaudy imitations of natural objects had become much less common than formerly, and the designs generally evinced intention and fitness. Almost every section of the Exhibition testified that since 1851 an immense stride had been made towards the judicious application of ornament, artistic capability, and har¬ mony in colouring. The next great International Exhibition of importance was that held in Paris in 1867. It was planned and carried out on their extensive whitelead works. By thus insuring that the bases of everything are first class, they are able to supply to the public an article which for nearly a century has taken the highest stand. Indeed, the firm of J. Hare & Co. is known throughout the world. a broader basis than either of its predecessors, and with results which proved the wisdom of the arrangement. The building occupied the central portion of the Champ de Mars, where the present structure stands. The covered space amounted to 150,000 square metres, and the grounds contained an immense number of special buildings belonging to all nations, amongst which the ancient Egyptian temple with its antiquities ; the palace of the Khedive ; the Cairo house, with its Nubians, negroes, and others employed at their native handicrafts; the Turkish mosque; the Tunisian palace and garden, with a native orchestra; the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 45 We give on this page some of the very varied works of Messrs. I Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co., of Cauldron Place, Staf¬ fordshire. We shall engrave other of their excellent productions. however, by a very marvellous achievement in pottery—a group Here we only inseit a few of their lesser works, surmounted, of two Tigers. It is meant to show the power of the works in modelling, painting, and accuracy in copying from nature, and will Russian farmhouse and stables; and the timber structures of Sweden and Norway, were perhaps the most interesting. The number of exhibitors exceeded 50,000, the Exhibition was open during 210 days, and the number of paying visitors amounted to 10,200,000, or, on an average, 47,619 per diem ; but even this enormous daily attendance has been since exceeded, as we shall presently show. We should mention that even the 100 acres of the Champ de Mars, with the banks of the Seine added, were not sufficient for the purposes of the Exhibition, and the agricultural portion was established on an island some distance down the river. demand some more detailed description than we can find room for. Wanting in the grand simplicity and lightness of the Crystal Palace, not offering one single fine vista, the 1867 Exhibition was most remarkable for the brilliancy of its contents, and for the novel addition of a large and beautiful garden, or ^>arc, as it was called, studded with specimens of the architecture of nearly the whole world, and enlivened by the presence of Euro¬ peans of every nation—Turks, Egyptians, Nubians, and Tuni¬ sians—most of them having their own cafes and restaurants. With respect to the productions exhibited, it would be dif¬ ficult to speak too highly but all that we can do is to men- m 46 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OE THE Messrs. Henry and John Cooper, of Great Pulteney Street, London, exhibit a Cabinet they have called the “ Princess Cabinet.” It is a production of remarkable merit and of great beauty, as well as an example of careful and refined workman¬ ship. The groundwork is rosewood. The intention throughout has been to achieve an harmonious result by the subordination of the painted panels to the general structure. The structural design of the Cabinet is by Mr. Henry J. Cooper, of the firm. tion some of the instances in which decided progress was manifest. Amongst ceramic ware some of the French reproductions or imitations of Palissy faience were remarkably good ; but this of itself would be of little importance from an Art point of view, had it not been accompanied by applications of Palissy’s principles, showing improved taste, admirable modelling, and harmonious colouring. Another feature was the revival of the style of the ancient pottery of Tuscany by the Marquis Ginori, who is proprietor of one of the most famous potteries of the six- i The ornamental details are the work of Mr. Lewis F. Day. The “pictures” introduced are from Tennyson’s “Princess.” tcenth century, Capo da Monti, and, it is said, has many of the moulds of the old ware in use. It was admitted on all hands that the Marquis had far surpassed all modern potters in pro¬ ducing a near approach to the much-admired lustred ware of the old potters. But perhaps the most charming revelation of all in the ceramic section was the amount of true Art brought to bear on faience in the style of the old Persian, or the com¬ paratively modern ware of Rouen and other places. It was Staffordshire that first succeeded in the reproduction of majolica and other wares of that nature, and which still holds the first 47 PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. We give other examples of the admirable productions of the Royal Porcelain Works, Worcester, under the direction of R. W. Binns, F.S.A. They are of all styles; but especially the accomplished Art director of the renowned establishment has studied to make popular that of the Japanese, copying, or rather adapting, the designs of a people whose very impulses seem to guide them rightly in all matters of Art. The more prominent and important of the contributions of the Wor¬ cester Pottery are four Vases en suite, the paintings on which illustrate the several processes of the potter. These are of the very highest merit in design and execution, and cannot have failed to attract the attention and command the admiration rank for excellence of body and glaze; but the visitors to the Exhibition not conversant with Parisian potters during the few past years were delighted with the beauty of the drawing and colouring, and astonished at the size and perfection of their great plateaux, plaques, &c., amongst the most remark¬ able works being a mural fountain and a summer-house of con¬ siderable size, reproducing the Persian and other Oriental styles in an admirable manner. The Staffordshire potters delighted all judges of ceramic ware by their magnificent vases, jardinieres, fountains, and other large pieces, both in porcelain and majolica I of all Art lovers, enabling the great firm of England honour¬ ably to compete with the leading continental manufacturers. and other kinds of faience, the decoration of which showed great progress in originality of design and able execution. The rivalry between France and England during a few years had produced works which far surpassed the famous Etruscan ware in its body, its glaze, and its colours, and perhaps also in taste. If one country may claim the prize for pure porcelain, the other may well do the same for faience of the highest quality and the most judicious ornamentation. The crowning achievement of the French potters brought prominently before the world at this Exhibition was the $ate- 48 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We devote another page to engravings of the works of Christesen, of Copen¬ hagen, who undoubtedly takes very high period. Herr Christesen fully sustains in 1878 the character he has obtained as a copyist of antiques, by which, if we mistake not, his renown was made; but of late rank among the goldsmiths and jewellers of Europe. The Centre-piece is a produc¬ tion of much grace and beauty, designed by one of the most accomplished artists of Denmark. The examples of jewellery will be recognised as forms familiar to those who are acquainted with ancient models: one of them closely resembles the famous Irish brooch of a very early years he has devoted his master mind to productions entirely original, and aided, as we have said, by the best artists of his country, he has augmented his justly gained renowm. sur-fiate ornamentation, which was the result of many years’ careful study and scientific experiment at the Sevres factory. Most of our readers, doubtless, have become acquainted with the style, but, for the benefit of such as have not, the method may be described in a few words. The vase, or other object to be decorated, is coloured with oxide of chrome mixed with cobalt, nickel, and uranium, and then, while it is still unburnt, the design is produced with white clay in the state of paste, and camel-hair pencils. None but a practised artist need attempt this, for such painting and modelling combined require the utmost surety of hand and eye. One of the special beauties of such ornamentation is the gradation from the opaque to the transparent, the thick portions of the ornamentation being of a brilliant white, while the colour of the ground gleams through the other parts in proportion to their thinness. English terra-cotta also had great success, the most notable examples being a slab with a recumbent figure of the late artist Mulready, six feet long; and a structure designed after the tomb of Synd Oosman at Ahmedabad, forming a colonaded temple, which was much admired. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 49 W e engrave another of the Plaques of Messrs. Elkington, and again one of the works of the Art manager of the renowned establishment, M. \Vi 11 ms. Ihe Plate is executed in repousse of silver and iron, damascened with gold. The subject is taken | from the well-known picture by Paul Delaroche, the daughter of Pharaoh finding the infant child Moses hidden among the bul- [ rushes—the boy who was destined to be the deliverer of his people out of the house of bondage in Egypt. The border is composed of four iron plaques in the “ style Egyptienne.” The effect of the colour is singularly pleasing to the eye, contrasting as it does with the ornaments of gold and silver. The whole com¬ position is exceedingly harmonious. It is one of the many works The artistic bronzes, and their imitations in zinc and cast iron, were remarkably fine, and showed improvement in design; but the most satisfactory evidence of progress was seen in the highest methods of working metals, namely, by the hammer, the chisel, and the punch-wrought, pierced, chiselled, and repousse. French, English, German, and Italian Art workmen all showed how truly there had been a revival of these charming modes of ornamentation, but we can only find space for two examples : first, the introduction of admirable furniture orna¬ ments in steel, copper, silver, and gold, which have since been contributed by the eminent firm to uphold the fame they have acquired. There are others of greater importance that we shall be called upon to engrave before our work is brought to a conclu¬ sion. In Paris the firm of Elkington upholds the fame of England. largely adopted with charming effect in France, and exhibiting a high class of artistic power and taste; and, secondly, the beautiful hammered iron and repousse work of our own country, including the productions in the ecclesiastical style of the Middle Ages, which have been abundantly illustrated in our pages, and which reflect the highest honour on our countrymen. In repousse work in gold and silver the artists of all the countries above mentioned exhibited wonderful progress and admirable skill. The French goldsmiths triumphed in the pro¬ duction of a class of articles which presented another revival of n 50 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The works that issue from the atelier of Lefevre, of Paris, are marked by a most lively fancy of design and artistic refinement of ex¬ ecution. In productions of bronze, of the class of which we give exam¬ ples, the French capital has long borne the palm. Clocks, Vases, and Pedestals, and all the peculiar graces of Parisian homes, are the especial products of the famous factory. iff®! SppP^rn rlSiSl Lin gf ‘ rl 1 1 V j i) * V Jj=±=k | U-L—> But his single figures are modelled with refined artistic skill; they are, for the most part, by the leading sculptors of France. fine old Italian work, namely, repousse and enamelling com¬ bined on gold. M. le Pec exhibited a number of charming works of this kind ; he has obtained great mastery over metallic colours, and his ornamentation is of the most delicate kind. The service of the gold in enamelled work consists in the fact that it does not oxidize, and therefore does not interfere with the colours of the enamels in the furnace—a great point, as elaborate works have to be fired very many times. But the gold also affords the opportunity for the exhibition of other kinds of work, such as chasing; and the most artistic productions are those in which it is made to exhibit all its beauty. It is a mistake to hide so beautiful a metal, as the Indian enamellers do ; a true artist will not forego the effects of the contrast between such substances as enamels, whether translucent or opaque, and gold, whether matted or burnished. Another striking novelty which made its appearance at the 1867 Exhibition was a mixture of carving and piercing, admi¬ rably applied by M. Fourdinois to a cabinet composed of two coloured woods, black and brown. The design being prepared, pieces of each kind of wood, of whatever thickness required, are PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 5i We devote another page to the Porcelain Works of Messrs. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co., of Cauldron Place, Staf¬ fordshire. The firm has made a strong effort not merely to establish, but to extend its fame. The works consist not only of all matters for “trade,’’ in the production of which they arrive at great excellence, but of Vases of large size, of unexception¬ laid upon each other and cut through with the fret saw; the pieces are then separated, and carved in any desired manner: this method allows of great relief and boldness. The cabinet was purchased by the British Commission, and is now one of the glories of the furniture collection at South Kensington, where also may be seen several examples of decorative cabinet-work from the same Exhibition by English firms who showed with great distinction in that class. The cabinets, and other deco¬ rated woodwork of France and England at this Exhibition, were of a very high character, admirably constructed, of the finest able forms, painted upon by artists of great ability who form the staff of the establishment. It is unnecessary to describe them. woods, carefully matched and contrasted, enlivened by exquisite carving, gilding, and inlaying, and by the introduction of pre¬ cious stones, ivory, and metal; and, with some exceptions, executed in pure, sometimes severe, taste, which showed how Art teaching and study had done their work in a quarter of a century. We have not said half enough of this magnificent Exhibition ; in fact, we have only culled a few of the flowers in that brilliant field ; but space and various conditions must be considered, and we must pass to other subjects, with the general remark that 52 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE M. DuCEL is the great manufacturer of works in cast iron, to whom Paris is so largely indebted for the grace and elegance that supply so many of the adornments of its streets. The five engravings we give are copied from his Lamp-posts, or Lamp- stands ; those chiefly that hold movable lamps, or are intended to be surmounted by vases. Our illustrations convey sufficient idea of the designs, but they can give none as to the remarkable clearness, sharpness, and delicacy of the casting, which is gene¬ as in gold and other metal work, in ceramic ware, in decollated cabinet-work, so in textile manufactures of all kinds, there were exhibited in the Champ de Mars, in 1867, a general improve¬ ment in taste, and an amount of refinement in execution and delicacy in the application of ornament of all kinds and in the use of colour, which surpassed the expectations of the most enthusiastic advocates of Art education. The general character of the improvement, too, was very marked ; for while in former revivals it has often happened that improved methods of decora¬ tion have been applied to inelegant forms, the progress now evinced related to form as much as to ornamentation, and tended generally towards grace and away from extravagance in ornament. rally as brilliant as if the metal employed were bronze instead of iron. The rank of the eminent manufacturer is of the highest. In 1871 was commenced at South Kensington a series of exhibitions which were international, but not universal. The ex¬ periment was not successful, but it would be a mistake alto¬ gether to condemn the principle adopted. Supposing an exhibition to be merely a means of improving those already interested in, or attracted by, a certain industry, there can be little question that a complete collection of the productions of one, two, or three kinds would be more beneficial than a less complete and more mixed collection, and that the absence of crowds and excitement would be a positive benefit. But when we regard exhibitions as not for the improvement of workmen, manufacturers, and students only, but also for the general artistic and industrial education of the whole nation, then the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 53 This page contains two examples of Carpets contributed by the firm of HENDERSON & Co., of Durham ; the one is of their patent “Axminster,” the other a “Wilton” (of which we give the border only). The names distinguish the higher order of work, but Messrs. Henderson claim to have made approaches I are highly effective. They owe much to the advantage of to the original products at very much less cost. The Axminster j judiciously arranged and harmoniously blended colours, which is simple and pure in design, the Wilton more elaborate; both | here we cannot give them. The firm of Henderson & Co. has been long established, and honourably recognised at the several I 1867, and also in those of New York, Dublin, Vienna, and Exhibitions—of 1851 and 1862, and in those at Paris in 1855 and I Philadelphia, at all of which they obtained honorary medals. excitement and discussion which are the natural consequences of large and extraordinary undertakings supply the stimulus and the impetus which it would be almost impossible to create in any other way. The most prominent feature in the first of these exhibitions was the collection of china, earthenware, and other pottery, and terra-cotta work, from all parts of the world ; certainly the most brilliant ceramic exhibition ever yet seen, and the part which our own manufacturers took was a very large one. In the interval between 1867 and 1871 the English manufac¬ turers had made excellent progress, and, generally speaking, in form, in colour, and in taste there was proof of undeniable improvement; while, if there were little in the material itself, it was because it had already nearly reached perfection. France had but just emerged from a fearful conflict, and could prepare nothing new for the occasion, but the few contributions from Sevres and other ceramic works fully maintained the reputation of French Art pottery. After some delay our neighbours made a brilliant show, and the productions of Paris especially attracted universal admira- o 54 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave seven of the contribu¬ tions of Wedgwood and Son, of Etruria; the name has a magic in¬ to the other has been prejudicial, and not beneficial, to fluence for all who love ceramic art. The productions of the great prede¬ cessor, no doubt, influence for good his successors, but it is sure that the fame handed down by the one the firm by which the works are carried on—the grand¬ son and great-grandson of the illustrious Josiah. It will be seen from the specimens we give that some of the old forms are retained; so, in¬ deed, of the old ornamental groups and figures; but in the I productions of the present firm ! there is much that is original i as well as excellent: they will take rank among the best of British potters, and continue the honours of the name. tion. Amongst the most striking of them were works in bronze, gilt and silvered, and decorated with exquisite repousse and chased work worthy of the best days of Italian Art, and marked by much charming invention, if not actual originality. I he exquisite enamelled work on gold and other metals referred to above showed decided advance, both in design and execu¬ tion. Lastly, the adaptations of Oriental and other modes of ornament were marvels of taste and skill, and new to almost everybody out of Paris. These consisted of true cloisonne enamels—also produced by Messrs. Elkington & Co. with great success—and in some instances, in a modified form, two or more tints being introduced into each cell; bronze-work, with panels of true cloisonne, or incised enamels; inlaid metal-work, after the manner of the Japanese ; and lastly, glass lamps and vessels decorated with enamelled work in the old Moorish style, a manufacture of great difficulty, and, when not over-elaborated, extremely pleasing. The next Universal Exhibition which occurred was that held PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 55 Messrs. Steel and Garland, of Sheffield, are among the most eminent manufacturers of stoves, grates, and fenders. They have obtained renown at all exhibitions, and fully uphold it in this of 1878. We select for engraving one of their many contributions; it is a Grate of iron, inlaid with brass repousse, \ from a design furnished by Mr. Talbert, a skilful and successful designer of Art manufactures. The figures represent Poetry and Music. All the ornamental parts are in good taste. The Grate is one of eight contributed by Messrs. Steel and Garland ; in Vienna in 1873. The capital of Austria had not all the attrac¬ tions of that of Paris ; the distance from the west of Europe formed a serious difficulty, yet more than 42,000 exhibitors pre¬ sented themselves, and in spite of tropical heat, cholera, and deadly fevers, the visits averaged 39,000 a day, and the total exceeded seven millions and a quarter. In 1876 occurred the Philadelphia Exhibition, which was held in several separate buildings, some of which remain permanent ornaments of the beautiful park of Fairmount, where the Exhibition was held; the five principal buildings—there were innumerable small pavilions, mosques, &c., not included—gave a covered area of nearly 48 acres. The Exhibition was open it is needless to say they rank high as examples of finished workmanship. Of their Fenders we may hereafter give examples, for they alone represent this division of a staple trade of England. 159 days, and the total number of visits amounted to nearly ten millions, giving an average of almost 62,000 daily ; but the most extraordinary fact with respect to number is, that in one day it reached 274,913, thus exceeding the highest total’ attained in a day in Paris in 1867 by more than 100,000. The cause of these immense numbers may be sought partly in the fact that everybody travels in the United States, but more, we venture to think, in the admirable arrangements which were made for conveyance, lodging, and refreshments of all kinds, and the moderation of the charges for such accommodation, supplying a lesson that should never be forgotten. The principal objects of Industrial Art were fully illustrated 56 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Slabs, and Sides of Fireplaces. It will be seen, on the most cursory inspection, that the designs are by first-class artists, at the time in our columns, so that it is not necessary to dwell upon this Exhibition at any length. There is one point, how¬ ever, which demands a few words, namely, the progress which was shown in the Art manufactures of the United States. This was very conspicuous in the works of the silversmiths. The Gorham Company, of New York and Providence, produced a grand piece of plate, a centenary vase, designed by Messrs. Y ilkinson and Pairpoint, artists attached to the establishment, a vase, a centre-piece for a table service, and other articles, and the results may be described, generally, as skilful and excellent paintings on durable earthenware. which exhibited considerable ingenuity and much excellent workmanship. Messrs. Tiffany & Co., of New York, another eminent silversmith’s establishment, which had already won honours in Europe, showed some remarkable work, proving that the sculptural—the highest department of the worker in metal— had been cultivated in the States with much success. Messrs. Caldwell & Co., of Philadelphia, exhibited articles of plate, some after classic types, others of simple form, with ornamenta¬ tion composed of flowers and foliage executed in repousse in a PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 57 We engrave a page of the contribu¬ tions of a famous house of Sheffield— productions in the style that has made the name famous for centuries, but which modern inventions have in a measure set at nought. These are examples of the good old Sheffield Plated Goods, made to wear and to last. They are contributions from the works of Messrs. Ridge, Woodcock, and Hardy, Ml If w SHI! 1KP 1 'If A ■Csff ■ !Ufj and comprise all the many varieties indicated by the term—the graceful and indispensable ^ T ' i II i acquisitions of English homes. Our selections have been made to show that variety. manner that revealed the true Art workman. Messrs. Reed and Barton, of New York, and Taunton, Massachusetts, made a remarkably fine show, by which the attainments of the silver¬ smiths of the United States referred to above are again forcibly illustrated. The Middleton Silver Plate Company, of Middleton, Connecticut, were also important exhibitors, and their works showed, like the before mentioned, great skill in modelling and chasing. The Philadelphia Exhibition was certainly a triumph for the American workers in the precious metals. The application of true Art to other metals w r as admirably illustrated in a stove, grate, and fender of Gothic character, showing much ingenuity in adaptation and ornament, by Messrs. W. H. Jackson & Co., of New York ; and in a grand cast-iron fountain, in the most elaborate form of the Renaissance, from the J. L. Mott iron works of New York, entirely designed, modelled, and executed by the artists and Art workmen of the establishment—a very fine work. There was similar evidence of progress in design in the pro¬ ductions of Mr. Shasty, of New York ; Messrs. Decker Brothers, of the same city; and some other manufacturers of decorative P 5* ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE On this page we engrave two of the very high-class metal-works of Messrs. JONES and Willis, of Birmingham, and also of London ; Late Gothic style ; the uppermost part is supported by a tricolumnar shaft borne by a tripod base resting on three dragons. The wrought-iron Entrance Gates are designed in the spirit of the Early Gothic ; they are hammered iron by the ordinary black- the Gates are of wrought iron, the Standard is of w'rought brass. The latter is a Seven-branch Gas Sanctuary Standard, 13 feet high, in the smith’s tools. That this may be apparent to connoisseurs, they have been left without superficial decoration of any kind. The w r eight of the Gates is about four tons. furniture. We may mention especially an elegant sideboard in solid oak by the former firm, and a pianoforte case by the latter: in both instances the lines are full of harmony, and the carving is remarkably good ; and in the latter case some delicate inlaying in various coloured woods, relieved with bronze, exhi¬ bit much taste and skill. We have said that modelling and sculpture seem to be a favourite and successful art in the United States, and, were it necessary, we might cite the names of Greenhow, Story, Spence, and other well-known artists in support of that view. Amongst sculptured works at the Exhibition was a fountain by the late Miss Margaret Foley, for some time resident in Rome, who has carved for herself a high reputation. Lastly, we must mention a mantel-piece by Messrs. Gauchere & Co., of New York, executed in the beautiful greenish-white stone known in France as Algerian onyx, the design and carving of which are admirable. THE PRESENT EXHIBITION. Tile Paris Exhibition of 1878 surpasses that of 1867, as regards extent, as much as the latter surpassed that of 1855 > but some PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 59 Messrs. Willis & Co. are eminent manufacturers of Carpets in the long-famous town of Kidderminster, where they produce the several classes of fabric—excepting that which was so long extensively manufactured there, and which, from some cause unexplained, is no longer produced in that capital of the manu- | they issue excellent and appropriate designs, and sustain the facture. Supported by a staff of able and experienced artists, i renown they achieved long ago. No doubt our English Art manufacturers will maintain their supremacy in the productions of this important class of Art; important “ all the world over,” reservation has to be made. Other works not belonging to the Exhibition proper have enormously increased the extent of the undertaking, which has been a very difficult one admirably carried out. The Trocadero, a hill on the opposite side of the river to the Champ de Mars, and which takes its name from a French victory, has gone through an extraordinary number of changes. Long since it was the site of a convent, and in digging the foundations of the present buildings a number of coffins with the remains of the nuns within them were dis¬ covered ; later, it was found that the hill was composed of stone but especially so in England, where a home without a carpet would be as singular as would be a room without a fireplace. of a quality far superior to that generally found in the Paris quarries, and the greater part of the hill had been honeycombed by the old miners, so that when the present building was com¬ menced the work of laying the foundations and supporting the enormous pressure of the ground at the back was almost Cyclo¬ pean. The foot-walls had to be carried, of course, to the lowest level of the old quarry, and the sustaining wall had been con¬ structed in the manner of a fortification. Once it was determined to build- here a palace for the Roi de Rome, the ill-fated son of Napoleon ; then for a long time it lay 6o ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Few can have passed the large establishment of Mr. Lamps, of all orders, of all sizes, and for all purposes. The productions Gardner, in the Strand, London, without remarking he contributes to Paris are principally Chandeliers; they will seem very simple in the eyes of Parisian fabricants, and are certainly more in accord- evidence of good taste, purity of design, and excellence of workmanship, conspicuous in all the productions that are seen publicly. His largest business is in ance with English than French taste, but they are such as grace the majority of our drawing-rooms, and will not overbear and overweigh the other furnishing of graceful and elegant domestic homes. No doubt Mr. Gardner does frequently produce articles that are, in one sense, greater, but he has preferred to exhibit only those which unite neatness with beauty, and are happy combinations of glass with metal: such as suit every house. entirely waste, the populace of Paris climbing up its rugged sides, or descending from the plain behind it to witness the evolutions of the soldiers on the Champ de Mars. The directors of the International Exhibition of 1867 determined to turn it to some account, and a large sum of money was spent in form¬ ing it into a pleasure ground, in which condition it remained till the grand plan of the present Exhibition again disturbed it. Now the hill is crowned with a handsome building, consisting of a central amphitheatre, or Palais des Fetes, of a circular form, and capable of holding four thousand four hundred persons ; on the boulevard behind are a grand fai^ade and entrance ; right and left are two noble vestibules supjoorted by polished pillars of the beau¬ tiful Jura stone ; while above the vestibules and entrance hall are concert-rooms or conference chambers which accommodate five hundred spectators, and a number of smaller rooms. From each side of this grand central building extend wings which embrace nearly the whole of the hill, and curving forward terminate in square pavilions at some distance down the hill. The total length of the building and wings is about 1,300 feet. The entire front towards the Seine is colonnaded, and the central portion PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 61 Mr. Thomas Hall, house decorator, of Edinburgh, exhibits a work of considerable merit. It is a very agreeable picture of decorated furniture and wall-panelling for a dining-room, of the Marie Stuart period. We avail ourselves of a description with which the artist-manufacturer has furnished us The centre of the space is occupied by a Buffet constructed in two stages. Upon the lower panels are painted heads of Queen Mary and Darnley. Upon the centre panel of the upper portion is a picture representing the landing of the youthful Queen Mary at Brest, in France, in the year 1548, accompanied by her four little maids of honour. The other panels of the buffet are painted in imita¬ tion of leather, with the armorial bearings and monogram of ‘ Marie.’ Over the buffet is a frieze in imitation of tapestry, the subject being the Legend of the Thistle, the national HiMlM iiMti imnniiiiiiinii»iii»nnw»ii fcan ri»:»'».»i o.iii ihh'hViEmti'XI 1 'in iiiiiii'imiin iininuim LULUllllUlitLUtUUjJjji/F^ Tim inniTinnciDn! ■ 1 j: ut ....■ l- r,. emblem of Scotland. The story goes that when the Danes invaded Scotland, they resolved to avail themselves of stratagem, and in order to prevent their tramp from being heard they marched barefooted. They had thus neared the Scottish force unobserved when a Dane unluckily stepped with his foot upon a superbly prickled thistle, and uttered a cry of pain, which dis¬ covered the assailants to the Scots, who ran to their arms and has an upper gallery ; thus hundreds of visitors may promenade and enjoy a charming view of the Exhibition opposite, of Paris on the left, the suburbs on the right, the sparkling river below giving animation and freshness to the scene. A still more extensive view is obtained from the summit of one of the towers of the Palais des Fetes , in which is a hydraulic lift; the top of these towers is said to be 290 feet above the surface of the river. The Palais des Fetes and its adjuncts form a section of the Exhibition ; the former being devoted to grand concerts of music composed since 1830, with a noble organ, defeated the foe with great slaughter. The other panels are filled with a diaper of thistles and fleurs-de-lis, while in the coved upper wall are displayed the Royal Arms of Scotland, and also those of Marie, Darnley, Arran, Lennox, the City of Edinburgh, and the Order of the Thistle. On each side of the buffet is placed a carved chair of same period, viz. six¬ teenth century.” The whole work is creditable to Scotland. an orchestra, and a chorus of four or five hundred performers, and to military and popular concerts, and the other salles to chamber concerts and musical societies, and scientific con¬ gresses. The magnificent galleries in the wings, divided into several distinct saloits, but all connected by openings decorated with great taste by the painter and mosaic worker, are devoted to retrospective Art, the contents being contributions from nearly all the museums and private collections of any importance in the world—northern or southern, oriental or occidental. We hope <1 62 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE M. Jules Graux, of whose contributions we engrave two on this page, is one of the most eminent of the bronze manufac¬ turers of Paris, and, like those of so many of his compeers, his works supply indubitable evidence of the inspiration they care. We have selected an example of his Pendules. There is no bronzist who does not make such works his especial study; for there are very few houses throughout France in the salon derive from Art. His productions are well known and highly esteemed in England. They are creations of veritable artists, manipulated by experienced skill, and finished with sufficient to have much to say at a future period about this marvellous illustration of the handiwork of ages ; but at present we will only add that the direction of this portion of the Exhibition is in the hands of some of the ablest savants in France, and that the collection is arranged in neat glazed tables and wall-cases of a few types, simple and compound, in such a man¬ ner as to place the whole before the eyes of visitors in the most systematic, and, at the same time, the most effective manner. From each side of the grand salle, and from each of the ter- of which, however humble, there is not one. Moreover, Paris is the principal source from whence such oijets de luxe are scattered throughout the world. England produces few of them. minal pavilions of the wings, are imposing flights of steps con¬ necting the buildings with the garden, and four other secondary flights lead from the intermediate portions of the long galleries, an arrangement which saves visitors much fatigue. In the centre of the grounds is a cascade which falls from the top of the hill to the bottom, over bold gradients of Jura stone, amidst fountains and rockwork and a profusion of flowers, and decorated with emblematic statues and groups of animals executed specially for the occasion by many of the first sculptors of France. This cascade will in future form one of the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 63 The firm of Marshall & Co., of Edinburgh, has for a lont. period ranked among the foremost of provincial goldsmiths and jewellers. They have taken honours in all the leading exhibitions. They largely contribute minor Art works, the pro¬ duce of their skilfully and rightly directed establishment in the Scottish capital. Those they have sent us for engraving are Lockets, Brooches, Crosses, and Bracelets, composed and arranged with taste and judgment. They are of silver, the ornamentation being of black enamel: these graceful and effective productions, although of much elegance and appro- priate for wear, are not of costly character. \ isitors to Scotland are accustomed to see these national memorials of the countr3L and to acquire them as re¬ minders of scenes and circumstances it must be always pleasant to recall. They are, no doubt, sold to thousands: it is therefore of first-rate importance that they should be good and pure as ex¬ amples of Art. No doubt other manu¬ factures are useful Art aids in this way; but the productions of Marshall & Co. have long been, and will probably continue to be, the best of the peculiar class of Art work. prominent features of Paris, as do the fountains of Versailles, and will doubtless be played on all fete and special holidays, like the latter; the palace and the gardens becoming, after the closing of the Exhibition, the property of the municipality. The machinery of the cascade and fountains, so to speak, is enormous. Opposite the grand entrance of the Palais des Fetes, on the top of the hill, is constructed an elegant basin of colossal dimensions, surrounded by beautiful flowers and fine trees; this receives the overflow of two immense reservoirs that supply the city with water, in itself a huge volume, but quite insufficient for the requirements here: the deficiency is obtained from the river at hand, raised by pumps worked by machinery of 250 horse power, which may be seen on the bank of the river below. From the huge basin thus fed the water passes beneath the palace, dashes foaming down the cascade, and is shot up¬ wards by numbers of fountains, by the sides of the cascade, and in a second grand basin below; but all these together scarcely equal the superb fountain in the great basin above. This basin is fitted with three sets of pipes of various diameters, and con¬ sequently under various degrees of pressure, which together 64 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE M. Servant, a renowned ebeniste of Paris, maintains the of France. The two of his high rank he has long held among the foremost cabinet-makers works we engrave the central band being enamelled in tints, and a classic Table j from the original in the British Museum. These are by no supported by four figures of flute musicians, an adapted copy ! means the only productions contributed by the firm ; it largely throw up a sheaf of jets which has, we believe, no equal. Having served all these purposes, the water continues its progress through pipes laid across the Pont de Jena , beneath the broad wooden platform which covers the bridge for the accommodation of the Exhibition public—another bridge being provided near at hand for the general foot-passengers—and supplies not only the fountains in the grounds of the Champ de Mars, but all the needs of the Exhibition, which are enormous : a full day’s supply has been stated at twenty thousand tons. It is scarcely necessary to say that the gardens are laid out with admirable skill, and are resplendent with the floral gems of nearly all parts of the world. In the grounds is also another special attraction—the aquarium, which is curious, its tanks and labyrinth-like passages being hewn out of the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 65 This page contains eight figures, engraved from productions of the Government Tapestry Works at Beauvais. They are of great excellence in design. The names of the artists we shall solid stone of the hill, which the old quarrymen seem to have overlooked. In the grounds are a number of auxiliary buildings, some curiously interesting Chinese and Japanese pagodas and pavi¬ lions, an Algerian, a Persian, a Tunisian palace with cafe and Arab singers, and many others, to some of which we shall have to return. The Exhibition proper occupies the Champ de Mars, which has an area of about one hundred acres, half of the Quai d’Orsay adjoining, with two-thirds of the esplanade of the give hereafter; at present we must leave the charming works to make their own impressions. We shall be called upon to engrave many productions of the renowned works at Beauvais, which are maintained by the Government in all their pristine vigour. Invalides in addition. These outlying portions are specially devoted to the agricultural section and particular exhibitions of cattle and other animals. If to these be added the Trocadero, with the adjoining quay—for on each side of the river the general traffic, tramway included, is carried on in a deep cutting exe¬ cuted for that special purpose, with a bridge over it for the use of visitors to the Exhibition—we have an area of about one hundred and ninety acres, entirely enclosed within palings, which, if set in a straight line, would extend nearly six miles. The Exhibition building of 1867 occupied the centre of the 66 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE mrounumiuiH^ MO ttlimo'.iimmiiiliniiiii: ‘Aiiiwi VjlSzrH f || lllilr l |ll!l|llllllllllLllllllllllllllllll!ll> I Cairo, whose productions have conferred honour and ability. The style is naturally, and indeed necessarily, Egjqrtian; and the woods used by the artist-manufacturer are chiefly those that are products of the fertile soil. They are very varied as well as remarkably peculiar. We devote another page to the carved furniture works manufactured and exhibited by Parvis, of upon the country of his adoption. His name has long been associated with an important manufacture of Egypt, and many visitors to a people deeply interesting to England have supplied themselves with examples of his skill Champ de Mars, was ovoid in form, and measured, in round numbers, i,600 feet in length, and 1,250 in breadth. The pre¬ sent building is rectangular, and measures 2,275 feet by 1,625 feet. Like the previous structure on the same spot, the present is all on one floor ; there are no galleries, consequently no steps, and, moreover, no dark spots below. ihe Exhibition of the present year has no central nave, but it has the grandest vistas ever roofed over. The front vestibule supplies an admirable clue to the whole design ; it is more than 3,600 feet long and 80 feet wide, yet it is but the ante-chamber to the palace. The decoration of this vestibule calls for a few special remarks. An experiment has been made which will doubtless be regarded variously by different persons. The treatment of the building as an iron structure has been disregarded almost entirely, and for the first time we see an iron roof filled in with a decorated plaster ceiling. ON THE DECORATION OE IRON BUILDINGS. Great iron buildings are an outcome of grand exhibitions, and, for a long time at any rate, the former will be characteristic of the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 67 Among the highest of the jewellers of Paris is the long- renowned firm of Rouvenat & Co. Their “show” at the Exhibition is amazing, not only for its enormous cost, but for the grace and beauty, and pure taste in Art, to which the brilliants and other precious stones have been sub¬ jected by the skill, knowledge, and study of the artist. Often the attractive jewels are copies from fine old models, but more frequently they are from original designs; and these include the various classes of personal decoration, from the simply elegant ring to the fiarure worth a prince’s ransom. The object we engrave on this page may be accepted as a key to the collection. latter. Now, when an iron shed is raised to cover carriages or any other objects, ordinary or important, it is treated as a shed —useful, but not necessarily, and scarcely possibly, ornamental. Yet there are other materials as unpromising as iron: stone and marble, for instance, must have seemed almost as inca¬ pable of ornament as iron to those who first used them. A cyclopean wall is not a thing of much beauty, but when pro¬ portions and other questions come to be considered we arrive at Art; a fine Egyptian temple has a beauty of its own which it were vain now to question ; and, coming down to simple forms, a well-drawn pyramid is agreeable to the eye, and so is a fine base for a colossal group or statue, formed of all the elements of such a structure in due proportion, but without the sculptor’s aid. If, then, buildings constructed of stone, of marble, or of burnt clay of any sort, have been after a time brought under the rules of beauty and made to delight the world, and now form a science —the noblest at once of sciences and of arts—should there be any question that the ultimate effect of the consideration of proportion and other circumstances must be the production of 68 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE A large debt of gratitude is due to those who bring “common j things’’ under the influence of Art. It is, therefore, with a feeling far from humiliation that we introduce between the costly Gobelin, examples of the humbler produce of the Art manufac- brilliants of Rouvenat and the rich tapestries of time-honoured turer. The one is but a common Door Mat, the fabric of Treloar; the other only a common Bed Quilt from the we 11 - an art and science of iron architecture ? There is, in fact, no want of means of decorating iron ; examples are not only numerous, but admirable and unsurpassed, from the simple, truly artistic hammered ornament of the Middle Ages, with all its after elaborations and aberrations, to the exquisite Art of a \ ecti, a Wagner, a Ledeuil, or a Willms—to the mar¬ vellous loveliness that has been bestowed on that poor, cheap, despised cast iron by the united exertions of the carver and the moulder; or to the last triumph of the fret-saw, which almost converts slabs of metal into lacework. known and extensive factory of O. Hanlon, of Manchester. We need not quit the British section to find examples of exquisite Art applied to iron and to other metals, whether hammered, cast, pierced, or chiselled; but for light castings the Berlin foundries still keep the lead, and for elaborate pierced work the French—the establishment of Madame Veuve being renowned for the beauty of its work in this class. As in the case of the arts of the Middle Ages, this last was perfected in a goldsmith’s shop. Now, these beautiful methods of decorating metals are, in the first place, non-architectural; and, in the second, they are very PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 6 g This page contains two engraved copies from the seat-backs of couches, designed by M. J. Dieterle, and produced at the National Tapestry Works of Beauvais. They are graceful com¬ positions, the one of flowers, the other of fruits, and, as with the principal contributions of Paris to this Exhibition, as well as to other exhibitions, they give evidence of the true Art teaching of the schools of France. It is to this Art teaching the manufacturers of all classes and orders are indebted for much of their supre¬ macy advantages that have long placed them foremost among the producers of Europe. England has, indeed, of late years entered into competition with France, and certainly not without augmented honour; its manufacture at least maintains the high character long ago obtained. And although our schools have as yet done too little in the way of giving to the various processes the value they would unquestionably derive from costly : the desideratum is a method of finishing off iron build¬ ings without too great an expenditure of money, and in such a manner as to produce an harmonious whole. The two buildings erected on the Champ de Mars for exhibi¬ tion purposes—that used in 1867 and that of 1878—present capital examples of their class: in the chief element of their construction they are almost identical, in their g'eneral form they are utterly different. The identical element is the grand pillar constructed of plate iron, cut or rolled to the required form, and built up with the aid of rivets with bold, well-developed, rounded Art, we are undoubtedly making sure progress, and may ere long be the rivals of the nation that has hitherto led the van. It has been so in some cases, and it may be so in others. heads. For the benefit of such of our readers as may not see either one or the other of these buildings, we may state that the pillars of the present building' are 80 feet high, tapering in width to the top ; that each is more than 2 feet broad on its face, and measures, from the iron wall in its rear, 3 feet or more in depth. Here is undoubtedly an element of much grandeur. Let us now turn for a moment to the g'eneral form. The former building was called oval; it was not a true oval, not even an ovoid : it consisted of a short central portion finished off with two semicircular ends. The effect was compared to that of “ a 70 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE in design and execution. The artist has found many patrons : | his productions are, to the full, appreciated, and his ad¬ mirable works are making their way into the best mansions of large gasometerbut the pillars had an amount of character which should have saved it from such a comparison. But, like the present building, the wall and the window-frames be¬ tween the pillars presented no character. We can imagine grand pillars of this kind used much in the same way, but with¬ out ridiculous imitation, as the fine buttresses of old cathe¬ drals, giving a superb finish to a structure ; we can imagine windows formed of beautiful tracery, not tracery as applied to stone, but to metal-work—free, flowing, but halting short of the fantastical; we can imagine the pillars connected together the kingdom. But Mr. Rogers was educated in a good school. by noble pieces of other ironwork, in the form of balconies, brackets, &c. ; we can imagine such pillars fiinshed off as the most exquisite of pinnacles, and melting, as it were, into harmony where they and the roof meet. There would be no real difficulty about all this, while upon and around such a structure iron and bronze statues and decorative castings would fall easily into place ; and as to the possibilities of effective ornamentation of iron structures with gold, silver, brass, copper, or gilt metal—that is to say, of ornament rich and appro¬ priate, or sparse and severe—we have only to look back at the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 7i ItMlLE Philippe has taken honours in all exhibitions where 1 he would neglect in 1878 the duty he owed to Art and to his the artist-manufacturer has competed. It was not likely that country—a duty discharged with so much power in 1867, and on other occasions when the Art manufacturers of the world | were summoned to competition. The two of his works we engrave on this page are a “Richaud”—a species of tray Racing Cup. But probably we may be required to engrave other under which spirit-fire is placed to produce heat—and a prize works of the eminent artist, of greater originality and grace. works produced in our own country, since Pugin seized the ferule and ruled the world of Art industry, by such firms as Messrs. Hardmans, Barnard, Bishop, and Barnards, Skidmore, Cox, Singer, Hart, and the Coalbrookdale Company. The problem of finishing off, so as to produce a certain amount of ornamental effect, an edifice of the size of the present, or even the former Exhibition building, at a moderate cost, is un¬ doubtedly a difficult one. In 1867 it cannot be said to have been solved; after several experiments had been made with various colours, including bright green and creamy white, the whole of the iron was painted as near the colour of the metal as possible, and the bolt-heads and projecting portions relieved by the application of gold bronze powder, a series of caryatides figures on a grand scale occupying the lower part of each pillar; and we believe we may assert that, generally speaking, no one ever took the slightest notice of the building after having once seen it, which must be regarded as testimony, negative it is true, in favour of the treatment adopted. In the present instance the directors have not followed timidly in other people’s footsteps ; they have struck out a new plan, 7 2 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. W. B. Simpson and Sons, of of works; of nearly all, indeed, that are page we at present engrave are of tiles St. Martin’s Lane (formerly of the Strand), essential to “house decorating” of a re¬ fined and artistic order—a “business” or painted slabs only: these are of much grace, originality, and beauty, as are extensive contributors of many classes they carry on with great success. The well as examples of pure and good Art. and they have carried it out with the ability that has marked the execution of this enormous undertaking from its commencement. Such boldness fears not criticism, but rather invites it. I he present building consists of a series of pillars such as we have already described, between which, in the grand vestibule— the only portion in which any special decoration has been attempted the whole of tire upper half, on both sides, is occupied by window-frames, as is also the lower half of the front opposite the park; the lower portion on the other side consists simply of the end of the eight galleries which run from end to end of the building, at right angles to the grand vestibule and that at the rear end. The pillars rise magnificently to the height of about 80 feet, and upon them rests, without any inter¬ vening frieze or covings, the ceiling, which is divided into several enormous square compartments that occupy the whole of the middle portion, and a triple series of long rectangular panels, nearly filling the remaining space, each of which is fitted with an oak frame, containing an ornamental casting. The middle compartments, referred to above, are not far short of 40 feet square; and the weight of a casting of that size, and the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 73 Marsh, Jones, and Cribb are extensive upholsterers, cabinet- ornamented with marquetry and carved panels, and are divided makers, and decorators at Leeds. They exhibit, among other by richly carved columns, and supported at the ends by octagon meritorious works, a Sideboard, designed by Mr. B. T. Talbot, ; pillars. The drawers in the table portion are elaborately made of wainscot oak and English brown oak, relieved with carved in low relief in unpolished wainscot oak. The screen ebony bands and mouldings. The doors of the upper part are ; and pilasters are of English brown oak, with a rich leather paper frieze. It is pleasant to know that the cabinet-makers and upholsterers of England are obtaining honourable dis¬ tinction at the Exhibition in Paris. The firms that held highest places in 1867 have, it may be, fallen a little into the enormous difficulty of securing it in place, will at once strike every one at all accustomed to decorative work. To obviate the difficulties of the case, a new kind of composition has been used, which is at once lighter and tougher not only than plaster of Paris, but than carton-ftierre or fiafiier mache, and infinitely cheaper than either; it is known as “ staff,” and the ornaments in their frames as chassis en staff, and there appears no reason why there should not be a large application of it to deco¬ rative purposes. The chief material is the commonest tow—a very low-priced article—and this, having been steeped in a solu- shade; but new firms have risen to do credit to the Art productions of the kingdom. Of these we shall give examples in due course: they well suffice to uphold the renown of Great Britain in 1878 in a high class of Art productions. tion of plaster of Paris, is then moulded as desired, and after¬ wards prepared and painted just as if it were plaster. The outer strips on each side of the ceiling are reserved and treated as covings, with palm-branches on a red ground. The oblong compartments are filled in with ornamental band-work and leaves, coloured with maize, stone, and other low tints heightened by gold. The immense middle compartments are each filled by a single concave ornament with a centre convex, and having little more than the indication of a four-petaled flower; this is of a maize-like tint generally, but all the prominent parts are t 74 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Candelabrum and Pendule engraved on this page are the works of M. G. Servant, of Paris. The name has long been honourably prominent among the bronze manufacturers of France; he is at once the artist and the maker of the works he exhibits, thoroughly comprehending the fit and proper use of the material he employs, and applying it only to the purpose for which it is rightly calculated. He combines large experience with good taste, and the result is invariably to give satisfaction, rendering gilded, and shaded with dusky red. To describe such a painted ceiling without illustrations is almost hopeless, but those know¬ ing anything of colour will be able to form some notion of the effect from what has been said. The ceiling is of the form of a flat waggon-head roof. Just below the coving, or that which occupies the position of a coving, are the top bars of the window- frames ; these are designed in a way which is pretty certain to be followed in many cases—it is the adaptation of the casement system on a large scale and in iron. These windows are of great height and width : in the first place, a strip is separated the useful beautiful, and the beautiful useful. It is in works of this class that France continues to maintain ascendancy ; in¬ deed, her supremacy is so universally admitted, that in England attempts at competition are very rare, and seldom successful. It will be seen, however, that there is at least one of our Art manufacturers who is confessedly a victor in the race for the highest and most honourable position in which true Art of high order, in combination with Art manufacture, can place him. at top, and forms a kind of border; then the whole window is divided into nine equal parts by bars, and each of these parts is divided in the following manner :—A square is reserved in the centre of each division, the height of the square being equal to a third of that of the whole; then from the corners of these squares in both directions bars are introduced at an angle of 45 degrees, the result being that each division then has a square in the centre surrounded by four half-squares, or triangles, be¬ yond which again are squares set corner-ways, as will be seen by drawing a square, and then tracing lines from all its angles, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 75 This page contains three other examples of Tapestries from the Government W orks at Beauvais. The contributions of this establishment are numerous, and some of them of large size, applied to purposes more essentially domestic—for screens, chair-backs, &:c. Now, as in the long ago, artists of celebrity do not hesitate to aid and co-operate with the tapestry worker. All the specimens are from designs by eminent French artists, and comprise every variety the skill of the tapestry worker is able to fashion into effective pictures—pictures often used to cover walls, as they were in the olden time ; but more frequently nowadays the result is that the joint production becomes what we have termed it—a picture. The subject will, in due course, receive description and illustration in these pages: the manufacture of the grand and beautiful works, the renowned “ Gobelins ” of old, is kept up with vigour by the present Govern¬ ment of France; and it is a pleasant duty to report that there is no falling off in the productions issued by the long-famous “factory.” They are, perhaps, as excellent now as they were when the establishment was founded by the great minister, as above described. The central squares are of ground glass, or at least are rendered opaque; the triangles are coloured blue, with white scroll-work, by the use of stencil plates, and so on, white and blue alternating with each other. Between these cold blue windows there is nothing but the upper part of the iron pillars, without addition of any kind but paint and bronze powder. Just below the windows, gold medallions bearing the letters of the republic, R. F., on a diapered ground, are inserted in the face of the pillars in circular openings left for the purpose ; and below, to the height of about 6 feet from the ground, are j Colbert. A history of that establishment would be a history of Art in France; for among the assistants first to form and then to establish its renown were some of the best artists, not only of France, but of other countries of the world, whose co-operation the wise and prudent minister had invited and secured. three long panels filled in with “ staff” casts, like those of the ceiling; these casts are ornamented with band-work and large leaves, and the colours employed partake of stone and maize, heightened with gold. This description explains the general system of ornamentation applied to one of the most remarkable portions of the present Exhibition building, but it is not, and could not be, carried out uniformly. The vestibule has three domes over the three grand entrance doors, and the ceilings of these domes and of their junctions with the roof of the building, are decorated with ver- 76 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE This page contains an example of the embroidered Altar butions of the eminent firm of Cloths of JONES and Willis, one of the many graceful contri- of London and Birmingham; church-furniture manufacturers and also a Carpet contributed by the great establishment of Tallin & Co., of London and | can be made to any size or shape, to fit any room without Glasgow. It is of the class known as patent Axminster, and i “joinings.” Messrs. Taplin are not large contributors of this kind of “goods;” they show, however, a production of the loom—an Altar-piece—that will startle many, as a work of very tical strings of ornament in gold laid side by side on a dark maroon ground. The gold is so brilliant, and the ground so insignificant, that the whole has almost the appearance of beautiful metallic chainwork. In effect, it is metal. Without doors the treatment is somewhat different. The great central door of the vestibule is set within an arch of immense span, and upon the face of this arch is arranged a complete series of the arms of various cities contributing to the Exhibition, the shields being, of course, painted in their proper heraldic colours. Over the arch is a large composition great merit, although an ambitious attempt (and by no means unsuccessful) to rival by machinery the Art work of Beauvais. in “ staff,” consisting of two female figures, Liberty and Labour, with the word “ Paix ” surrounded by sheaves of corn, and representing France republican and industrial. At the foot of each of the great iron pillars, on a bold plinth, stands a gigantic figure in plaster; these figures represent the exhibiting nations, and some of them are remarkably fine works, but having been executed by different sculptors, they are naturally unequal in merit. Taken as a whole, however, and especially in connection with the immense mass of decorative sculpture in and around the Trocadero, no careful observer can PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 77 We select for engraving a Vase and a Candelabrum from the extensive collection of works in silver and gold exhibited by the firm of Odtot, one of the most emi¬ nent of the fabricants who have made the capital of true the objects that machinery enables the producer to make cheap as well as good. M. Odiot supplies the aristocracy and the wealthy: there are others who give works as excellent, though at little cost, to those whose taste is larger than their means. It is a subject which we shall France famous in Art produce. M. Odiot employs accomplished artists—artists who do not consider they condescend when they minister to the needs of the manufacturer, and thus render beautiful and pure and be hereafter called upon to treat—how far pure and true Art in precious metals has been influenced to its prejudice by the processes—inventions of the last quarter of a century—by substituting comparatively coarse and cheap metal in the stead. It will be an interesting and important inquiry. overlook the amount of talent displayed by the French in sculpture; but this is a slight departure from our immediate subject. Above the colossal statues the pillars are decorated with faience earthenware ; in these a very broad style of ornamenta¬ tion has been adopted, and the most vivid colours employed. We cannot disguise the fact that, in our view, the effect of this mixed ornamentation is not happy. Going back over the points laid down above, the glaring contrast between the large plaster masses of the statues, the brilliantly coloured and highly glazed earthenware, and the dull-painted wall of the building is positively painful. Surely it would have been better to have introduced bronze, cast-iron, zinc, or leaden statues; or, for a temporary purpose like the present, plaster casts coloured to represent metal. Again, sufficient advantage has not been taken of the very simple method of giving finish to a building by means of light metal-work, stamped zinc, or galva¬ nised iron, carried along the ridges of the roof and edges of gables and dormers—a kind of finish which French constructors have carried out with much ingenuity, and the English also to 78 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE From the Brownhills Pottery Com¬ pany —the Brownhills Works, Tunstall, Staffordshire —we receive the pure and good examples of well-modelled and excel- | lently painted specimens of ceramic art that adorn this page. They are of great merit, though principally earthenware, and there¬ fore not costly. Artists of much ability have been employed in their production. They are shown in large variety, compris¬ ing nearly all the objects for use or orna¬ ment that are essentials in every household. Prince of Wales’s collection, the presence of the painted ceiling becomes a positive impertinence. We do not hesitate to declare that the mere ironwork of the roof, treated as ironwork, and in harmony with the pillars—that is to say, painted with iron colour, enlivened with a little gold—would, under present circumstances, have been infinitely more effective, not than the present ceiling only, but than any plaster or other painted ceiling that could have been devised; for then structure would not have been hidden and falsified, and incongruity would have been avoided. some extent. There is a little of this Crete, or cockscomb-work, in the Exhibition, but it wants boldness and character. Returning within the building, the eye runs hopelessly up the pillars, and finds nothing bringing them in harmony with the coloured ceiling; the blue-tinted and opaque glass of the windows adds to the isolation of the latter, and when the eye has fairly taken in the exquisite colouring of the Sev res china, of the tapestry-work of the Gobelins and Beauvais, and, above all, oi the gauzes, the shawls, and the carpets of India, and of the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 79 M. Diehl occupies a first place among the ebenistes of Paris, | a position he has long retained, and holds in spite of com¬ petition. He is especially eminent for what is termed his “ fine | faculty in wood carving.” He displays his power not unfre- quently in oak carvings—models at once singular and pic- j turesque. We give also the Pediment of a Chimney-piece. We can imagine few structures better calculated to contain so heterogeneous a collection as is to be found in this vestibule- including the Prince’s Indian temple, a compound structure, 200 feet long, coloured a deep red approaching chocolate, with its dusky gold domes and brilliant spikes ; a building of equal , size, but totally different in style and colour, the former being Renaissance, the latter light, picked out with gold, devoted to the productions of Sevres and the Gobelins; a colossal bronze group of Charlemagne, which, with its grand Byzantine pedestal, j is more than 50 feet high, filling one angle; while the cor- ; responding angle is occupied by industrial trophies set up by the British colonies—than one with a simple iron roof, essen¬ tially neutral in character, and retreating, as it were, from observation. This vestibule contains perhaps, as it was intended it should, the finest examples of perfect handicraft and treatment of colours in the Exhibition. The tissues and the embroidery of India, the porcelain of Sevres, and the tapestry of the Gobelins need fear no rivals, close as some tread upon their heels. The collection which IT.R-H. the Prince of Wales brought from 8o ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The halves of the two Panels we engrave on this page suffice Works of Beauvais—the Government Works of France. We to show the novelty and originality of the designs : they are have elsewhere commented on the fact that our neighbours painted by leading artists of France for the renowned Tapestry have long surpassed us in productions of this class: whether ■ti I j ? |gf IP r?L-- meEM | fH lE Jp ^ 5? they will continue to do so is another question. We are certainly entering upon a new phase of competition ; and the tapestry works very recently commenced at Windsor may make such progress as will show to those who witness another great International Exhibition that Great Britain, effectually roused to contest, is not easily beaten in any effort to reach the goal of triumph. Evidence of advance in this direction is to be found in the comparatively superior produce of the carpet factories of "Tai'w 1 ! 1 & 1US/. ; 'rwc B England, where each of the leading manufacturers has now a ' staff of artists attached to his establishment. A few years ago I nothing of the kind existed. Our pages have frequently given J evidence that this great change has produced a natural effect, j India is known to many, but we would call the especial atten¬ tion of students in Art manufacture to the Oriental carpets. Of these Messrs. Vincent Robinson have a remarkably fine collec¬ tion, occupying the greater portion of the lower and all the upper part of one of the pavilions of the Indian temple, and including specimens of the productions of all the presidencies of British India: silk carpets from Malabar—carpets of which the hidden warp is made of silk for strength, while the face is of the finest wool and colour ; Khorassan and Kurdistan carpets of the six¬ teenth and seventeenth centuries; Caucasian and Old Rescht It is, however, by the study of such admirable original works as those of Beauvais that their advance must be made sure; and no doubt all the principal carpet manufacturers of Great Britain have sent their assistants to gather knowledge in France. embroidery; Persian shawls ; Ispahan prints, etc. ; but the gem of the collection of this firm is a grand carpet which hangs against the back of the vestibule, presented to an Indian poten¬ tate three hundred years since, and bearing decided marks of wear, but of which the colour is as fresh and charming as ever. The work in this carpet is so fine that even the distance of a very few feet hides some of its beauties. In the same section will be found a curious Khorassan carpet, and one from Cashmere, woven by the shawl-makers of that famous valley, and only allowed to be exported by special per- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 81 Messrs. ELKINGTON, of Birmingham and London, whose col¬ lection of exhibited works excites universal admiration, supply us with abundant material. On this page we engrave one of two Rose-water Dishes; the other we shall insert in due course. Ihey are the work of a master hand, of an artist who has obtained the highest renown, and who has been so long a denizen of England, attached to the famous Birmingham firm, as to be regarded as belonging to the country of his adoption. M. Morel-Ladeuil is a Frenchman. The subject here engraved, with its companion, represents the months of the year ; there are six on each dish. The charmingly designed female figures that carry out the allegory signify the signs of the zodiac. The mission of the Maharajah of Cashmere by Messrs. Turberville, Smith, and Son, also of London. We may here mention that in the Process Court, which occupies the back vestibule, may be seen two natives of Cashmere at work ; but the principal effect on our mind in watching them was to impress us with the slowness of the process, reminding one of the Gobelins tapestry- workers, amongst whom an experienced hand cannot produce more than a square yard, or a square metre, in twelve months. Mr. George Holme, of Bradford, also shows Indian and Persian carpets, and other Oriental tissues. Here is the material for centre of each dish is occupied by a “ring” of children, or “zephyrs,” carrying fruit, flowers, and vine branches, emble¬ matic of the four seasons. We shall describe this exquisitely beautiful work more fully when it is completed in our pages. ( weeks of study for all connected with the textile industries, and for all who can appreciate perfect workmanship and exquisite j coloration ; and when this section of the Exhibition is ex- j hausted, the student may commence in China and India, and finish with French and other European manufactures. To return to the immediate subject under consideration : j we have pointed out what we consider the mistakes committed in the decoration of the Exhibition, and have indicated the methods which we should have preferred to be adopted for the I temporary purpose in question ; but the use of iron in construc- x 82 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. James Shoolbred & Co. have long been eminent among the most extensive cabinet-makers and upholsterers of England. Of late years they have striven to compete with the no space here in which to describe their many and excellent contributions. On this page we engrave a Piano and two best manufacturers in Art work, and have so thoroughly suc¬ ceeded as, without sacrificing aught of their enormous trade, to obtain rank among the best Art producers in Europe. We have Writing or Boudoir Tables. Their works are generally of satin- wood, purple-wood being used in the mouldings ; the panels are elaborately carved; and box-wood is sometimes introduced. In the Exhibition are few finer objects than the Piano, few that have tion has become so general, and is likely to be so much more so, that the subject of the decoration of iron structures, not merely in a temporary, but in a solid and permanent manner, is one of great interest. _ There are instances of iron structure in which the metal is simply used as material, just as wood is usual in modern buildings. Iron or steel ship-building is a case in point: heie neither the form of the structure nor the details bear any metallic characteristic. In the cabin of a modern passenger steamer we may notice that beams are peculiarly thin and light, but their attracted so much attention or received more unqualified praise. The principal artist of the establishment is Mr. H. W. Batley. form is not very different from those of timber-built vessels ; and these and all other parts are painted, one might almost say enamelled, in brilliant white or delicate colours and gold, and the iron does not in any way obtrude upon the sight. No un¬ practised eye could tell, from seeing the outside of a ship from a short distance, whether her sides were formed of wood or of iron; but this is not the case with an iron building proper, which pro¬ claims itself at once to all the world, practical or otherwise. What we have to concern ourselves with, then, is the iron building properly so called, and the first point to insist on is. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION a This page contains a Fire Screen, one of the many beautiful con¬ tributions of the Government Works at Beauvais. The face, lamp, and flowers are on white silk ground, with a rose-coloured border; the style is that of Louis XVI. It was designed by M. Chabal-Dussurgey, and executed by M. Cantrel. The names of the artists ought to be recorded and preserved, for such works are true specimens of Art. The old fame of France in the production of tapestries is not lost. They take as high places in exhibitions at the close of the century as they did when the century commenced. It is needless to say that such a pro¬ duction as that we engrave is destined to give great pleasure that it shall not be a structure designed for stone and executed in iron, but a true building according to the laws of metallic structure; any other is a hybrid production beneath notice, a sham and an offence. A gasometer is an apparatus perfectly adapted to its purpose, but it must not be included among buildings. Iron buildings are not confined to any particular style of ornamentation : cast iron supplies the means of producing excellent panels and other ornamental elements, whether in classic, mediaeval, or other style. The chief elements which wherever it may find location, augmenting a store of Art trea¬ sures, while removing or displacing none, for the object is indis¬ pensable in all aristocratic mansions as a specimen of good Art. are inadmissible are the flying buttress and the arched win¬ dow. The first, the buttress, was a necessity arising out of the want of mechanical science, and the manner in which the j old architects converted this necessary feature into a beautiful system of ornamentation reflects the highest credit on their ingenuity and inventive power; but the discovery of the prin- j ciple of the tie-beam at once set the flying buttress aside, and its adoption in a modern building is simply absurd. But I it is to iron structures that this and cognate principles are J applicable in their fullest force. In iron, setting aside the 8 4 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The renowned firm of LOBMEYR, of Vienna, the chief of which is himself an artist of great ability, and who adds experience to matured skill and sound judgment in the management of the works, exhibits a very large and most attractive collection of productions in glass. They comprise nearly all the articles to which the material can be applied, and are always of high excellence, whether matters for ordinary daily use or objets de luxe. We select for engraving only the latter, but it will be seen that these are greatly varied. There is no one of them, however, which does not manifest the influence of Art. But Herr Lobmeyr, besides being himself a sound critic as well as a matured professor of Art, obtains efficient aid from the best and greatest of the artists of Austria. They do not consider it condescending when they co-operate with a coadjutor so ac¬ complished, who is able to give currency to their thoughts, question of expense, there is no difficulty in rearing pillars of j any height, and tying them together with perfect security—-the present Exhibition, with its roof eighty feet odd from the floor, is no bad example. As the art of building in iron progresses, why should not the bones of the work be made beautiful; and why should not open metal roofs attract, at any rate, a portion of the admiration bestowed on timber roofs ? Again, the beautiful lancet window, the pointed, the per- j pendicular, and the flamboyant arch, belong not to iron, which [ -delights in long horizontal lines that no other material can span j and to present to the world pictures, in the highest sense of the term, in a material that is imperishable. Before our work is done we shall probably have occasion to allude more particularly to these gentlemen. In Austria, Germany, and France they are highly appreciated. As yet they are not so in England. —but the Burgundian, the Tudor, the Elizabethan, and the Renaissance also dispense with pointed arches—and in iron buildings square-topped windows may be constructed of a size of which the greatest architects of Dijon, of Blois, or of Elizabethan England never dreamed. “ But an iron building can never be anything but an ugly building,” will be the cry of half the world. Have we nothing to oppose to that cry ? Have we no palatial park gates, which include all the elements of structural ornamentation, in cast and in hammered iron ? Have our admirable workers in metal PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Messrs. Hart, Son, Peard & Co., of Wych Street and Regent Street, sustain the honour of England in a class of Art manufacture for which our country is renowned : works in wrought iron, or iron in combination with steel and bronze. We engrave on this page one of their Wrought-iron Gates, and the Grille Gates made for an enterprising and Art-loving tradesman in Piccadilly. Our space does not permit us to | describe these delicately refined and elaborately executed works i m jSSiagiSi i of the eminent firm that has been so long and so advantageously I before the public of all nations ; that pleasure is postponed. really failed to make the world acquainted with the capabilities of iron ? The finest stone carving is often compared with metal¬ work, which shows a want of knowledge of the proper appli¬ cation of materials. Stonework, from its nature, demands a certain thickness, or it becomes feeble and flimsy in effect, as well as in fact, while cast and hammered iron are equally adapted to the most solid and the most delicate ornamentation ; in one direction, that of solidity, there is no limit at all, and in the other it is not positive. A fine pair of gates with solid superstructure of cast iron, nobly modelled scroll-work forming the body, and the whole finished with a crest of delicate floral or other hammered work, may be taken as a fair type of what may be done with iron in the way of ornamental structure. The elements of ornament in iron structures are indeed infinite. The simplest girder, cantilever, or bracket is not necessarily inelegant, and they may all be made, and are some¬ times made, extremely effective; and the same may be said of cornices, friezes, balconies, and all the subsidiary elements of a building. Owen Jones, perhaps the most thorough master of the prin- 7 86 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Lamp is the contribution of Messrs. Barwell, Son, and Fisher, of Birming¬ ham ; it was a good idea so to adopt and adapt the much-talked-of “ Cleopatra’s Needle.” It has been exceedingly well car¬ ried out; all is faithful to the style Egyfi- tien. Moreover, it is a meritorious ex¬ ample of Art manufacture, and deserves the very high encomium it has received. We engrave another example of the works of M. Odiot, one of the most justly renowned of the goldsmiths of Paris. The Vase is a specimen of high Art, designed by a true artist, and exhibits the skill and judgment that result from long experience. ciples of ornamentation of our period, has left one, probably more than one, example of artistic iron architecture. The dome, the tower, the spire, are elements peculiarly fitted for execution in iron. In some cases stone, or pseudo-stone, domes have been gilded—a barbarism in our eyes—but an iron dome with its most important lines picked out with gold would be a grand object fitly ornamented. And this brings to mind the value not only of gilding and decoration of the same kind, but of the application of ornament in copper, brass, and other metals, and the introduction of pebbles, precious stones, glass, and even gems, which our artistic metal-workers, like those of the Middle Ages, have introduced into their work with extra¬ ordinarily happy effect. Here is a whole system of decoration ready to the hand of the architect in iron, to say nothing of the beautiful harmonies which may be produced by chandeliers, candelabra, lustres, railings, screens, and other fittings, all designed and carried out in keeping with the main lines and features of the building itself. But the crowning glories of a successful structure in iron are those which the sculptor and other artists could supply; every PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 87 high fame in all the leading exhibitions of the epoch; they are profound scholars in their Messrs. Johnstone, Jeanes & Co., of New Bond Street, London, established their places wherever their admirable productions have been shown. We engrave on this page a Chimney-piece of pure and graceful character, a hanging Cabinet for china, and a small Table. It would be difficult to overpraise the productions of this. art, as well as skilful and experienced ma¬ nufacturers, and they have taken prominent eminent firm. They appeal, and successfully, for approval to persons of cultivated taste, but they are not the less acceptable to those who are less educated in Art- kind of sculptural w'ork in metal, from the simplest ornament in bas-relief to the statue or sculptural group, and whether cast in iron, bronze, silver, or gold; hammered, as some fine statues of colossal size have been of late years in France and Germany, and of which an extraordinary example is at the present moment under hand in the former country for the United States ; or, lastly, built up, atom by atom, with the aid of electricity, as many of our recent and best public statues have been, in the vats of the metallurgical chemist and artificer, is eminently fitted to decorate an iron temple. And even these scarcely supply the culminating point in metallic orna¬ ment ; where the highest description of decoration, necessarily the most costly, is admissible, we have still left the crowning glory of the gold and other metal worker— repousse. Happily, the almost-forgotten art has been revived—our own pages have shown fifty times with what admirable effect; while every ex¬ hibition adds to the achievements in this line—as in the grand shield by M. Ledeuil, one of the glories of the South Kensington Museum, and a reproduction of which may be seen in the splendid collection of Messrs. Elkington in the present Exhi- 88 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE To the works of Messrs. Jeffrey & Co., of Islington, we allot a second page, to which they are well entitled, for they have so improved British Wall Papers as not only to compete with, but EllS ■ ill I m pi i j IHIasS 1 u. u a to surpass, the productions of France, which long held supremacy wherever Art of a higher order was required. The first of our engravings is the “Sunflower Decoration,” designed by B. J. Talbert. It is a production of entire harmony: on the frieze and dado gold is introduced. The other is designed by Walter Crane; its prevailing character is that of the old Venetian leather. lliili bition. Reftousse work may be executed in more than one kind of metal, and admits of almost any sort of subsidiary orna¬ ment. The Milton shield is executed partly in steel and partly in silver, and, while the subject is treated in the simplest and at the same time the loftiest style, the decorative portion is heightened in effect by the introduction of another of the arts which had almost eluded our grasp—gold inlay or damascening, as it is called. For a votive tablet, or for an artistic panel, what could compete in effect with the work of the true reftousse chaser ? Where the cost became a positive obstacle, the decorative artist might follow the example of the silversmith— produce careful castings of his design, and finish the face by ordinary chasing and engraving. Lastly, we have the still less costly and less pretentious method of pierced work, of which some remarkably fine examples are to be seen in the present Exhibition. Work of this kind is now produced in various metals, two or more being often used together with excellent effect, and, whether glazed as windows or used as screens, has great beauty. There is one point in connection with iron buildings which has PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 89 We engrave another of the Tapestries of Beauvais—a Panel, j Monnoyer. The work is the joint production of MM. Verite, The border represents a frame; while in the centre is a gold Lefevre, Stohaut, and Langlors. It is considered one of the vase, surrounded by flowers and grapes on a table, after Baptiste * 1 best works in the fine collection of these Art manufactures. We give an example of the Bookbinding of the long eminent I brown morocco, embellished with linear golden foliage, with a firm of Engelmann-Gruel, of Paris. The binding covers a mosaic of spots, also in gold. In the centre of each side an small but precious manuscript of the fifteenth century. It is of I enamel head of most delicate workmanship is inscribed on the leather. This famous firm has carried the art to extreme per- j specimens of decorative Art by the exercise of taste, skill, and fection, placing it, indeed, on a footing with the best works of j ingenuity, guided by long experience and aided by matuied great artists, and rendering the productions of much value as 1 knowledge of the capabilities of the material. created much discussion; the surface of iron will not bear ex¬ posure to the weather, it must be painted or otherwise protected, and it is a fact that no method has yet been discovered which entirely meets the difficulties of the case; even the deposit of copper by the galvano-plastic method, and subsequent bronzing, as applied with much skill to the iron fountains and lamps of Paris, does not, we believe, give entire protection to the metal, and is, moreover, costly when applied to large pieces. There is a black oxide of iron which, unlike the red oxide, or rust, entirely protects the metal beneath; and methods of pro- | during this by means of great heat are being tried, and may 1 end in success, in which case an iron building would at once be supplied with its most natural protector. Methods of enamel¬ ling have also been recommended. The results of these experi- | ments will probably be known before long. In the refreshment-room at South Kensington, which is en- 1 tirely composed of practically imperishable materials, chiefly faience, is a novelty in the form of an enamelled iron ceiling. Here we have a fruitful hint for another mode of decoration! perfectly applicable to an iron building; an enamelled iron go ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. Hodgetts, Richardson & Co., of the Wordsley Works, Stourbridge, in the long-renowned capital of the glass works of England, are very large contributors. Their productions comprise every variety for ornament or use, or rather for both in combination. The more promi¬ nent are cameo or sculptured Vases ; they are of crystal, but often judici¬ ously coloured. The best of these are productions of a young artist, Joseph Locke. His copy of the Portland vase is the result of twelve months of patient labour, but he contributes also several original designs. We bring within a few sentences descriptions that might occupy some pages. ceiling grows quite as naturally out of an iron structure as | one of plaster out of stone or brick walls. And that which j is applicable to ceilings is equally so to decorative panels, to running ornament, to mural tablets, to screens, and other fittings. Hitherto we have dwelt solely on metallic ornamentation, but neither wooden, stone, nor brick buildings are confined to fittings and decorations composed of their own materials: in like manner it appears to us that pictures, carved woodwork, decorative furniture, encaustic pavement, carpets, tapestry, china, and other ornaments, would be equally acceptable in an iron as in any other kind of building. Our readers will understand that we have not in these remarks advocated the adoption of iron, nor have ■we given any opinion respecting the policy or impolicy of its adoption; we have simply recognised the unquestionable fact that iron structures are on the increase, that many complaints have been made against them, and that the mode of decorating is avowedly yet but little understood ; and what we have said on the subject is not put forth in any dogmatic spirit, but merely with the hope PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 9i Mr. William Walker, an eminent and very extensive cabinet-maker of London, contributes several works of great excellence. That we engrave is a Sideboard, described as in the “ Anglo-Moorish style.” It is constructed of English brown oak, relieved with pear-tree wood and ebony, and was designed by Mr. R. Davey, one of the artists of the firm. Among the many admirable exhibits of British upholsterers this excellent production takes a foremost place, and we have much pleasure of inducing others to take up the matter, feeling as we do that the erection of iron buildings is likely to extend, and that there¬ fore it is the business of all artists and lovers of Art to con¬ sider how they may best be rendered pleasing to the eye and inoffensive to taste. POTTER’S WORK AT THE EXHIBITION. No art has a greater claim to precedence than that of the potter, whether it be considered with regard to antiquity or to beauty; and certainly no art is so prominent as this old .and in giving an engraving of it. It is clear that the cabinet-makers of England are obtaining merited honours in the Exhibition. ever new and beautiful one at the Exhibition. And this is not at all surprising, for at the present moment china and earthen¬ ware are the pets of the true artist and connoisseur, as well as of the mere amateur, with whom age and names, and perhaps ugliness—to be polite, we will say quaintness—are too often the all-important conditions. He who would really study the ceramic art has now an oppor¬ tunity which is indeed rare, for the Exhibition, in its various sections, presents magnificent examples of almost every de¬ scription of ware produced, whether of porcelain or earthenware 92 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Of the three examples of the Beauvais Tapestries engraved on this page the first is a Seat for a Couch, executed by M. Souffler and others ; the border is of dull magenta, and in the centre is a ! girl holding a basket for fruit. The second shows a group of Musical Instruments on a yellow ground, with flowers in their natural colours, and a border of lilacs. It is from the design of M. Dieterle, and was executed by M. Malm. The third is a Panel, the subject a large vase with grapes and flowers on a blue ground. The work, designed specially for the Luxembourg, was executed by M. Derecusson. From the specimens we have already given, it will be seen that designers and producers of tapestries desire to continue the renown of France in that branch of any kind, ancient or modern, Oriental or Occidental. The ancient specimens are in the retrospective galleries in the Trocadero Palace, where will be found many of the choicest examples from the best private collections in the world; for on the present occasion this grand loan collection is not confined to France, but is enriched by the connoisseurs of every country. Examples of artistic pottery are to be found here, from that of the earliest known to us down to the century last past ; and so admirably arranged, and, where possible, classified, as to bring out their beauties, and aid the student in his work. of Art and Art industry, and no doubt they have done so to a very considerable extent. But whether they rival, as well as compete, with the makers of the long-renowned “ Gobelins ” is another matter; it is one upon which we shall be called to remark before our work is done. It will probably be our duty to show that England is making efforts at excellence in this direction. As to modem porcelain and earthenware, they are to be found in every section of the Exhibition, and not only in the ordinary form, but combined in a dozen different ways, entering largely into building and decoration, and forming a beautiful element in the designs of ornamental furniture. China claims to have invented porcelain, and there is no doubt about the validity of that right; she claims, moreover, to have perfected the art while half the nations who here exhibit were in a savage or little civilised condition, and we cannot disprove [ that claim ; but this is certain, that for beauty of material, per- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Messrs. Adams & Co. are leading manufacturers of Nottingham; the produce of their extensive ma¬ nufactories goes over the world, and when the 93 the uninitiated so great as to warrant the enormous difference of cost. We engrave of the productions of Messrs. Adams two Lace Curtains ; they are of great beauty of design, and charming as regards delicacy of fabric. It machine-made is compared with the hand-made is a great advantage that one of the most important of our staple manufac- lace, the superiority of the latter does not seem to tures is so well represented in Paris as it is by Messrs. Adams & Co. fection of manufacture, general fitness of ornamentation, and brilliancy of colour, the Chinese potters stand unequalled, un¬ less, indeed, it be by their neighbours the Japanese. It does not come within our design to dilate upon the various classes of Chinese and Japanese ware, but only to note that the collections exhibited by the two Commissioners on the present occasion are really representative of their manufacture, and not scratch col¬ lections, got together out of museums and dealers’ shops, as they have been at most previous exhibitions, Philadelphia, per¬ haps, alone excepted. Both of these collections are large, varied, and admirably set up, and doubtless give a very fair idea of the present condition of ceramic art in those countries. With respect to the excellence of the modern ware as compared with the ancient, we think it will be generally admitted by those who have paid most attention to the subject that the Chinese have lost much of their art; they are still skilful enough to reproduce almost any ancient specimen, but have lost that charming fecun¬ dity of fancy and artistic taste which formerly characterized their work. European contact has also borne its bad fruits, as 2 cl 94 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE This page contains an example of the far-famed and long- renowned tapestry of the Gobelins. The picture (for such it really is), entitled ‘L’Ltude,’ is after H. Tragonart, by Madame Aiyden, while the border, which is blue, embellished by pink flowers, is the production of, 'M. Durend. The figure is charm¬ ingly drawn; it is presented in velvet of deep brown. Further we cannot enlighten our readers, as the catalogue is chary of information. It is, however, to be accepted as a specimen as to how far the modern may equal the old in the produce of the time-honoured establishment that was so long unrivalled in the world of Art. It ought to excel rather than fall short of the ancient work, for all the appliances and means are as much at the command of France as they were a century ago ; and although of late years working in tapestry has been grievously neglected, and the venerable hangings that used to grace the salon and the boudoir have been, in a great measure, put aside to make way for the less costly products of the paper-stainer, there are no doubt, among the aristocracy and the itouveau it has in India; and as we have seen English sideboards and sofa frames carved all over by Indian artisans, the results being simply hideous monstrosities, so there is sad evidence, here and there, either that Europeans fancy they can teach Orientals something in the way of decoration, or that the Chinese think bad imitations of European designs will sell better than their own. The Japanese have been affected in the same way, but not to the same extent, as far as we have observed; there is a cachet about all the ware here exhibited that is very striking. We do not mean to assert that the taste is always perfect, and riche, many who know and estimate the more beautiful produc¬ tions of the hand and mind of the artist. It would seem that this truth is fully admitted; for the show, at the International Exhibition, of the Gobelins and the productions of Beauvais is very large, and the collection is universally attractive ; there is always a crowd about the assemblage, and not wholly of ladies. that there is never any extravagance ; on the contrary, their imitations of ivory carvings, and complicated groups inserted in the sides of great bottles, are perfectly executed; but, like a Palissy dish covered with large fish, snakes, and frogs, these productions deserve only to be regarded as tours de force, as showing what the artist can do, not what he does at his best. Admitting much that is said respecting the inferiority of modern Art in the far East, we find in these two courts evidences of Art and skill which can scarcely be equalled elsewhere. Mr. Binns, the Art director of the Royal Worcester Works, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 95 The Clock and Candelabrum of which we give engravings on this page will be found among the numerous works contributed by the old-established and long-renowned firm of Albinet, of Paris. Their style is bold and broad; and, at the same time, it exhibits delicate minuteness as to details. Perhaps the j manufacturers are surpassed by competitors in the fanciful ornaments in which the Parisians delight—the Cupidons and Graces that supply material for nearly all the pendules and \ candelabra that decorate their salons. Messrs. Albinet aim at a higher order of produce, sacrificing, probably, much in order to attain that desirable result in all the issues of their ateliers, and, by preferring the great to the little in Art, ministering to a loftier intelligence. The Exhibition is full of objects that illus¬ trate our position; and no doubt the shops of Paris contain, as has caught the spirit of the Japanese designers admirably, and has adapted their motifs in a truly artistic manner; the show of this famous old factory is admitted by all judges to be re¬ markably fine, and presents many points of great interest. In the first place, it includes table services in the old Worcester style, which show that the manufacture is at least as good as ever, and that the art of design has made enormous strides. Not perhaps being very enthusiastic admirers of the ivory body, which has somewhat of an unnatural and imitative appear¬ ance, we are struck with the perfection of the material, the they always have done, a superabundance of things that are pretty, if not good. They strongly contrast with similar shows in England, where, for the most part, the ponderous prevails over the light, and the solid takes the place of the graceful. delicacy of the ornamentation, and the excellence of the glaze. There is amongst the examples of this ivory ware one which exhibits the pride taken by a true artist in his work, and is very remarkable ; it is a truncated piece or cylinder, surrounded by a spray of blackberry, the varied tints of the fruit and leaves being most delicately and yet most effectively rendered. To return to the Japanese methods of ornamentation, which Mr. Binns has adapted with remarkable skill. There is a service, or parts of more than one, in a very severe style, including triangular and diamond-shaped pieces, in which flowers, birds, and other 96 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TIIE In the Exhibition of 1867 the renowned firm of Fourdinois bore the palm from all competitors. Their chef-d'oeuvre in that Exhibition is one of the prime Art treasures of South Kensington. If in 1878 they do not approach it, they at least sustain their claim to a high place among the most famous cabinet-makers of Europe, The three graceful objects we engrave (to be followed by others of their works) suffi¬ ciently evidence the merit of their productions. They consist of a very graceful Fire¬ screen, an elaborately carved Table, and a Door of singular completeness of style and workmanship. The variety and contrasted colours of its wood—oak, mahogany, and ebony—and the green foliage of its olive-branch ornaments, combine to produce a charming effect. The work is classic in character and style, and thoroughly good. elements are introduced after the Japanese method ; but these are intermixed with butterflies and other objects executed in relief in variously tinted gold and bronze. This kind of deco¬ ration is necessarily costly, but it has a richness and solidity which no gilding can approach. To speak even cursorily of all the admirable productions of the Worcester Works would occupy pages, and we must confine ourselves to a few words respecting a new faience lately introduced. This earthenware bears no resemblance whatever to the wretched, half-burnt body of the old faience ; it partakes of stoneware or stone china, is highly vitrified, and is exceedingly strong. A number of vases, Venetian bottles, plaques, and plateaux are exhibited, principally in blue and white, or blue and gold, the latter being in the form of diapered ground or lines; blue, white, and gold are all superb, and the glaze equally good.* * We have engraved several of the principal productions of the Royal Works at Worcester, under the direction of Mr. R. W. Binns, F.S.A.; we omitted to attribute much of the result of their excellence to the chief artist of the establishment, Mr. Hadly, whose abilities are of the highest order, and to whom the works are largely indebted for their supremacy. A merited compliment is also due to Mr. J. Callowhill, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 97 Signor EGISTO Gajani, an eminent and often distinguished cabinet-maker of Florence, contributes several works of great artistic merit and beauty. The two figures introduced into the Cabinet, of which we give an engraving, are designed to represent Wealth and Knowledge influenced by His¬ tory. The work is carved in wood of the walnut-tree ; the style is Florentine, of the period of Louis XV. It occupies a high place among the foremost productions in the Exhibition, and does much to uphold the ancient renown of Italy in this branch of Art: so many of the Italian artisans are artists, Somewhat akin in body to this new faience is the Lambeth ware of Messrs. Doulton, which is applied to all the ordinary purposes of decorative faience ; in both cases fine large works can be produced. Messrs. Doulton exhibit a pair of saucer- formed plateaux more than a yard in diameter, painted by Mrs. Sparkes, wife of the former master of the Lambeth School of who decorated the more important pieces (the grand vases we engraved in particular), and who has given much of its valuable character to the admirable exhibition of the works of Worcester in Paris.— [Eo. A. g.] so accustomed are they to the continual study of the beautiful, living, as it were, in an atmosphere that is “ all loveliness.” Art, and present head master of the South Kensington schools. This ware is peculiarly smooth and hard, so that when burnt to what is called the biscuit state, it can be painted upon as freely as panel or canvas, and being afterwards glazed and again submitted to the furnace, the effect is admirable. The comparatively recent introduction of this beautiful hard faience has already been productive of important results ; it has helped materially to supply occupation for educated women of taste, and has added a new wreath to the brows of our potters. The present Exhibition has brought this fact out more con- 2 b 98 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE From the large and admirable display exhibited by Messrs. Minton, Hollins & Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent, we select for engraving a Chimney-piece composed of painted Tiles. It will show their supremacy in this class of work. Their contributions of tiles are in great variety, and all of high excellence, not only of tiles proper, but of painted and decorated Slabs for fire¬ places, flower-boxes, and the many purposes to which this plea¬ sant branch of Art can be applied. Though principally floral. they are often pictures of birds and other objects on which the eye can rest with pleasure. Messrs. Minton, Hol¬ lins & Co. have established renown throughout Europe and America, and supply half the world with examples of their extensive works. They are designed and executed by first-class artists of the prosperous establishment. spicuously than any previous one, and Messrs. Howell and fames have condensed the matter admirably, to borrow a literary term. Ihis well-known firm has produced of late some very original small articles of furniture, such as clock cases, china cupboards, and etageres, conceived in the spirit of ancient Art of various epochs, into which plaques and medal¬ lions in faience generally enter ; also, two or three years since, an annual exhibition of decorated ware was established at their house in Regent Street for the express purpose of encouraging female artists. I he Princess Imperial of Germany, the eldest child of Queen Victoria, and other lovers of Art, gave their countenance and aid, prizes were established both for profes¬ sional and amateur works, and the success has been very marked. Messrs. Howell and James, have a small room at the Exhibition which is completely covered, inside and out, with the Art productions of our own countrywomen, and it presents one of the attractive corners of the Exhibition to foreign as well as to British visitors. Many of the specimens exhibited have been purchased by members of the royal family and other eminent persons ; and one effect, amongst others, has been the adhesion PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 99 We have made some selections from works con¬ tributed by the renowned firm of FROMENT Meurice, who has long held, and continues to maintain, the highest position among the jewellers of France. The objects we engrave are four of his jewels, a diamond Brooch and three enamelled Bracelets; they are charmingly designed, and of great value as examples of pure Art. We give also an engraving of one of works founded the establishment half a century ago. Fie was a true artist, and the friend of all the best artists of his country and his period. So large a celebrity had he attained, that he was styled the modern Benvenuto Cellini, and the productions that emanated from his gifted mind, matured his Flower Vases. The model is of much artistic by experience, contributed much to secure for France the pre-eminence merit. The father of the present director of the that was acquired by her at the beginning and in the middle of the century. of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, who have become patrons of this new society for the encourage¬ ment of female talent. The principal objects exhibited here by Messrs. Howell and James require no gentle handling; they are sound productions, well drawn and well coloured, generally original, and devoid of mannerism. We should like to record the names of all the artists who contribute to this charming dis¬ play, but in addition to that of Mrs. Sparkes, already mentioned, we can only call to mind those of Mrs. Mallam and the Misses Charlotte and Elizabeth Spiers, Welby, and Cowper. The col¬ lection of which we are speaking includes also some very choice examples of the other kind of Lambeth ware known as Doulton ware, and which has been longer before the world. As our readers know, this is stoneware made from English clay, mixed with broken ware, calcined flint, &c., ground to an impalpable powder—the hardest of all pottery. The original Doulton ware was designed after the style of old Flemish ware, good speci¬ mens of which are in great repute, the colours being low-toned neutrals, generally enlivened with blue. Messrs. Doulton have succeeded in producing excellent blues and greens of several IOO ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We give engravings of some of the examples of Lace, produc- tions of the ficOLE DES Dentelles de Burano, a new factory or school, founded in 1872 for the purpose of reviving the ancient | art of the once celebrated and well-known point de Venise and isjjpp •it. of Burano lace, and likewise for employing the poor girls on | the island of Burano. The women of Burano were famed for their lacework in 1790. This art has been again brought I before the world, thanks to the exertions of some good ladies. shades, with other colours, and pure-tinted, light-coloured clays up to white. The ornamentation of all the Doulton ware is by hand-work, except that when strings or masses of a simple star or flower are required, these are stamped out and affixed by hand : all this ware is executed by the pupils, or past pupils, of the Lambeth School of Art, who exhibit great skill. One of the best characteristics of this ornamentation is the modelling by hand of a band, or running pattern, in a stratum of clay laid on the ground of the object, and harmonizing or contrasting with it in colour. Ihe variety of which this kind of ornamentation is capable will be seen by a glance at Messrs. Doulton’s collec¬ tion, which includes a balustrade protecting the three sides of the space occupied by it in the Exhibition, of which all the balusters, or nearly so, differ from each other. There is still another and a higher mode of decoration adapted to this kind of ware—a beautiful application of the Italian sgraffito. This is executed by cutting or tracing lines on the half-dried clay of the vase or other object to be decorated. There are amongst Messrs. Doulton’s and Messrs. Howell and James’s exhibits a herd of deer in flight, landscapes, and other PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. IOI We engrave on this page two other contributions of the re- | and beautiful, the composition having exercised a brilliant fancy, nowned firm of Fourdinois. The one is of a Sofa, and is graceful Ihe other is of a Side Table, a pleasant example of true Art. The style is that with which we have been long familiar, and the have given to this production much originality, adding new Exhibition contains many examples of it; but MM. Fourdinois thought to the French classic of old style. The firm has thus sustained, if it has not extended, its renown. It was established ' final verdict is given in, it will be found that English cabinet- when competitors were few in England ; but perhaps, when a j makers have at least equalled the best ebenistes of France. consist of portions of a beautiful little house which Messrs. Doulton have built in the enclosed garden of the Exhibition— one of the “ fa9ades ” in the “Street of Nations’’—and a most original fountain. It is spiral in form, and comprises an infinite number of groups of small figures, each illustra¬ tive of a passage from Scripture having reference to water and its applications, the water of the fountain of course entering- into the design. The modelling is undoubtedly powerful and original; the figures are generally very small, but there is no 1 more littleness about them than about a picture by Tenniel. 2 c objects, by Mrs. Barlow, which display a beautiful freedom and sureness of touch. We should say that Messrs. Doulton were peculiarly fortunate —if good sense and perseverance were not always fortunate in these matters—in finding such artists as those already men¬ tioned; but in truth they were not found; they grew with the progress of the manufacture, and fairly deserve the name of a school. Lastly, we have to notice some very peculiar produc¬ tions of this firm which have attracted special attention. These are in stoneware and terra-cotta, modelled in high relief. I hey 102 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Dirk is one of a suite of Highland cos¬ tume, the work of Marshall of Edin¬ burgh. It is in black enamel on silver, de¬ signed in Scoto taste. The two Plaques are of glass, selected from the many beautiful contribu¬ tions of LOBMEYR, of Vienna. They are exquisitely designed, and elabo¬ rately, yet with exceeding refinement, cut and engraved. They might serve as models for many classes of designers for Art manufacturers. A Candelabrum, placed on a stand of much artistic grace and beauty, is the production of M. Servant, others of whose excellent works we have engraved. The originator of these extraordinary works is Mr. George Tinworth, a very clever modeller and designer. The above are among the most striking points in the British •section of ceramic manufacture, but on every hand there is ample evidence of continued progress in all respects. The im¬ provements in the body of earthenware are very remarkable among English potters ; nothing could be much worse than the body of the old majolica, the effects depending entirely on the enamel. Long since English fine earthenware took the first place, and we need not say how admirably the manufacture has been carried forward. The jasper ware of Wedgwood was another important step ; here we obtained a charmingly tinted ground and a material of great solidity. The new faience, to which we have already referred, combines all the above-mentioned qualities, great solidity, even coloration, and facility of deco¬ ration. Already the ornamental ware of England has assumed a very high position, but it is quite evident the progress has not yet been arrested. It is gratifying to know how completely the British potters hold their own. In the introductory remarks appended to the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. io Messrs. Goode, of South Audley Street, London, represent the famous firm of Messrs. Minton, of Stoke-upon-Trent; the whole col¬ lection, of great extent and very large value, is exhibited under their auspices. They are men whose judgment, knowledge, and taste have given them foremost rank among the “purve)mrs” of British porcelain, and if not actually the manufacturers of these admirable and valuable works, they are so in the higher and better sense, for they supply many of the de¬ signs, direct the produce, and take upon themselves the responsibility of their dis¬ persion among" wealthy collectors of the world. It is unnecessary to describe the examples we engrave; they are of the highest Art grace and beauty, confer honour upon England, and justify us in entering into competition with the best fabricants of all the nations of the world. class of ceramics in the official French catalogue we read that while in France fourteen thousand men are employed in the production of porcelain, the exports do not exceed ^240,000 per annum ; but the imports of English soft porcelain represent an important sum. Again, with respect to faiences, the same official writer says that there are upwards of three hundred and sixty potteries in France, that the exports do not exceed a million of francs, while the imports from England exceed three millions per annum. The notes on this part of the subject con¬ clude with the following passage:—“ Finally, w r e must notice the common stanniferous earthenware, the majolica, and other faiences which are covered over the whole or a part of their surface with enamel rendered opaque by means of oxide of tin or other substance. It is to this group that belong all the ceramic productions which have acquired celebrity by their brilliant coloration, the transparency of their glaze, and the admirable application of the paintings with which they are decorated. The Arabian, Persian, Oriental, and Moorish styles have been successively imitated, and the beautiful majolicas of Italy and England may be quoted as types.” 104 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave two others of the Cabinets contributed by Messrs. James Shoolbred & Co. They are justly entitled to rank among the best works in the Exhibition, and do great credit to woods judiciously intermixed, the prevailing sort being satin- wood. They are designed as well as manufactured in the exten¬ sive establishment whence they emanate, the designs being the pHltlS PliMIMllllMlIiiliiiliiitiiiij ilhnrniiimaim FifiT l|[l II lllfl E j| If .. _ i jk^EE^nfpd iW-i the enterprising manufacturers. We have not space to describe produce of experienced and practised artists who occupy fore- them ; it must suffice to say they are composed of various most places in their profession, and are retained by the firm. The following remarks on stoneware ( g'ris) will be read with interest:—“A very hard, dense, impermeable body is the dis¬ tinguishing characteristic of this special ware. It is divided into two classes, fine and ordinary. The fine supplies objects of real elegance, serving in the ornamentation and applicable to the service of the table; it is formed of a very fine paste, white or coloured, delicately wrought, often enriched with figures in relief executed with great effect in different coloured pastes. Essentially composed of pure plastic clay, kaolin, and feldspar, this pottery by its nature takes its place between hard porcelain and fine English faience.” Such is the estimation of our fine English stoneware, and we may add that while too much of the faience is so poor in composition that water percolates through it, the stoneware is absolutely impermeable, and much of it unaffected even by boiling water; thus we have a combination of beauty and utility that cannot fail to recommend itself. The g?'es de Flandre is held in high estimation, but, with all our admiration for it, we cannot overlook the fact that its orna¬ mentation, compared with that of the Doulton ware, is extremely rude. The best examples of the latter are gems of ceramic art; PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION We engrave examples of the machine-made Lace of very excellent in design, and of great delicacy and refinement in Messrs. Henry Mallet and Sons, of Nottingham ; they are | manufacture. To the uninitiated, indeed, there seems but little difference between that which costs much and that which costs little, though no doubt the one cannot bear the rigid scrutiny to there are some pieces at the Exhibition, the bodies of which are covered with dark blue stars, which are perfect. We may men¬ tion that the letters H. W., which will be found on pieces of Doulton ware, indicate that boiling water may be put into them without danger. In the production of ornamental tiles, plaques, and medal¬ lions, British potters hold-a high position ; they are not without powerful rivals, as we shall have to show presently, but the excellence of their ware, the brilliancy of their colours, and the solidity of their glaze place them very high, while the great which the other may be subjected with impunity; but to the eye the one seems quite as refreshing and beautiful as the other. variety of their productions—encaustic, majolica, embossed, and impressed—draws special attention to them. All the leading pro¬ ducers show largely here—Minton, Campbell, Copeland, Maw, Craven and Dunhill. Messrs. Maw & Co., and Minton, Hollins & Co., have backed the Prince of Wales’s pavilion with a superb show of tiles, large painted plaques, and some capital mosaic- work, which need fear no rivalry; in every respect, as regards body, decoration, and glaze, these and the productions in the British section have never been surpassed, if they have ever been equalled. 2 a io6 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The exhibits of Messrs. Howell and James in several Art Those of which we give engravings on this page are from the departments merit the high encomiums they have received. collection of ceramic woiks, the issues of the institution they have established, mainly to supply graceful and appropriate, I Clock, and the Vase at each side, are from the designs of Mr. and at the same time profitable, employment to ladies. The | Lewis F. Day; the delicately painted figures of‘Sunlight’ and ‘Moonlight’ on the vases being the work of Mrs. Fisher. The j justly obtained the first prize at the competitive exhibition of three Panel Pictures are on china by Miss Ada Hanbury. They 1 Messrs. Howell and James. We can give but few of the many. And here we may remark that not in tiles only, but in the case of all British ware, we fancy we notice an improvement in the management of glaze. We used often to see this beautiful sub¬ stance employed so lavishly that the ware almost looked as if it were wet—an unpleasant appearance. Now, in the case of some special articles, such as trifles in which a surface approaching mother-o’-pearl is desired, this dazzling glaze maybe admis¬ sible, but in other ware, and especially in highly decorated kinds, ostentatious glazing is a grand error ; like the house painter, the potter should “flatten,” or moderate his work. We have not noticed an example of the fault here indicated in the present Exhibition. We see also a constant improvement in the forms of our porce¬ lain and earthenware, not only in the highest classes of ware, but in all others, from the plain white to the most elaborately decorated table services, and in earthenware chamber services as well as in porcelain vases ; a fine large varied show like that of Messrs. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. proves this general improvement beyond question. Another remarkable talent of our potters is the imitation of texture. This is brought PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 107 We engrave from the collection of Messrs. Elkington tS: Co. two of five pieces forming a small Dessert Service, composed of iron inlaid with gold, works of delicate and very refined beauty. We give also a Silver Jug in the Renaissance style. On either side are genii representing Day and Night, with the symbolical cock and owl. The Jug accompanies the two Dishes represent¬ ing the twelve months of the year, one of which we have engraved. to our mind by the name of the last-mentioned firm, which show's a group of two tigers of large size, so lifelike, so soft-looking, that it is almost impossible to believe that it is in hard-baked clay. There are many other instances of the same kind in the Exhibition, but none so striking as this. The modelling and colouring are almost as remarkable as the texture. This noble group was engraved in our June number. Terra-cotta is another form of pottery extremely w'ell repre¬ sented in the Exhibition : we have spoken of Messrs. Doulton’s house, and may now mention another by Mr. Lascelles, which has red terra-cotta panels and pilasters in bas-relief. On the wall of the Fine Art Court will be found, besides some fine plaques by Minton, a large panel representing the Descent from the Cross, and four smaller panels with other religious subjects, by Messrs. Doulton, admirably designed in a very severe style, and set in a mounting of Doulton ware relieved with colour, with several heads from the antique treated in the same manner; and in the centre of their collection within the Exhibition build¬ ing is a most complicated group of young men playing at foot¬ ball, which is a true tour de force in burnt clay. The subject io8 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. Brown Brothers, of Edinburgh, contribute exam¬ ples of high-class furniture, and occupy a prominent and honour¬ able place in the Exhibition. That which we engrave is a Side¬ board, of dark mahogany, in the “Adam’s style a remarkably meritorious specimen of the characteristic features of that style. The details are carried out with great delicacy and finish. The lower part has three drawers under the top, with a cupboard below at each side, and an open space in the centre suitable for the display of old china. We draw particular atten¬ tion to the beautifully carved doors of cupboards, and the fine ornament richly carved on drawer fronts ; also to the quaint and nicely turned and carved pillars at each side of the recess. The seems to have been chosen expressly to show how apparent im¬ possibilities could be overcome. The lorquay and Watcombe Companies, Messrs. Bates, Walker & Co., and some other English firms, exhibit good terra-cotta, generally well modelled and well burnt. In fact, English terra-cotta holds high rank, and several of our manufacturers have produced large compositions—fountains and much archi¬ tectural work. 'Ihe group by Mr. John Bell, one of the four at the foot of the memorial to the Prince Consort, may be specially mentioned. After rather careful examination, we top part has two tiers of shelves, with bevelled mirror in the centre between the shelves. At each side of the mirror, and above it, are broad bands of the “ Adam’s ” festoon done in embossed leather, and coloured in harmony with the tone of the mahogany. think we may say that the English terra-cotta shown here is generally well burnt, and this is an essential matter, for ill- burnt terra-cotta is worthless. Well-burnt terra-cotta and orna¬ mental work is peculiarly suitable for our climate, and it deserves encouragement. There is only one kind of terra-cotta that has been almost entirely neglected in England—that which is known in France, Italy, and other countries as Art terra¬ cotta. The best of this is excellent, and when, as is generally the case, each cast, after it has come from the mould, is gone over and touched up by the artist, it becomes, to a cer- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 109 ™ s P a 2 e contains engravings of two re- gular triumph over difficulties presented by a comparatively impracticable metal, markable productions, the work of Eugene The Flower Stand and Flower Vase are of much beauty, but the Chandelier is BAGUES, of Paris. They are of wrought iron, very admirable in design, but exhibiting sin- perhaps as perfect a production of its class as the Exhibition supplies. Both, as well as other works by the same master mind, are among the most attractive con¬ tributions to the collection, and will indeed take rank with the best of the century. tain extent, an original work. This Art terra-cotta is made of a peculiar and scarce Italian clay, and when burnt has a quiet, neutral appearance, while the inferior class is more or less red; the former also gives out a clear, glassy sound, showing it to be thoroughly burnt, while the other is comparatively soft and not resonant. The former is unalterable in any climate ; the latter is washed over to give it surface, and gets dirty very soon. We should like to see the best Art terra-cotta cultivated among us. We must now turn our attention to the ceramic work of France and other countries. “Old Sevres” are words which cause a thrill in the sale-rooms of London as well as of Paris, and in the minds of some persons we believe the idea is fixed that no other French porcelain is worthy to be named in the same breath. Such notions are unjust, or rather, they are the result of want of knowledge. It is easy to make a fetich of that which is old—it is only the drawing of a line at a given date, adoring all above it and con¬ demning all below; it saves a world of study and trouble, and makes the connoisseur safe, except when he falls into the trap of adoring a false mark, and such traps are very numerous 2 e I 10 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE gards this especial—and it is the highest—order of Art. Its productions manifest sound manipulative skill, together with ability in design, results of study and practice in the best school. This may be accepted as suggestive to other nations. The designer of this cabinet has adhered to the old traditions of Italian Art as derived from the Greek. power, refreshing both the eye and mind, and giving to the pro¬ ductions of the Art manufacturer all advantages. We engrave another of the Cabinets of Gajani, of Florence; it is a contribution of great Art value to the Exhibition. The manufacturer is an artist of much power, who has well earned the renown he has obtained. Italy comes to the front as re- MM . FOURDINOIS supply us with the work that fills this column. As with all the productions of their atelier, it exhibits skill and indeed.. “Fine old Sevres” is a regular manufacture in Paris, or rather just outside Paris; there is little secret about it. The show of Sevres porcelain at the Exhibition is one of the most superb of which France can boast, set up where it should be, in the Vestibule of Honour, in a Renaissance temple expressly designed for it and the productions of the other famous State factories of the Gobelins and Beauvais, each of which enhances the effect of the other, and gives them all addi¬ tional value by contrast. It presents, both from the artistic and the material points of view, one of the most admirable, if not the most admirable illustration of a charming art that can be conceived. The history of Sevres is full of interest, and, as regards its general outline, too well known to bear repetition. The begin¬ ning of the porcelain works was not at Sevres, but at Vincennes, in 1745 ; they were removed to the former place in 1753, when it became a royal establishment. The ware which it produced at first was called “artificial porcelain,” being an imitation of tme porcelain with different materials—this was th & ^porcelaine tendre; but when great deposits of kaolin, or disintegrated PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 111 The time-honoured firm of Boyer and Sons, bronze manufac¬ turers of Paris, supplies us with a Jardiniere, or general orna¬ mented stand, richly elaborated. It is designed without especial thought to style, but its several parts are brought into harmony, while each, taken separately, is an example of good Art. MM. Boyer and Sons have sent us some figures of most refined grace felspar, were found in France, the ftorcelaine dure, ftorcelaine kaoUnique, or true porcelain, was produced. This happened between 1765 and 1768. For fifteen or twenty years after the last date both kinds of ftate continued to be made, but the use of the ftate te?idre was given up about the end of the century, and not resumed till 1850. Every one who has a taste for china knows the beauty of the colours of the old Sevres, le bleu du roi, celadon, rose du Barry, &c. For a time the secret of these colours, or some of them, seem to have been partially lost, but the progress which and beauty, but such as we cannot satisfactorily engrave on wood ; they are rarely effective when presented in that class of Art. has been made within a few years is truly astonishing. Not only are the old colours reproduced now, but a large number of new tints have been “invented,” in accordance with the altered, and, as we hold, greatly improved taste of the period. The whole of the pieces of ware exhibited at present in the Champ de Mars date since the last International Exhibition in Paris, 1867, and we have no hesitation in stating that never were so many or such important improvements effected in the science of porcelain manufacture—we shut out the question of Art entirely for the moment—in the same space of time. I I 2 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE This page contains a bust-size miniature of Caston de Foix, the youth-hero of the sixteenth century. It is of exquisite enamel intermingled with gold; guarded, as it were, with a gorgeously variegated frame of much comparative width, con¬ sisting of the boldest alti-relievi of allegorical and other figures. The house from which these remarkable examples of Art emanate is that of Falize and Sons, of Paris. They excite universal The amateur is satisfied with the effect of an object of Art, but to be a true connoisseur he must be acquainted with the principles involved in the production, for with them the possi¬ bilities of the manufacture are absolutely involved. Now in the old time, and till a very few years since, a piece of decorated porcelain had to pass many times through the furnace ; some colours required a different amount of heat from others, and few of them would support more than about 300° Centi¬ grade. With the scientific aid of the late chemist and phy¬ sicist Regnault, the present administrator, M. Robert, and admiration, and merit the praise they have received, throwing into shade the artist manufacturers who at previous exhibitions maintained supremacy in this department of high-class Art. the able directors at the works, a most important change has been effected, one that could hardly have been dreamt of a few years since; and this has been brought about not by an accident, but after innumerable scientific researches and prac¬ tical experiments. This immense achievement consists in the discovery of methods by means of which all the colours in use are now burnt in at one and the same time, and not at the comparatively low heat of 300°, but at about three times that temperature, so that the vitrification of the colours is complete, and the whole work at once more brilliant and more PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 1 13 Italy has contributed largely and well to the Exhibition ; our catalogue will be adorned by many fine examples of the mani¬ pulation, skill, and Art power of the classic land. That we engrave on this page is from the master hand of Professor fi H gtji jjti H1 ftli art zl £. y-Ti,u:7/.i WJSMtlxfayr.'-htXit lJii- Frullini, an artist and producer of renown. The composition is I graceful; the birds and branches and leaves are admirably carved solid than when executed in the old manner. The questions of brilliancy and solidity are set at rest completely by the study, for a very short time, of the magnificent specimens here ex¬ hibited. Had this been the only achievement of the last ten or twenty years, it would have been sufficient to mark an era of great progress. But such has not been the case. It is but a very few years since the ftate-sur-ftate method of decoration flashed upon the world ; and it was born, we believe, at Sevres, although we have heard it attributed to a private manufactory. The unrivalled beauty of the Portland, or Barberini, vase had long been the admiration and despair of artists and Art workmen. Wedgwood produced a charming approach towards it with the aid of a true artist, Flaxman, in his jasper-ware ; and very recently another of our own countrymen has produced a copy of the celebrated vase in the same manner as that presumedly em¬ ployed by the ancient artist, namely, the covering of a vase composed of dark-coloured glass with a stratum of white, and producing the design in the latter by cutting away all the super¬ fluous portions. The new process accomplishes the same effect, or nearly so, by means of a camel-hair pencil and a little fine pre- 2 / ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TLIE 11.4 pared, clay mixed with water. This process combines the sister arts of drawing and modelling, although all is done with the brush ; for the white “slip,” as it is called, is laid on in relief, and thoroughly modelled into form. The charm of this kind of work lies, in the first place, in the fact that as there is no moulding, and conse¬ quently no deterioration of the design, each piece is an original work of Art; and, secondly, in the translucent effects produced where the white clay is laid on so thinly as to allow the colour of the dark ground to become apparent in soft demi-tints. Here, then, we have a new mode of decoration of the most artistic and beautiful character. It is almost needless to add that when the human figure is introduced none but real artists should venture on such work, for every error in touch is terribly glaring. The same method is applicable to raised floral and other decoration, and has been employed with great success. This mode of painting and modelling has also been adapted to gold ornamentation. There are several objects in the Exhi¬ bition, and especially one grand vase, dark blue and gold, in which this method is applied with great skill, the gold orna¬ mentation being in just sufficient relief to give emphasis to the renowned work of the same accom¬ plished artist, ‘The Milton Shield.’ These are productions of which England may well be proud, for if Mr. Morel is by birth a Frenchman, he is, we believe, as he certainly ought to be, a natu¬ ralised Englishman, for in England he has earned and been rewarded by large and enduring fame. We give on this page an engraving of the Pilgrim’s Shield— a chef-d'03wore of the Art manufacturer Elkington, and designed by the great artist Morel- Ladeuil. It will be recognised at once as an effort—and a most successful one—to represent lead¬ ing scenes in the grand gift of the Bedford dreamer, “ The Pilgrim’s Progress,” and may be accepted as a companion to the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 11 5 Messrs. Hart, Sox, and Peard, of Wych Street and Regent Street, London, have obtained renown as manufacturers of metal-work, principally, but by no means exclusively, as Church furniture. They are, we imagine, among the earliest producers of that Perhaps the Exhibition does not contain a more remarkable example of Art manufacture than the latter, which is early French Gothic in style, and is composed of more than two thousand separate pieces of metal, chiefly soldered together, electro-gilt, with oxidized panels, &c. It is class, and certainly among the first to make such improvements—guided by classic authorities as well as true artists—as to enable England to dispense with continental aids in this branch of industrial Art. The very beautiful Cross is of that order: not so the Epergne. enriched by ivory carvings and enamelled panels—subjects apropos to the dining-table—and shields. The objects to be placed under the canopies in the base will be determined by the public or private use for which it may be adopted. Taken altogether, the work is one of the highest value. design, while it contrasts admirably with flat ornamentation also in gold. In the case of this noble vase another kind of deco¬ ration is likewise employed : figures are introduced on each side in engraved platinum, the metal being laid on in some reduced state, then baked, and finally engraved. Another important innovation is the coloration of the clay throughout by means of metallic oxides, in such a manner that the colour bears, without the slightest deterioration, the full effect of what is called grand fete, i8oo° Centigrade ; and the surface of objects made in these coloured clays is either left plain, or is marbled, mottled, or dotted and marked like the skin of the orange or that of a fowl, and called, in conse¬ quence, fieau d'ora?ige and chair de ftoule, which produce most effective backgrounds. On such grounds all kinds of opaque ornamentation are effected without difficulty ; but when light, airy, transparent effects are desired, a complicated me¬ thod is now adopted with full success : the design being drawn on the vase or other piece, the coloured clay is then cut out to a certain depth and replaced by white, and on this latter the painting is executed. Brilliant wreaths and masses of ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 116 We engrave passages from one of the Stained-Glass Windows glass and decorations,” of Birmingham. We have no space in contributed by Messrs. CAMM Brothers, “ artists in stained which to describe the several objects, two of which, it will be observed, are painted Tiles. Their more prominent exhibit is a Tennyson’s “ Idylls of the King.” In the centre light is the Hall Window in three lights. The subjects are taken from ! sacred mount of Camelot, where Arthur holds high court with the Knights of the Round Table. The pictures are admirably de¬ signed, and painted with skill and judgment; they are among the flowers are in this way produced on quiet neutral-coloured grounds with admirable effect. There are some splendid ex¬ amples of this kind of work in the collection at the Exhibition. This inlaying of one coloured clay in another, or on another, is likewise practised in other ways, such, for instance, as for the production of brilliant band-work in the Italian style, and where great contrasts of colour are desired. With respect to the forms, it must be admitted that the vases of to-day are in purer taste than they formerly were. Here and there we find imitations of metal and even of wood work where best contributions of the class, and uphold the high character of the great Art town of the Midland Counties and of England. all should be designed for clay, and nothing else ; but generally speaking there is an absence of such extraneous additions, and a maintenance of pure outline. In the decoration a similar change has fortunately come over the manufacture ; the habit of copying the mythological and other productions of the great masters, views of royal palaces and chateaux, landscapes, and other pictorial subjects has almost disappeared; figures are but sparingly introduced; and huge masses of flowers have been superseded by the more appro¬ priate kind of ornamentation derived from nature. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. We have accorded ample justice to the great glass manufac¬ turer of Vienna, Herr LOBMEYR. He is eminently entitled to it, for not only in this Exhibition of 1878, but in several other exhibitions, he has obtained a first place. It is difficult to 1 17 understand that the elaborate design which adorns this page is an engraving on glass. If the mind that designed it is of\ high order, so surely the hand by which it has been executed is of marvellous skill in working out and making palpable the thought of the creative artist. There is no department of manu¬ facture in which Art progress is so conspicuous as it is in this of glass cutting and engraving. As we shall show elsewhere, Herr Lobmeyr has found competitors in England who will share, Such are the main facts, so far as we have been able to note and ascertain them, related to the best of our judgment, and absolutely without bias, respecting the renowned manufacture of Sevres during the last few years. The collection at the Exhibition is large and varied, including vases of gigantic dimensions, one especially—upwards of ten feet in height—down to the smallest teacups. Some of the larger works are the result of competitions, prizes being offered from time to time for vases for the decoration of the Louvre, the Grand Opera, or other national establishments ; and some of if they do not take from him, his laurels. He has worn them well and long, and they will not honour him less when they are bound around the brows of other artist-manufacturers. France, which in former times led the van in this art, is now in the rear. the others are prizes to be given to successful exhibitors at the international, agricultural, and other exhibitions—an admirable application of such beautiful works. The collection includes hard and soft porcelain, figures in biscuit, and a few enamels, nearly two hundred numbers in all, pairs of vases or other articles and sets of china being placed to¬ gether under the same number. The show is therefore, as we have said, extensive and varied, and it presents these great advan¬ tages, that there are no duplicates, and that each piece is ex¬ hibited to advantage. It is a collection of gems properly set. 118 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TLIE Messrs. G. S. Lucraft and Son, of Lon- merit. As metropolitan cabinet-makers, working in the heart of the great city, they occupy a foremost place. We engrave two of their “ Chippendale ” hanging China Cabinets, and a Cabinet of satin-wood inlaid with various coloured woods. The firm largely manufacture furniture in the style of the seventeenth century; in that, therefore, to which they have specially directed their attention they excel. Nearly all their exhibits are in that style, light and graceful, peculiarly calculated both for the drawing-room and the boudoir, where elegance is studied in all surrounding objects, and where everything may derive advantage from Art. There are no examples of the faience which was produced some years since at Sevres, and it may be mentioned that the fabrication has been abandoned. When the manufacture of earthenware—that is to say, of fine decorated earthenware or faience—had almost entirely ceased in France, the directors of the Sevres works took up the subject, investigated it thoroughly, and showed the manufacturing world the secrets of the old faienciers of Rouen, Moustiers, Nevers, and other places; and when the lessons were taught, and beautiful painted and otherwise deco¬ rated earthenware issued from private potteries, Sevres had done its work. In like manner, at the present moment there is an atelier in the Sevres manufactory under the direction of an able artist, in which beautiful mosaics are being produced ; but we shall have to speak of this in another chapter. We have said that the collection includes biscuit figures; these exhibit in a striking way the care and ability w'hich exist at Sevres. The most remarkable of these w r orks are groups, in¬ cluding many figures and complex details, from eighteenth- century models, and are well known in the Art world as the ‘Surtout de Bacchus,’ ‘Cupid captive,’ ‘The Infancy of Silenus,’ PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. ng Iflplt*# sws KKQ ran w ■MsM vsl^m Gim m We give two other examples of the produc¬ tions of Messrs. Adams & Co., of Notting¬ ham : they are samples of a large collection of much grace, beauty, and originality in importance, in which of late years large advances have been made, so as to enable England successfully to compete with the best produce of the continent. Messrs. Adams, however, uphold the long-established renown of the great capital of the order of Art manufacture. But lace curtains are not the only class of manufactured design, and of the highest order of fineness of fabric and skill in manufacture. It is to be regretted that this firm is the only ex¬ hibitor of a class of Art that is of very great goods produced by Messrs. Adams ; for example, those of which we give engravings are Bed Quilts or Bed Curtains, very beautifully designed, and of fabric light yet warm. They are at once pleasant to the eye and comforting to the body. We may be here¬ after in a position to describe the fabric more fully; for, thus used, it is very valuable. ‘ An Allegory of the Marriage of Louis XVI.,’ the ‘Good Old Man’s Fete Day,’ the ‘ Crowning of the Rosiere,' &c. : pretty compositions of a somewhat weak type, but the execution is marvellous; they are in hard porcelain biscuit, and the smallest details, down to the fingers of figures a few inches only in height, are almost perfect. In the painting great masses of positive colours have given way to quieter tints on secondary or neutral grounds, and Art is a great gainer thereby. There are plenty of critics and amateurs who still cling to the old traditions of the art—the gods [ and goddesses, the fables of mythology, the portraits, the land¬ scapes, the huge wreaths, the great golden ropes, and other affectations of the eighteenth century; but the present generation has gone beyond them, and persists in admiring the truer kind of decoration which now prevails. Others there are, on the contrary, who would still further diminish the brilliancy of the ceramic palate. M. Charles Blanc, one of the soundest living critics, has just completed a series of lectures at the College de France, where he fills a newly founded chair of Esthetics and the History of Art, with four discourses on Ceramics, in which. 120 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Those who remember the productions of “ paper stamers thirty or forty years ago (there are still some homes that con¬ tinue to be defaced by them) will have reason to rejoice that modern manufacturers of products almost as necessary to household grace and comfort as the air we breathe have intro¬ duced a far better order of things. The eye is no longer afflicted nor the mind insulted by the monstrosities or absurdities that used to cover our walls, both in humble dwellings and aristocratic mansions, where glare was considered triumph, and roses a foot in diameter quite the mode ; where temples and summer¬ houses were seen a hundred times repeated in a room ; where, in a word, education in coarse and bad teaching was the lesson learned daily in every apartment of a house. It is happily very different now; an evil design on paper is the exception, not the rule. We shall have a better opportunity of directing attention after detailing the wonderful attainments of the Oriental potters, the manner in which they seized on and made use of accidents, and produced crackled, clouded, marbled, and shagreen grounds, and the beautiful changes which occur in ceramic surfaces, he touched upon the principles of the decoration of porcelain, for which, in his view, the play of two colours only, complementary to each other, such as red and green, or yellow and violet, the contrast being toned down by accessory and transition tints, was amply sufficient. It is admitted on all hands that during the present century to the enormous number of productions—nearly all good—issued by Messrs. Benjamin J. Allan and Son, of Bow, London. At present we give only their decoration fora ceiling, a comparatively recent introduction. It will in time become universal, rendering the ceiling as well as the walls of the room refreshing to the eye. much has been done by the scientific directors of Sevres to perfect the ware itself, and it is almost as universally admitted that the decoration had fallen into a sadly conventional and weak condition. Within the last few years, while the perfection of the manufacture has been pursued without remission, a com¬ plete revolution has been made with respect to colours them¬ selves ; and, in addition to all this, the ornamentation has par¬ taken largely of that improved taste and understanding of the principles of harmony and fitness which have raised the level of every manufacture in which Art is an element, and that much PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 12 I Messrs. Henry Ogden and Son, of Manchester, rank among the foremost cabinet-makers o England ; their fame may be provincial, but they have often competed for honours with the best upholsterers of the metropolis. The work of which we give an engraving on this in construction, no space being wasted, as well as for graceful and pure artistic feeling in carving, page is a Cabinet, designed by Mr. H. W. Battey, an artist to whom British Art manufac- turning, and all its decorated parts, turers are largely indebted. They claim prominence for this work as an example of excellence The style is essentially English. of this is due to the Sevres manufactory it would be most unjust to deny. The manufactory of Sevres has gone through many changes ; for years it was in charge of M. Brogniart, who confined his attention to the improvement of the manufacture, but cared or understood little of Art. He was followed by M. Ebelmen and the late M. Regnault, who did immense service in the pro¬ duction of those metallic colours of which we have already spoken, that are covered with a fine glaze fired at a vitrify¬ ing heat, and calculated to endure unchanged for ages. The present director, M. Robert, was an eminent ceramist before he was appointed to this position. He is at once an artist and a thorough ceramic chemist, and is following the course of his predecessors with great energy and success. Formerly, in paint¬ ing on china, the metallic oxides contained in the pigments were fixed at the surface by a half fusion to obtain the desired colours, but the glaze was often iridescent or wavy, and some¬ times dull and heavy, and had not power to resist a smart rub, and still less the effects of time. The grand-feu colours, as already stated, are practically unchangeable. One of the first 2 h 122 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. Hodgetts, Richardson, and Son rank among the oldest and the best of the glass manufacturers of Stourbridge. Nearly half a century ornamentation of their productions manifest care¬ ful study of the best models, and competent artists ago the elders of this firm commenced the introduction of colours into English glass, and very soon rivalled in that way the produce of Bohemia. They continue to practise with great success this branch of the art, and many specimens at the Exhibition show their supremacy. The forms and their works ; these are consequently, in almost all cases, of very great and acknowledged excellence. of those obtained was pure cobalt blue, resembling sapphire ; then in succession were produced a turquoise blue, not nearly so fine as the lovely blue we see on soft porcelain, but still a fine colour ; a beautiful green chrome called celadon, which has had immense success ; a pure black; and yellows, browns, greys, and olives, from the darkest to the lightest tints. The whole of the porcelain of France exhibits the teachings and initiative of Sevres, for it should be known that shapes and processes are all freely placed at the disposition of private manufacturers, and a grand collection of porcelain will be found in the immense space devoted to ceramic-ware in the industrial galleries, produced by manufacturers and decorators of Paris and the provinces, amongst whom may be mentioned MM. Pannier-Lahoche & Co., Rousseau, Pillivuyt, Haviland, Pouyat, Mansard, Clauss, Gosse, Thomas, Delforge, Klotz, Levy, and Marchereau, many of whose works have already been illustrated in our pages, as we hope many more will be. A collection which attracts much attention is that of the Municipal School of Limoges, famous for its enamels all over the world. This school teaches gratuitously two hundred and PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 123 Examples are exhibited by Messrs. W. B. Simpson and Sons, of St. Martin’s Lane, London, of painted Tiles, suggestive of varied application as a means of interior decoration ; such for instance, as wall decoration generally, dados, fireplace linings and hearths, chimney-pieces and furniture. The Chimney-piece engraved is of lofty proportions, and of a design somewhat Flemish in character. It is made of American walnut-wood in dining-room of a country mansion. A bracket clock, of corre- combination with painted tiles, and is intended for the hall or sponding design, representing the Flight of Time accompanied it. fifty youths and two hundred girls in the arts of design applied to industry, and it has achieved considerable success, the works of the pupils having secured them many prizes. The collection now to be seen here exhibits an excellent choice, and amongst the works we find examples—as indeed we do all over the section—of the Sevres method of pCite sur pate already referred to. As a proof of the appreciation of the works of the Limoges school, we may mention the fact that the pieces are almost all purchased for the museums of Sevres or Vienna, or by private manufacturers of porcelain. Other localities have their schools of design, which must have more or less influence on the ceramic manufactures of the future. The exhibition of French faience is very large and various. The manufacturers of Paris continue to exhibit great skill in the painting and burning of large plaques for decorative purposes, and many of the provincial makers are also very successful in that line; but perhaps the most characteristic productions of the French potteries are jardinieres, vases, &c., in glazed faiences, with flowers painted, or sometimes modelled, on dark 124 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE worthy successor of the artist whose productions are in England | rivalled only by those of Grinling Gibbons. This page contains, besides three works of lesser value, executed as adornments of the Bessemer Steam-ship, three Pulpit Panels: the centre one grounds, many of the examples having a rustic air; the multi¬ plicity of forms, the endless variety of ornamentation, and the eccentricities of all kinds are also highly characteristic. One form of decoration at present in fashion is the attachment of roses or other flowers, cleverly modelled and coloured, here and there, without reference to any design. Sometimes animals or reptiles crawl upon the surface ; but this is a mere copy of one of the thousand whims of the Japanese potters. The application of faience to decoration forms a really striking feature of the Exhibition. We have already spoken of the coloured is of an ornamental design, enclosing the sacred monogram in a vesica, and four other emblems on roundels, exquisitely designed. slabs of painted earthenware on the front of the Champ de Mars buildings, within the vestibule, and around the doors of the Pavilion of the City of Paris; but these are of a simple character, and partly only imitation-work. Elsewhere we find earthenware decoration on an unusually grand scale. In the Exhibition held on the same spot in 1867 M. Collinot had a grand porch in the Persian style, which was engraved in the report of the Exhibition given in the Art Journal; on the present occasion he has a splendid show, somewhat differing in character, but evincing decided advancement in ceramic decoration. His PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 125 M. Le Roy, a first-class watchmaker of Paris and London, exhibits, among other meritorious works, one of a remarkable cha¬ racter. The useful parts of the composition will be at once noted ; they are skilfully in¬ troduced into an elaborately wrought iron case, presenting in that material difficulties which the artist who designed it could not easily overcome. The work is, therefore, to be regarded as a curiosity as well as an example of excellent Art, credit- exhibition takes the form of a grand pavilion ; it covers the intersection of two of the principal passages in the industrial galleries. The four angles have their arches with colonnettes, some fluted and some spiral, but all formed of pieces of true pottery—not brick or plaster work patched with tiles—of tine deep, even colours, and surmounted with and supported by capitals and plinths admirably designed in the true spirit of old Persian work; the facings and panels are formed of tiles, some decorated with embossed ornamentation, others with stamped patterns, and coloured by hand ; and the frieze is a fine example able to the producer, who takes high rank not only in his own country, but in England, and, indeed, throughout the world. of modelled work. Thus we have an octagonal temple of con¬ siderable dimensions, with a large ottoman surmounted by a noble vase in the centre. The effect of this fine ceramic decoration is greatly enhanced by the arches being all hung with figured stuffs, harmonizing admirably with the faience, and having within them splendid vases of the same ware on hand¬ some carved stands. The four angular spaces behind the arches have been most artistically treated. One of these is decorated with splendidly coloured panels, in tiles, with flowers, birds, &c., in the Japanese style; a second is fitted up as a Turkish bath- 126 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE This page contains eight examples of the Murano Glass and Mosaic Company, of St. James’s Street, London, and Campo San Vio, Venice. They are recent pro¬ ductions, and for the most part copies of antiques, specimens of which abound in Italy and in the collections of English connoisseurs. The very extensive series of exhibits comprises almost every variety of form and all conceivable colours. It will be seen that some of the forms are quaint, and not of the pure classic; yet all of them show marvellous manipulative skill. They are inferior to the ancient models only because they are new and not old: the artist who produced the one would not have been ashamed to claim paternity of the other, and might surely have done so. room, with large bath, a complicated arrangement for douche and shower baths in bright metal, and elaborate marble lavatory, all the walls being covered with tiles, and the whole having a very complete and satisfactory air; opposite to this is a small Persian snuggery, with very handsome panels in tile-work, a Persian fountain in which the water simply falls straight down, like a screen, from the faience architrave above into a jardiniere at the foot; the fourth compartment is the bazaar—shop, if you will—in which the smaller productions of M. Collinot are set out before the public; and it is gratifying to see the objects here, and even the panels of the pavilion, labelled with the names of purchasers, several being English, and including the representa¬ tive of the Museum of Vienna, who has bought largely in many sections of the Exhibition. M. Collinot has aimed strictly at decoration in Oriental style, and his success is unquestionable. We hope to include some portions of his beautiful works amongst our illustrations. M. Collinot deserves his success, for he has worked for it long and arduously, and it has not descended upon him by any lucky chance. After a long residence in Persia he connected himself with an artist of great talent, M. Beaumont, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 127 taken for their many and varied works the highest places of honour. These productions are generally cabinets, very charmingly decorated with various woods, and by the educated skill Flachat et Cochex are famous cabinet¬ makers of Lyons, who have obtained gold and silver medals at several exhibitions. They made very great efforts for that of 1878, and have of the sculptor. ' They are not only graceful compositions, refresh¬ ing both the eye and the mind, but Art productions of a right and after years of labour and many sacrifices has succeeded in showing his countrymen how r to decorate their rooms in Oriental fashion. There are other instances of faience decoration on a large scale, and of a totally different character, which call for special mention. The two grand porches of the Fine-Art galleries in the central garden of the Champ de Mars have been decorated by French artists. Two of the six arches of these porches were intrusted to a faiencier of high repute, M. Deck, of Paris, who has carried out, from the designs of M. Jaeger, architect, an good order, the results of educated knowledge and well-directed taste. The contribution we engrave is a Mirror of carved wood. ornamentation on a gigantic scale. In the first place there are four very large panels, which contain allegorical figures repre¬ senting Painting and Engraving, Gold and Ceramic work. They cannot be said to be very successful; the designs are bold, but the colours are not satisfactory. The greater part of the space, however, is occupied by a fancy landscape, probably more than thirty' - feet high and about twenty wide. In the foreground is a gigantic umbrella-pine, behind which is an architectural structure, the head of the tree standing out nobly against the sky; on the other side spreads out the 128 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We have space merely to state that the porcelain Vase, | Compotier, and Plaques engraxed on this page are further examples of the beautiful and valuable productions of Minton | & Co., exhibited by Messrs. Goode, of South Audley Street. cerulean beauty of an Italian sea; and on a small hill that dominates the cliffs is a little village bathed in sunshine. The other elements of this grand composition are a peacock, with tail spread out in all its beauty, at the foot of an amethyst- coloured column, on which hang a splendid trophy of arms and a buckler. The picture is executed on large square plaques of faience, which are admirably regular, so that the joints are not visible at a short distance, the colours, especially the blues and blue-greens, are remarkably fine and even ; and the glaze is excellent and in moderation. A peculiarity in parts of the design—the cliffs, for instance—is that the profiles are marked by deep black lines, such as have sometimes been adopted on grand pieces at Sevres, resembling almost the lead of painted windows. The remaining arch of this porch is occupied by similar work by another eminent firm, that of Messrs. Boulenger & Co., of Choisy-le-Roi, near Paris, and whose work is quite equal to that of M. Deck. The design is by the same artist. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 129 Messrs. G. Trollope and Sons, of London, are extensive | work in several of its most important branches. They have loner exhibitors; their contributions are admirable examples of cabinet- ! held foremost rank among British producers of “ artistic furni¬ ture,” and fully sustain it in the present Exhibition. This page contains a large Mirror Frame in lime-tree in the Renaissance The south porch of the Fine-Art Courts is also covered with subjects in faience ; there is a mixture of moulded and painted work, both of high class. The great door in the centre and the space about it are decorated after a design by M. Paul Sedille, architect, which is much admired, and the execution by M. Jules Laebnitz, of Paris, is worthy of it. The door casing is com¬ posed of panels of band-work ornament of great boldness and beaut} r , superbly brilliant in white set off by a small amount of green and gold; and around this are charming ornamental courses. The frieze is painted, from a design by the eminent style, and a Cabinet of polished satin-wood in the manner- prevalent in England about the latter portion of the last century. M. E. Levy, by a young artist, M. L. Meyer, his pupil. Over the frieze is a fine bust of Apollo, by another young artist, M. Allard, who was a winner of the Grand Prix de Rome for painting. On the right and left hand are medallions, modelled after famous antique cameos, by a celebrated sculptor, M. Chapu. Other ornamentation is supplied by another artist, M. Chedeville. This noble door attracts much attention, and will doubtless be the precursor of many other works of the same class. The side arches have their upper halves enriched with other ceramic-work: on the left hand is a reproduction in faience, 2 /■' 130 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The firm of Tiffany, of New York, is of established renown, acquired in the several exhibitions of Europe, and especially in that at Phila¬ delphia in 1876. They contribute largely to that of Paris, and fairly compete with the best products of the old country. On this page we engrave two of their more prominent works, an Epcrgne, used also as a Candelabrum, all the component parts of which are, as will be seen, Indian, from the scalp the chief w r aves above his head to the canoe in which he is passing down some rapid. The other is the Vase (which we have no space to describe) presented by loving friends and admirers to William Cullen Bryant, one of the best of good men, and one of the loftiest poets of the century. It is enough ihmhhr lillklittSHi 8 llto, 1 ', !||||.mpg lllMllll here to say the Vase is worthy the givers and the receiver. His death is one of the mournful records of the year 1878. soberly coloured, by M. Virdent, of Toulouse, of the ‘ Crowning of the Virgin,’ after the picture in the Louvre by Fra Angelico. On the other side is a work by M. Gillet, of Paris, including a portion of a celebrated frieze, ‘ Holy Confessors,’ by Flandrin, in the church of St. Vincent de Paul, and a grand head of Poetry, after Raphael. This porch altogether presents a noble pag'e of ceramic Art. The works of Creil-Montereau supply another remarkable panel, measuring twenty-four to twenty-five feet in length, and fifteen or sixteen in height. Like the preceding, it is made up of squares, but the general aspect is different; the glaze is not brilliant—the surface, in fact, is rather rough, and consequently the effect is more like some kind of tapestry than tile-work, and fortunately, if accidental, which we doubt, especially as the roughness does not appear in the sky, the result is admirable. The subject, which is by M. Knitjenbrowe, a known artist, is composed of two colossal Burgraves of the time of the Renais¬ sance, sitting back to back, surrounded by dogs and all kinds of objects appertaining to the chase, each of them looking out upon a landscape composed of valley and forest, in which are PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. i3> We engrave three examples of the productions of the time- honoured firm of Lerolles, a firm that has long taken high characteristics of its special style. The designs are by first- class artists, while modelling, moulding, chiselling, and finish rank among the bronze-masters of Paris. It has had a descent of four generations, and seems to progress in the fine artistic are combined with the skill that arises from long and continued experience. As we have elsewhere had occasion to remark, the Art manufacturers of France maintain their supremacy in this wide and large department of the industrial arts, defying all the seen houses, wild beasts, and hunters: over all is a clear and beautiful sky. The composition is probably derived from some Flemish story. It is a remarkable work, and would make a fine decoration in a grand old hall. This will be found outside the French Fine-Art Court. M. Lsebnitz, whose name has been already mentioned, shows some other excellent work, including a fine figure representing Ceramic Art, by M. Meyer, also previously named, and some faience stoves of admirable design—one in the style of the fourteenth-century Gothic, designed by M. Bruyerre, architect, efforts of eager and resolute competitors. Indeed, there has been hardly any attempt to compete with them, and none in England. and one in the style of the Renaissance, by M. Sedille, who has likewise designed a number of beautiful tiles produced by the same manufacturer. It is only by such combinations of artists and Art workmen that a good style of decoration is likely to be attained. In the immense galleries devoted to French porcelain and other ware, if many of the old false designs and poor colours be still too visible, there is in the production of the great majority of the manufacturers a vast improvement in form, design, and colour, which is evident at a glance. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE i.i- The old and honoured firm of Rouvenat, jewellers, is among the few leading artist-manufacturers who in that lofty branch of Art maintain pre-eminent renown. Among other treasures of their galaxy are some splendid varieties “ got up ” for the Shah of Persia. Of these the leading objects are a Necklace and a | Pendant of rarest diamonds, tinged with a delicate yellow hue, and cased in with precious pearls. They are of immense intrinsic value, but that is, in the eyes of many, their least recommenda- One of the new modes of applying decorated porcelain is to clock cases, the entire front being in painted china and the rest of metal: some of these are executed by Sevres artists. After the magnificent collections of China, Japan, France, and England, the contributions of other nations are small. There are a collection of artistic faiences by M. Delin, of Brussels, and M. Porteau, painter, of the same town; some excellent terra¬ cotta running-courses, wall tiles, and mosaics, by MM. Villeroy and Boch, of Sept-fontaines, near Luxembourg ; and mosaic-work from Spain, composed of small pieces in various forms of glazed tion ; they obtain much greater worth from Art, their value being enhanced by remarkably appropriate and beautiful settings. earthemvare, each in several colours, which may be put together in different patterns. From Hungary are some highly interesting specimens of old Hungarian forms in a body resembling stone¬ ware, and of imitation cloisonne in faience, from the works of M. J. Fischer, of Buda-Pesth. The ornamentation is very generally quiet, but sometimes pleasantly quaint. This new* v^are has had great success here. Some artistic terra-cotta work by a sculptor named Lavergne is exhibited by the same firm. In the Austrian Court Messrs. Fisher and Mieg, of Carlsbad, show some remarkably fine vases of large size in the old Viennese PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 133 M. A. BLANQUI, a distinguished ebeniste of Marseilles, supplies us with two examples of his skill as a designer and manufacturer : the one is a Cabinet com¬ posed of various woods, the other a Table of walnut-wood. Both are truly excellent specimens of Art production that give renown to the manufacturer. The name of T. A. Lie, of Christiania, Nor¬ way, has been conspicuous in several exhibi¬ tions. His renown is sustained at Paris in 1878. Of his principal works we engrave three reproductions of old models, two Tank¬ ards and a Drinking Horn. They are of silver gilt, highly effective specimens of Art work¬ manship, though perhaps somewhat elaborate. style ; some small ones, brilliant in blue and gold, with Japanese- like ornamentation; and two or three sets of table-ware of extremely chaste design. In the Russian Court are some curious stoves, executed in painted faience and terra-cotta, and characteristic majolica in the Arab style from Finland. GLASS ORNAMENTATION. Ornamental glass must be recorded as one of the grand triumphs of the Exhibition of 1878. At the previous one, held on the same spot, the show was large and fine; this year it is immense and magnificent. In 1867 the colour of the British glass was admitted to be unapproached ; our neighbours have since made considerable improvement in their fine crystal, but England still stands pre-eminent for splendour. Other glass is pure in colour, but the finest British flint glass has a bril¬ liancy that appears nowhere else: it is like petrified spring water or rock crystal. The next point to be noted is form : any shapes more ill suited to glass than those which were in vogue not very many years since could scarcely have been invented—decanters, glasses, 2 l j 134 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE One of the most striking examples of Pianos in the British section we here engrave : it is a “ Grand Cottage ” in the purest Early English style, exhibited by Messrs. CHALLEN and Son, of London. The case is of satin-wood, and very exquisitely inlaid with designs of flowers, birds, music, &c. The mouldings are gilt, and the top is surmounted with an ebony gallery; the whole is in good taste, and may be considered as a fine specimen of Art work. The internal and musical portion we know to possess ■■■■■ MBmM lamraSiliM nTTiiinmiHiTtui all the essentials of excellence that constitute a high-class instru¬ ment in touch or tone. The firm that produces this very excel¬ lent work dates as far back as 1804. There are more gorgeous displays, but there are few works in the Exhibition of more refined character, where the simple and graceful are found in happy comhination with excellence in Art. The aim of the eminent manu¬ facturers has been to combine force with delicacy of tone, and to make the instrument gratifying to the eye as well as the ear. salt-cellars, straight, squai'e, or squat, with outlines as rectangular and as rigid as cast iron. The beautiful reflections of fine cut glass were evident to every observer : the love of the beauty of pure form had to be acquired, and thus scarcely an inch of surface was left intact. Well-cut glass is a very beau¬ tiful object; there are chandeliers in the Exhibition which almost vie with the priceless lustres formed of rock crystal, modem examples of which, it may be mentioned, are exhibited by M. Barbedienne and others; but elaborately cut glass is disquieting to the eye ; there is that painful want of repose when much of it is present that is felt in a room of which the walls are all covered with looking-glass. The present Exhibition contains many examples of old-fashioned cut glass, but, generally speak¬ ing, where cutting is employed, it is introduced with a much more sparing hand, and with a great deal more taste, than it formerly was. Applied to the under surface of such articles as fruit dishes, reflections in pure crystal glass almost vie with the diamond, and brilliancy is thus obtained without glare. Here and there a little cutting of coloured glass on white produces charming effects, and bosses, stoppers, and other ornaments, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. *35 The house of Blot and Drouard holds permanent rank among the bronzists of Paris. The figures they produce are first-class examples of sculpture, some of them being works by the renowned artists Carriere-Belleuse and Dumaigre. Those we engrave on this page are adaptations of the now universally patronised products of Japan. It will be seen that the Vases and Jardiniere are imitations of the beautiful creations of hand and mind in that fruit-land of originality, and often of beauty. These specimens show great breadth of form, in com- | England, is perhaps overdone by productions of this class; yet bination with singular delicacy of detail. France, as well as j they have much aided the Art manufacturers of both countries. cut in facets, are highly effective. But, generally speaking, cutting has given way before engraving, and even before pure forms absolutely without any ornamentation. To take the most familiar instance, a bulb-shaped wine-glass in thin crystal—a verre de mousseline , as our friends here call it—is one of the most beautiful of man’s handiworks, and when surrounded with a simple engraved line, a few stars, a crest, or only a cipher, it is a true oijet d’Art. It is natural that the tables of the noble and wealthy should be decked with more elaborate services, but such a glass as that just referred to is a type of elegance. In connection with cutting we must say a few words on imita¬ tion cut—that is to say, moulded—glass. Much of the common moulded glass we meet with is so painfully ugly that we could almost wish the art of moulding in glass had never been dis¬ covered or thought of; but there are specimens in the French collection in which not only is the pattern selected appropriate to the purpose, but the moulding is so admirable as to pass for cutting with most observers. In one instance the body and the cover of a liqueur case, or cave, are each moulded in one piece, and mounted with an ormolu rim and hinges : this cave 136 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We devote a second page to the works of Flachat et Cochet, cabinet-makers of Lyons. It consists of a Table and the upper part of a Mirror. They are examples of good and true Art, distinctly marking a style and a period, and designed to do so. The manufacturers are themselves artists, a great | advantage, which the fabricants of France generally enjoy, and that often gives them supremacy over competitors of other that is rapidly leaving us. Of late years—but of late years only nations—England, perhaps, more than all. But it is a reproach —the employer has been better educated than the employed. is probably fifteen inches long and eight inches deep, and the glass seemed to be without a flaw. Perhaps the most remark¬ able cutting exhibited is in the immense collection of the Bac¬ carat Works, and in a superb chandelier by Messrs. Osier, with S-shaped arms six feet long. But whether it be in the French, the Austrian, British, or other court, the first fact that meets the eye is the enormous progress that has been made in the general forms. When once glass designers turned their eyes towards Greek and old Italian forms, the reform was only a matter of time ; and how the barrel and ring-necked decanters, presenting in profile a curved zigzag or irregular staircase mounted on a pedestal, could have been tolerated after the amphorae of the Greeks, the Barberini vase, and a thousand other exquisite though simple forms had been unearthed and exhibited to the world at large, passes compre¬ hension. The amphora and the Venetian bottle had become standard forms with manufacturers, and designers had applied and modified them with more or less success for some years, until there had arisen apparently a craving for something different, and the novelties are numerous. Signor Salviati and 137 PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. At present we have no other than these to represent works that bear the renowned name of Christofle, and these are not new; they are merely Furniture Decora¬ tions, but they show grace and power of design in happy combination. As suggestive Great Exhibition of 1878 has arrived nearer to completion, it will contain other works of the firm. others have long produced imitations and adaptations of Vene¬ tian forms and decoration, and there is a marked improvement of late in their productions. Some French manufacturers have adopted square and other angular forms, evidently borrowed from Chinese and Japanese porcelain, and scarcely suited to glass. Messrs. Webb’s Art manager, Mr. O’Fallon, has pro¬ duced admirable examples in Gothic and Celtic styles, and the jury has awarded the Grand Prix d’Honneur to the firm. The forms are simple and good, and in the latter case highly appro¬ priate metal mountings are introduced, and both are superbly engraved ; but we shall have to return to this subject presently. We hope to give engravings of both these remarkable works, as we have of others by the same firm in the April and May numbers of the Journal, and of the Venice and Murano Com- ) pany’s productions in the June number. M. Lobmeyr, the | famous Viennese glass manufacturer, and the Bohemian manu¬ facturers, seem intent on the improvement of the forms to which they have long been wedded, except in the case of small wares. 2 m 133 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE their principal contributions to the Paris Exhibition are of that order. We engrave a specimen on this page—an example of Among the great “bed- makers” of the world, Messrs. R. W. WINFIELD & Co., of Bir¬ mingham, hold foremost rank: good Art—-of one of their brass Bedsteads, thousands of which have found their way into all parts of the world, as at once the cleanest, the healthiest, the most graceful, and the most enduring. We fill up the page by a portion of a brass Balustrade. We regret that we have no space to describe works honourable to the establishment and to the great capital of metal Art work. Before entering upon the subject of glass-engraving, it should be stated, for those who are not initiated into such matters, that glass-cutting is performed with wheels of various sizes, shapes, and materials, continually supplied with fine sand and water, the work being afterwards polished by means of wooden or other wheels, dressed with Tripoli or other polishing powder; while glass-engraving is executed with the same apparatus as that used by the gem engraver or cameo cutter—a small steel wheel revolving as in a lathe, dressed with oil and fine emery powder, the work being left dull or polished as above. In each case the wheels are set in motion by means of a treadle. The design is traced on the glass, dressed for that purpose with a mix¬ ture of whiting and gum, to guide the engraver’s eye and hand. There is another kind of so-called engraving, really etching, which is effected by means of an acid : the glass is covered with wax, the design is traced through it, and finally fluoric acid is applied, which corrodes the glass wherever it is unprotected. This is the method adopted for producing designs on plate glass, and for executing an inferior kind of work on flint glass. A few years since a very ingenious invention was introduced PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Messrs. Johnstone, Jeanes & Co., the eminent cabinet¬ makers of New Bond Street, have sustained in the present Exhibition the renown they long- ago established as foremost among the Art manufacturers of Europe. We engrave on this page a Cabinet, on which they mainly depend for extending their repute. It will do so ; for it is a work of great beauty and high merit as a production of pure Art. It is also an admirable specimen of workmanship, wrought with skill in every' part, and as perfect in details as it is as a whole. It is of satin-wood, richly and elaborately inlaid with various coloured woods har¬ moniously contrasted. The vase and pendants at the top of the pediment are fine specimens of minute carving, as are several other portions of this very admirable work, w'hich takes one of the highest places among examples of British Art workmanship. into this country from the United States, which must be men¬ tioned in a notice on the ornamentation of glass : this consisted in acting on the glass by means of fine sharp silver sand pro¬ pelled with considerable force by a blower or other means. This invention was well illustrated at one of the International Exhibitions held at South Kensington. The method will be readily understood by a description of its simplest application. The sand being blown with force through a narrow slit, equal in length to the width of the panes of glass to be operated upon, and the glass being laid upon a table, and passed at a moderate but steady pace beneath the slit, had its whole surface uniformly ground—that is to say, roughened—by the action of the sand. The next step was to produce ornamentation in the following manner :—A pattern, like a stencil plate, cut out in cardboard, wood, or metal, being laid on a sheet of glass, and the latter being brought under the action of the sand as above described, the w'hole of the unprotected portion became ground, while the surface beneath the pattern remained untouched. We are not aware whether this clever invention is or is not commercially successful, but of its effectiveness there is no doubt. When a 140 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE M. FROMENT Meurice continues to hold rank as foremost of the artistic jewellers of Paris, and France has long led the world in that branch of Art: it is scarcely reasonable to describe it as Art manufacture. The very beautiful set of enamelled taste ; and, in so far as concerns the works produced by him, Paris will continue to be the guide of the Art world. It will not be difficult to imagine, even from our engraving, the refined beauty of this costly production of the atelier of M. Froment Meurice. steam-engine was employed, and the sand consequently driven against the material with great force, the effect was very re¬ markable ; pieces of thick glass, slabs of marble or stone, were by these means engraved to pattern half an inch deep, the ornamentation, however, not being cut down vertically, but at an angle, the atoms of sand glancing off from the sides of the design. To produce such effects as these last, considerable power is required; but light engraving was produced by sand simply falling through a tube by its own gravity from a hopper placed several feet high. Sand-work could never compete with fine engraving, but it is a highly ingenious mode of surface ornamentation. The grand difference between cutting and engraving is that the former alters the surface, converting it into angular projec¬ tions or facets, while engraving—that is to say, ordinary en¬ graving ; we shall have to speak of other kinds presently—leaves the forms and profiles of the object it decorates practically un¬ touched. Cutting was a purely conventional kind of orna¬ mentation, which called for great skill, but no Art; engraving also demands much skill, great delicacy of touch, and includes PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 1 41 The great artist, Gustave Dor£, having established his claim to rank with the chief painters of the century, asserts his right to high place among its sculptors. He exhibits two re¬ markable works, of which we give engravings. The one has for its title ‘ Amor et Parca,’ a mystic illustration of a youthful victim paralyzed by passion, and borne away in the relentless or thwart. With such productions as these before us, it would be futile to deny that M. Dore’s aspirations have been realised. Though similar instances are not by any means numerous, he is not the only painter who has contended for the palm that awaits those who patiently and perseveringly labour to attain distinction as professors of the sister art. Leighton in England, grasp of a winged Destiny. The other work is a very rhapsody of invention. Here we have a vast Vase, which is to be sup¬ posed brimming with the false felicities of love and wine. It is wreathed with flower-branches, by the aid of which mortals of both sexes, unencumbered with vestments, toil in spasmodic effort to ascend, while Cupids circle about to encourage any amount of Art, even the highest figure drawing. The slightest touch of the small revolving wheel, dressed with some cutting substance like emery, makes a mark on the glass, and it is not difficult to understand that a skilled workman, with a design supplied to him, can with its aid trace letters, ciphers, crests, or any other kind of ornament on the glass. Such work forms the ordinary occupation of the glass engraver, but the degrees of excellence to which it is carried are many. The ordinary style of decoration is simple, and this is more fitting than complicated work for objects of every-day use. A glass and Noel Paton in Scotland, are examples of a like ambition. To the genius of Gustave Dore we have frequently accorded justice in the columns of th & Art Journal. The exhibition of his pictures in London is now one of the settled institutions of the metropolis, and there is none more attractive. In England he receives, and has long received, merited homage and honour. decanter or jug to contain brilliantly coloured wines certainly does not call for the application of much Art; a crest or cipher, a few stars, a light elegant band of ornamentation near the rim, delicate flowers and foliage, are the most fitting decora¬ tions, and the French as well as the English manufacturers and engravers have brought such glass to high perfection. In some cases the amount of exquisite engraving lavished on table glass appears to us to be a mistake : few of those who use such glass take any notice of the engraving, and it would be extremely unpleasant for a guest to have the misfortune to 2 n ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TLIE 142 We have no space to notice duly a Cabinet of Glass— a singular and very interesting novelty—the work of the renowned firm of Messrs. W. and C. OSLER, of Bir¬ mingham and London. A good idea of its exceeding grace and beauty will be conveyed by our engraving. Some sustaining portions are of wood and metal, but all its principal parts are of glass, composed and arranged with taste and judgment—very striking in effect. Few objects in the Exhibition attracted more attention or greater admiration. A description must be postponed. break one of a set of glasses which cost a pound each. As to common engraved work, executed by means of fluoric acid, in designs covering the whole surface, and having no more effect than a bit of the commonest machine-made lace, they are utterly unworthy of notice, except by way of condensation. But when a beautiful object like glass, whether plain or coloured, can be decorated with comparative ease, the inducement to lavishness in ornamentation is very great, and consequently glass engravers without artistic talent or appreciation have covered acres of ruby, green, white, and other glass with hunting scenes, and even classic subjects, which to an artistic eye are simply hideous: this kind of so-called “ornamentation” is happily on the wane, and elegant simplicity has assumed its proper place. But glass affords a fine field for the true artist; it is so beau¬ tiful in itself, and, except against violence, so lasting, that it offers an extremely tempting material to work upon; conse¬ quently within a few years we have seen much true Art work on glass. Beautiful designs of flowers and scroll-work, and even elaborate compositions including figures, often drawn from PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION i43 Messrs. Pinder, Bourne & Co., of medal awarded to them has been modelling and good painting ; while their de- jtifkfefc well earned, for among their ex¬ hibits are many admirable works Burslem, manufacture only earthen¬ ware ; but that branch of ceramic Art they carry near to perfection. The silver entitled to high praise for good signs are not often surpassed by the more ambitious producers of porcelain. Our selections are made from a large assemblage of productions that do honour to the extensive and very excellent firm. mythology, executed on claret jugs and large flat Venetian bottles, have become common of late, many of them exquisite works of Art, which have been purchased at great prices for museums, and by such connoisseurs as could afford the outlay. A taste for engraved glass has been thoroughly established, and artists and Art workmen, seeing their opportunity, have seized upon and improved it. Originally all this kind of en¬ graving was left dull and unpolished, and the contrast between the matted ornamentation and the brilliant ground is extremely pleasing; it was also in very low relief, or rather shallow intaglio, but the light passing through the substance of the glass produced the effect of bas-relief. Lately, however, engraved glass has developed in more than one direction ; new forms and modifications in the style of en¬ graving have created quite a new epoch in the beautiful art. When the old shapes were abandoned, the decanter and jug based on the Greek amphora and the flat Venetian bottle reigned almost supreme ; now we have a large variety of forms, principally adaptations of the classic, by Messrs. Webb and Sons, of Stourbridge, and the Gothic and Celtic forms already men- 144 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE One of the most attractive and effective bronze works in the Exhibi¬ tion—contributed by Herr Waag- ner, of Vienna—is a Pillar Cande- We engrave a Cabinet by the leading upholstery house of New York, and also of Paris— that of L. MARCOTTE & Co. It is a work of very great merit and beauty: the wood employed is ebony. Although a production of the New World, it competes with the very best works of the old. The American firm has assuredly shown that its home manufactures of the loftier labrum of much beauty; it is de¬ signed by a first-class artist. The figures are admirably modelled. order may in no way shrink from comparison with the best issues of the long-established ebenistes of Paris. The cabinet, while as a whole imposing in effect, will bear the minutest scrutiny as to all its details. It amply merits the admiration it excited and the honour it received. tioned. The reproduction of the Celtic style is peculiarly happy. Like the Gothic, the outlines of the vessels are conical, but the Celtic examples are shorter in the body than the former, and are mounted with metal handles and covers, while the Gothic speci¬ mens are fitted with stoppers in the usual way. In these beautiful works the design is arranged in panels and bands, the glass being cut away so as to give two or three different levels, producing charming effects. This method of sinking certain parts of the ground, and then engraving portions or the whole of the sur¬ face, calls into play all the talent of the designer and en¬ graver. In this kind of work the engraving is of very slight depth. Another development is that of deep, bright cutting, sometimes in relief, like a cameo, sometimes sunk, as in in¬ taglio ; in either case thick glass is employed, and the deepest portions are sunk to the depth of a quarter of an inch or more. This method has been adopted with great effect both by the French and English manufacturers and engravers. Our neigh¬ bours—we may mention especially the Cristallerie de Pantan and MM. Pannier-Lahoche—have adopted some square and rhomboidal forms similar to those often employed by the Chinese 145 PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. We engrave a singularly perfect example of design and make in Lace, the production of Franz Bollarth, of Vienna, the design being from the pencil of the artist, J. Storck. The work has been executed by command of her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Austria, specially for exhibition in Paris. This most beautiful object, a specimen of delicate and refined workmanship of the very highest order, has attracted and merited universal attention and admiration, with several works of similar character, made by the same producer from designs by the same accom¬ plished artist: of these we may hereafter give engravings. They are shown at a good time, for in this branch of Art industry very little has been done by either France or England. Of machine-made lace there may be enough and to spare ; but and Japanese potters, and have produced bold floral patterns, with birds and other objects, in this deep engraving, which is brilliantly polished. It should be stated that in this deep en¬ graving parts may be undercut, and thus an extraordinary effect of relief produced when desired. Our own countrymen have largely employed figure subjects, generally taking them from the antique. In Messrs. Webb’s collection is a portion of the frieze of the Parthenon, executed in relief and polished, around the neck of a vase, producing an object of truly high Art. The grand prize awarded to Messrs. Webb was undoubtedly well earned. of the produce of delicate fingers there is far too little that may vie with works of the olden time. If artists will design, intel¬ ligence direct, and subtle hands execute, surely the works pro¬ duced to-day may rival those of the long ago, that have become so rare as well as so beautiful as to be coveted at any cost. It is almost superfluous to say that work like that last alluded to is necessarily expensive; to produce such an object of Art requires, besides the skill of the glass-blower in obtaining a beautiful form, the labour of a skilful engraver for many months ; hence has arisen a series of vases and other objects in glass which have no connection with table glass, are not intended for any useful purpose, but are as truly genuine works of Art as an j exquisite Sevres or other vase. Works of this kind may be seen I in the collections of our own manufacturers, and to a less j extent in those of the French and other manufacturers. 2 o 146 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Among the very best productions of the cabinet-maker, con¬ spicuous in the Exhibition, in an Art branch in which England takes high rank, is the Cabinet of Mr. CHARLES Green, of Sheffield—a country manufacturer who competes with the long and well established houses of the metro¬ polis. The description that might fill a page must be condensed into a few lines. The artist who designs also exe¬ cutes this remarkable and admirable work. It is the production of a thoughtful scholar, who laboured so that to look upon its results w'ould be refreshing reminders of the high ways A still more curious and artistic form of ornamental glass has very lately appeared in what is aptly called sculptured glass, and this kind of glass has an interesting history. When the famous vase now in the British Museum, known as the Port¬ land or Barberini vase, from the palace in Italy which it had decorated perhaps for centuries, was brought to England by the Duke of Portland, the secret of its manufacture was un- known ; it was a Greek work of the g'rand period of Art, with admirably drawn figures, translucent in parts, in creamy white on a dark ground. No glass manufacturer ventured to produce that made England truly great. In fact, the cabinet is a history. It is of ebony, most of the illustrative “incidents ’ ’ being of bronze. such a work at that time, but Mr. Wedgwood was permitted to take a mould of the vase, and produced excellent copies of it in the beautiful jasper-ware popularly known as Wedgwood: these copies are well known to every one who has any love for such objects. The original vase was lent by the Duke of Port¬ land to the British Museum for the benefit of the public, and the indignation was great when many years since a lunatic or fanatic of some kind smashed the unique and beautiful object into a thousand pieces. The question whether it was really composed of glass or some ceramic substance was settled PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 07 CRAVEN, Dunnill & Co. are manufac¬ turers of Encaustic Tiles at Ironbridge, in Shropshire; their contributions are entitled to, and receive, honour not only for the excellence exhibited in their designs, but for solidity and perfection of finish. Their healthful enjoyment. The firm, while issuing panellings of costly character, aim to pro¬ successors to a branch of Art not only extensively useful, but eminently suggestive, they have at- productions arc for all the purposes to which the revived art can be applied—Churches, Halls, and Fireplaces more especially; the hundred ways, indeed, to which these veri¬ table Art products are made auxiliaries to cases achieving excellence. It is, therefore, a matter to justify national pride that, as the the long famous “old Dutch.’’ The tiles and slabs of modern manufacture are often beautiful pictures painted on porcelain or earthenware. when the edges of the innumerable pieces and the atoms chipped from them could be carefully examined. The debris of this exquisite specimen of Greek Art was photographed, and this photograph may still be seen in the gem-room of the Museum, side by side with the vase itself, which has been restored with such skill as scarcely to show any mark of its destruc¬ tion. A year or two since an artist named Northwood un¬ dertook a reproduction of the treasure. A dark-coloured glass vase was blown of the form of the Barberini vase, and then encased in a tolerably thick layer of glass of the same colour as the figures on the original, and with steel tools he cut away all the superfluous part of the upper layer, and actually sculptured the whole of the figures as they appear on the original. This clever reproduction appears in Messrs. Daniell’s stand in the present Exhibition. Such an event as this, occurring at a time when the ornamentation of glass was attracting much attention, could scarcely fail of producing some effect, and accordingly we find in Messrs. Webb’s magnificent collection a vase decorated with two classical subjects in the same manner and by the same artist, who has already expended two years’ 148 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE A Clock and Candelabra, the pro¬ duce of the very eminent firm of Bagues, bronzists of Paris, are engraved on this page. As excellent exam¬ ples of modelling and casting they are foremost among productions of this class—a class for which Paris has long been pre-eminent. labour upon it, and yet it is not quite finished. The price of this beautiful work is ^2,500. The Barbcrini vase is the undoubted type of this sculptured glass, of which it should be mentioned there are other examples in the British section of the Exhibition by Messrs. Hodgetts, Richardson, and Son. Wedgwood ware, admirable as it is, and well as the modelling of the figures was managed, cotild not give the semi-transparency and graduated tints of the glass; but before or about the period of the reproduction by Mr. Northwood already alluded to, the process of jiate sur fcate in porcelain was invented in France, and produced effects of almost precisely the same.kincl as those obtained in sculptured glass. This ftate-sur-j?ate ornamentation has been spoken of in our previous article on pottery, but it may be w r ell to mention here that while glass sculpture is actually cut in the hard sub¬ stance by means of steel tools, figures in ftate sur j)cite are modelled in a thin mixture of very finely reduced clay by means of camel-hair pencils. We recommend the student or connois- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Two Cabinets, produced by M. Blanqui, of Marseilles, are represented on this page : underneath is one of the Furniture provincial cabinet-makers with those of the capital. have entered boldly into competition In this honourable rivalry they have Decorations of CHRISTOFLE. As in England, of late years succeeded in both countries. The examples here engraved are of walnut-wood; they are carved with consummate skill. The designer is certainly an artist; so probably are the artisans who seur to compare the specimens of sculptured glass above alluded to with those of ftate-sur-ftate work to be found in the superb collection of the National Porcelain Works at Sevres, in the grand vestibule of the Exhibition, and in that of Messrs. Minton in the British section. These two charming modes of decoration, pro¬ duced by processes so essentially dissimilar, are very similar in effect; and while the labour is much greater in the former case, the highest skill is necessary in each ; neither one nor the other is fitted for any but first-rate ornamentation. Like the ftate-sur- -pdte porcelain, sculptured glass has created an immense sensa¬ work out his thought; and so, no doubt, is the manufacturer by whom the admirable productions here exhibited are created. tion, and there is little doubt that both will remain objets de vertu for a long period, because Art of that kind is capable of any degree of perfection, and the greatest sculptor or modeller need not disdain working on such exquisite materials as hard porcelain and crystal glass, and our ingenious neighbours will surely not fail to try their able hands on the sculpture of glass. The use of coloured glass also has been greatly modified. All old connoisseurs remember the admiration bestowed on the ruby and other coloured glass of Bohemia, sometimes one-coloured and plain, at other times with a film of coloured glass blown, or 2 p ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 15° We engrave the second of two Rose-water Dishes, the pro¬ duction of the renowned firm of Elkington. They are de¬ signed and modelled by M. Morel-Ladeuil, an artist whose name is known and honoured not only in Europe, but in America. He has been a powerful auxiliary to the great establishment in Birmingham, and has no doubt largely aided in extending its fame. As already observed, the subject illustrated is the year, its months, and the signs of the zodiac, the centre group being children gathering the fruits of the earth. As in all composi¬ tions of M. Morel-Ladeuil, thorough professional knowledge. educated taste, and a devoted love of Art are manifest; and the three in combination have produced the great works that are identified with his name. He is by no means the only Art power that has made Messrs. Elkington famous ; M. A. W. Willms is another of their aids, and if, like his coadjutor, he be a foreigner, “flashed,” over a vessel of white glass, and ornamental en¬ graving cut through the coloured stratum, and allowing the colourless glass to appear through: sometimes the colours and the treatment were reversed and modified. In general the en¬ graving on old Bohemian work was not of a high class, and sometimes it was, and still is, very rude, the figures of animals being indicated rather than designed in a very inartistic style. Ihere has been, however, a great improvement both in form and ornamentation of late years, as the show of the Bohemian manufacturers at the Exhibition clearly proves. he has so long been a dweller in England as to be recognised as a naturalised Englishman. Even before the annus mirabilis 1851, engravings of the works of Messrs. Elkington graced the pages of the Art Journal; and there is no falling off, to say the least, in the position they occupy in the Exhibition at Paris in 1878. Messrs. Webb have introduced charming variations in this party-coloured work, of which they have produced numerous examples, various and beautiful in form, and most delicately en¬ graved : one variety in light opaque or semi-opaque green over white, with a little well-disposed foliage and other ornament, is extremely delicate. But these enterprising and skilful manufac¬ turers and their Art director, Mr. O’Fallon, have made another innovation in superposing glass of three tints in the same object, and engraving to various depths, so as to produce not only the three tints, but their half-tints, and even gradations of these. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 1 5 1 & We engrave some of the contributions of Messrs. Jenkinson Co., of Edinburgh: they are of engraved glass, and have been placed by all critics among the best works of the class that have been sent by Great Britain in competition with the hitherto unrivalled fabricants of Germany and France. Messrs. I tain British supremacy in a class of Art in which not many Jenkinson take rank as one of those enterprising firms that main- | years ago we admitted inferiority. They are a credit to Scotland. We engrave a patent figured Terry Quilt, made by Barlow greatest novelties in the art of weaving in the Exhibition. The and JONES, Limited, of Bolton and Manchester, one of the pattern (designed by Dr. Dresser) is produced by raised loops on a plain ground. These quilts are made in several designs and colours. The same cloth is also made for dressing-table covers. Supposing a vase in white crystal, over which is first a layer of blue, and then one of yellow, and that the various parts of the ornamentation are engraved to different depths, the two lower strata would show through more or less conspicuously, and yellow, green, and blue, in all their graduated tints, would be visible. We have selected positive colours for our illustration, but most of the examples referred to are in secondary and ter¬ tiary tints, and many of them extremely delicate, especially where they are translucent. Another beautiful form of ornamental glass is that of enamel- ling. The churches of Spain and elsewhere were in old times decorated with lamps of glass, generally green, enamelled with bright coloured flowers and other ornaments. These are well known to amateurs. A number of exquisite examples of this old glass are included in the Oriental section of the Retro¬ spective Museum of Art in the Trocadero Palace. Some few years since M. Brocard, of Paris, revived this elegant manu¬ facture, and produced, and still produces, admirable representa¬ tions of old pieces, as well as many adaptations of his own. The new glass has attracted much attention, and may be seen 152 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Iron Gate of Waagner, of Vienna, is classed among the best exhibits in Paris. It is a pure example of Art, considered with reference to execution as well as design. It is in the Austrian department, and is of cast iron, designed by one of the great artists of the empire. Our British examples in that way are neither numerous nor good. Unhappily Coalbrookdale has kept away from a contest into which it might have entered with assurance of honour; and although there is ample evidence of our capacity to deal with iron in a vast variety of in any of the great museums. Other French glass manufac¬ turers have followed in the footsteps of M. Brocard in producing enamelled glass-ware of various degrees of excellence. I he Austrian and Bohemian glass manufacturers have intro¬ duced some new and beautiful modes of decoration, taking simple forms, such as that of the flask or the amphora, in pure crystal , they overlay it with a kind of filigree-work in gold, or gold-coloured glass, and produce very pleasing effects, and with the gold in many instances they have introduced coloured enamels more or less lavishly. When executed with skill, these minor matters, there is none of our power to use it in great things. productions are most brilliant and effective, but such work is always in some danger of being carried to excess. Another of their modes of decoration is that of gilding the body of the vessel, and then laying enamelled work on the gold ground : some very beautiful examples of this kind are exhibited, but the fact of the glass disappearing entirely, and being converted into gold, is scarcely admissible from an Art point of view. If a metallic vase be required, it had better be made of copper and gilt: a gilded glass vase is a brittle substitute. MM. Moser, Ullrich, Clemans, Rasch, and other Bohemian manufacturers PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. i53 Barbedienne —the name had in 1867 the power it has not in 1878. The great leader of “ furni¬ ture decoration,” of objects of Art, and of elegant and graceful pro¬ ductions of Art manufacture for all places and purposes, did not come to the front in strength at the Paris Exhibition under the Republic as he did at the Paris Exhibition under the Empire. We do not mean that his exhibits are of inferior order, but those of which he supplies us photographs we assume to be his best. The English are among his most advan¬ tageous customers; and though all possible justice has been done by the engraver, the productions are not such as to create the impression the firm made in many former years. have splendid specimens of glass decorated in the various manners described. Another application of enamel on Bohemian glass recalls again the famous Barberini vase, and was evidently based upon it: this is enamelling in white on a black ground, of which there are several examples. In effect, this work also recalls the beautiful grisaille enamels of Limoges. M. Salviati and the Venice and Murano Company present some charming applications of enamelling and other ornamentation to glass, especially in the Venetian and other old Italian styles. The iridescent glass which obtained immense success in London a year or two since is now manufactured by all the European glass-makers. In our own country it has been con¬ fined to a few simple objects, and its vogue seems to be waning, but the Bohemians have applied it much more extensively, and have adopted it for what may fairly be called objets d'Art. It appears in the Austrian and Bohemian courts in an infinity of shapes—plain, flecked with delicate spots fine as snow, enamelled, and otherwise ornamented. Herr Lnbmeyr, of Vienna, one of the most famous glass manufacturers on the continent, cngrav- 2 q '54 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE M. Gueret, a renowned cabinet¬ maker of Paris, contributed to the Exhibition a large number of ad- generally in satin-wood inlaid—all possessing thorough artistic merit. We give two exam¬ ples : they are in the style that has been favoured in France time out of mind, and which still keeps its place in the mansions of the aristocracy. But the observer at the Great mirable works, designed with rare j Exhibition has noted that Paris does not stand still in this department of Art industry; Art power, and executed with re- f that if other nations have borrowed from France, France is largely indebted to other nations, fined delicacy, in various woods— | So it is, and so it ought to be, for the whole world has long been a wholesale borrower. ings of whose beautiful works, frequently mounted in silver and silver-gilt, have often enriched the pages of the Art Journal, and will doubtless again, has carried the application of this rainbow glass beyond any other manufacturer. In the Exhi¬ bition his contributions fill an immense space, admirably arranged, and include every kind of glass of which we have spoken, ranging from a plain wine-glass to a perfectly regal service, designed by an eminent artist, Herr Schmidt, set in silver- gilt and ornamented in the richest manner, and presented to the Hotel de Ville of Vienna some time since, when it was engraved in this Journal. As already stated, Herr Lobmeyr has adopted the iridescent glass for grand pieces: there are two large vases, each, with its pedestal, measuring perhaps five feet in height, the form an elegant variation of the usual Bohemian vase, made of this glass, most judiciously heightened by the application of enamel and gold. These are very beautiful productions : one has been purchased for the South Kensington Museum, and the other for the Dublin Museum. A greater novelty even than the iridescent is the bronzed glass of Messrs. Webb, exhibited here, we believe, for the first PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. ! 55 Mr. JAMES Hillier, of Camden Town, who is held in high repute as an organ builder, exhibits an instrument which he calls the “ Orchestrophone.” It is described as “a reed organ with two manuals, containing twenty-five stops, with thirteen sets of reeds (of two and a half octaves), two knee swells, and two heel-movement pedals.” We have only to do with the Art employed to decorate the case, which is good, although somewhat over-elaborate. As a specimen of Art manufacture it is of great excellence, highly and carefully finished in all its parts. It will be a grand acquisition in some building of j magnitude, where the music it creates can have its full sway. time. This consists of fine green glass, bronzed by means of metallic oxides, and while assuming somewhat the appearance of metal, does not lose its character of glass, but remains translucent, with very beautiful metallic reflections. The examples exhibited are principally small vases after antique models, and several are copies of pieces found in the excavations in Greece by Dr. Schliemann. Bronzed glass is as beautiful as it is novel. Mr. Jenkinson has succeeded in producing a kind of irides¬ cent glass which has a peculiar gold reflection which we have not observed elsewhere; and more than one exhibitor shows specimens of classic and other forms of jugs and beakers made of glass of an olive or other tertiary colour, which have been extremely admired by some connoisseurs : where the shape is good and the colour even, these new vessels are most agree¬ able to the eye. Messrs. Powell, of London, also show very delicate specimens of semi-transparent glass, called' opaline. Some years since opaque glass of several colours was largely produced, but it was heavy and monotonous in effect. Messrs. Powell’s opaline is, on the contrary, extremely light and elegant, and capable, we should think, of wide application. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 156 We engrave additional works issued by the firm of Bagues, famous bronzists of the French capital, who have long held a foremost place among its most celebrated pro¬ ducers. Their works are, as will be seen, sometimes classic, though more often quaint. They owe much of their renown to the fact that one of the firm is an artist of con¬ siderable ability, and that he is ably seconded by experi- few, but also for the many, and satisfying alike the critic and the public. When we consider the antiquity of glass—the exact date of which we have yet perhaps to learn—when we regard the exqui¬ site work of the Greek artist in the Barberini vase, and think of Wedgwood’s reproductions, it certainly seems marvellous that the application of superior Art to glass should have been so long deferred. The reign of cut glass seemed triumphant as it were but the other day, and now it is nearly ended. The work of the seal engraver and cameo cutter always stood high in the esti¬ mation of connoisseurs, and such cameos as those we see in the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris and other great institutions are held priceless ; but the engraver on gems and onyx is sadly confined by the cost of the material in which he works, and the size of the pieces at his disposition; and the shell is a very poor substitute for the onyx cameo. In the beautiful brilliant glass of the present day we have a material which possesses very remarkable qualities, none so high perhaps—transparency alone excepted—as gold, silver, or fine marble, for example, possesses, but still undoubtedly great; PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION '57 ALBINET, an eminent Parisian bronzist. They are of the usual order of merit, the designs being based upon We here engrave a specimen of the Linoleum Patent Floor Cloth, the manufacture (in accordance with the patent of Mr. F. Walton) of a company at Staines, Middlesex. The designs are of much variety, and generally very beautiful, obviously productions of and it has the grand advantages of being procurable of almost any size and at a comparatively moderate cost; that of homogeneity, an important fact to the glass sculptor; and lastly, of being unaffected by climate. Considering all these circumstances, it is not rash to assert that the artistic ornamenta¬ tion of glass is yet far from having attained its zenith, and is capable of being carried to a high degree of perfection as a fine art. It must not be forgotten that it is the only artificial substance which may be made of almost any colour, and trans¬ parent, translucent, or opaque, as desired. These are wonderful artists thoroughly acquainted with the applications and resources of the art. We have selected other specimens for engraving. qualities, and only not generally noticed because the fact is patent to all. Some interesting specimens of a new and peculiar kind of glass are shown in the French department, the result of ex¬ periments made by M. Feil, who, with M. Freury, surprised the world not long since by producing, by chemical means, masses of small rubies and other rare stones, which are to be seen at the Exhibition. This glass is of a milky whiteness, and is slightly iridescent, or nacre; that is, having something of the beautiful reflections of mother-o’-pearl. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 158 The Curtains engraved on this page are the productions of the eminent firm of Barbour and Miller, Glasgow. They are of mingled silk and wool, from original designs, as are all capacities of the fabric, the dado of the peacock curtain being worked in as many as ten colours. The numerous productions exhibited in Paris furnished evidence in support of the state- the issues of the establishment. As products of the Jacquard loom they are accepted as veritable triumphs of manufacturing skill. The number and arrangement of colours engage the full ment of the house, that “their continual study is to combine artistic merit in design and colouring with excellence of quality and moderation in price.” They are, therefore, eminently successful. ENAMELLED WORK. Closely connected with the two subjects last dealt with— namely, Pottery and Glass—is the interesting one of Enamelling; but, although so closely connected with these, it is largely applied to metal-work, from a cast-iron saucepan to the most exquisite production of the goldsmith or jeweller. Enamel is a coloured glass or glaze, and requires to be submitted to sufficient heat to vitrify it, and, being once vitrified, may be said to be indestructible, or at any rate unalterable under ordinary circumstances. While the substance holds together the colour is as bright and beautiful as the day it was melted in its place. Every nation, or nearly so, whose works are known to us, had its methods of enamelling. In Europe until very lately it had almost been forgotten as an art; in China and Japan it con¬ tinued to exist as an industry, but the art may be almost said to have been lost; and, while old Oriental enamels were estimated at fabulous prices, new work was regarded as almost beneath notice. Much of this arose doubtlessly out of the ignorance of dilettanteism and the servile following of fashion. M. Campion— PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. i59 Mr. George Holme, of Bradford, is not the manufacturer of the large collection of beautiful works he exhibits, which are pro¬ ductions made for him by the long-renowned artisans of Benares. They are chased brass-work, elaborately wrought, where time is of little value. They are produced from the instructions of | made exclusively for him. All the designs are varied, no two Mr. Holme, under the supervision of his representatives, and being alike. In the best sense of the term he is, therefore, the manufacturer. It will be seen, from the few examples we give, that they are of admirable forms, and very beautifully decorated a French chemist who went to China some years since, and brought home and published much valuable information respect¬ ing Chinese industries, obtained by the true logical method, that of seeing all he possibly could with his own eyes, collect¬ ing all he could from native sources, and comparing results— says that at the present day the Chinese can copy an old work perfectly, but that they have no longer the capacity for originating anything new of the best class. This sounds almost fanciful, but it is not so—the famous Sevres china works were in nearly the same position a few years since : the able man then by the chaser. It is a noble and laudable enterprise that brings to England these rare Art treasures of the rich East. at the head of the establishment had no artistic genius or insight; he improved the manufacture, while the art dropped almost as low as was possible in a country so artistic as France. Happily the mistake has been remedied, as we had the pleasure of showing in our notice of the works of that famous national establishment. Strange that while falling out of use in Europe, and into decay in the far East, enamelling should have maintained in India all its ancient beauty. There is no falling off either in the colours, which still transcend those of all other enamels. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 1 60 This page contains a very beautiful Cabinet of ebony inlaid with ivory, the work of Giovanni Gatti, of Florence. It has much of the charming character that gave to Italian Art workmanship the renown it has retained for centuries. In the estimation of perhaps the best judges, the style continues to be unrivalled for grace, refinement, and beauty. The artists who de¬ signed, as well as those who executed, such modern Art creations have always at hand t'he purest models of the best schools. Moreover, they are soundly educated. It is, therefore, and defy the scrutiny of the ablest chemists and other scientific men of Europe, or in the workmanship. But, before going further into the question of Indian enamels, it will be well, for the sake of young students in industrial Art, to make a few preliminary observations. There are several varieties of enamel and of methods of enamelling: there are transparent and partially transparent, or translucent, and opaque enamels ; they are identical in composition, with the single exception that a little oxide of tin is added in the case of the latter. The com¬ position of ordinary enamels is given in most manuals of in- almost as a matter of course that they produce only works which are veritable achievements of the highest order of merit. dustry, but that of the Indians is unknown to us, the best enamelling being executed in absolute secrecy. As regards the composition itself, the Chinese and Japanese enamels, while excellent in colour, are often injured in effect by numerous pin¬ holes ; the French and English are perfect in composition, rarely exhibiting any such faults ; while the Indian enamels have at once the colour, the purity, and almost the brilliancy of gems, the ruby and emerald coloured enamels being especially ad¬ mirable. Two eminent scientific men in France have recently produced quantities of true rubies and other stones by chemical PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 161 Messrs. Green and Nephew, of London, contributed several admirable ex¬ amples of glass, as applied more especially to Chandeliers. They have done so at nearly all the exhibitions since that of 1851, and it has been our privilege to engrave several of them. They are conspicuous for lightness, grace, and harmony of composition, and are always charming specimens of good taste in arrangement: it is needless to say they give light either by gas or candles. As such works are prominent ornaments in gracefully decorated apartments, it is above all things necessary they should be beautiful—a perpetual refreshment to the eye and mind. The Chandelier we engrave will sustain the strong recommendation we give. The two pretty and pleasing specimens of good Table Glass are introduced merely to fill up the page. processes—not with the view of industrial application—and it is possible that their discoveries may have an effect on the future composition of our enamels. The varieties in enamelling are denoted by the expressions “painted,” cloisonne , and champ leve. The first method requires no description, the enamel being laid on with a camel- hair pencil. Painted enamels may, however, be effected either with transparent or with opaque enamel: the most beautiful application of the former is to be found in the enamelled gold- work of the best age of Italian Art, that known as the cinque- cento period. Cellini and his pupils and followers exhibited an amount of artistic originality and skill in dealing with the precious metals which has certainly never since been surpassed, if it has been equalled. The works that are to be seen in the magnificent collection of the Gemmcs et Joyaux de la France, in the gorgeous Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre, in our own British Museum, in that of South Kensington, and in other collections, prove incontestably the consummate ability of the Italian school—ability which, however, is partially accounted for by the fact that at that time the architect, the sculptor, the ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 1 62 justice to an important firm of Art manufacturers, whose trade in all descriptions of works indisputably take rank among the very best productions furniture is among the very largest of the metropolis, and whose I of their class. Our principal object on this page is to convey an idea of the style of wood-carving, in design and execution, for which so many of these articles of furniture are conspicuous. painter, and the goldsmith were often united in one man, and there being no general demand for such articles as those referred to, there was no attempt at reproduction, and consequently every piece produced was for some rich patron, and was an original work of Art. In these exquisite specimens of ornamental and fanciful Art the imagery of the mythology, the gods and goddesses of Olympus, the heroes and the nymphs, and the hundred lesser creatures of earth, air, and water, the dragon, the griffin, and a dozen other mythical animals, formed the principal elements of the design, which was completed with scroll and other ornamental work redolent with fancy, lightness, and brilliancy. The figures of gods, goddesses, and animals, some¬ times not larger than a fly, were cast or chased with infinite art, their proportions being, in the best work, perfect, and all the other portions were finished with the most elaborate care. When all was done the dragon received a coat of emerald enamel over his scaly armour, the gods and goddesses were painted w'ith a delicate hand, and every flower and leaf received its proper tint; but the beautiful gold was not hidden, much of the richly wrought surface was left uncovered, and the rest gleamed PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 1 6 ." Messrs. A. F. Stoddart & Co., of the Glenpatrick Carpet Works, Paisley, are eminent manufacturers of the fabric, from designs furnished by an experienced staff of excellent artists, well acquainted with the special requirements of the extensive establishment. This £ Rugs. We shall tak >age contains an engraving of one of their the firm, e another opportunity of doing justice to ducing ca Scotland long ago made its way to the front in pro- rpets that rival the best of the English manufacturers. '■■■ 1 ' , lmJM.au 1 The second engraving is another specimen of the Linoleum Patent F]cor Cloth manufactured by the Company at Staines, in Middlesex. The designs are in all case to the purpose in view, and pleasant ah 2s excellent, rightly adapted ke to the eye and the tread. through the beauteous film of enamel like light through a painted window. For a long period this exquisite fantastic work ceased to be produced. Inferior, but still skilful, articles were made, such as snuff and comfit boxes—the tabatieres and bonbonnieres beloved of the collector, in which transparent enamels were laidover engraved or engine-turned work, producing a very brilliant effect. For a long period no one attempted to rival the Italian work, and goldsmiths showed good judgment in abstaining, especially as regarded figures, for, unless executed with great skill, the introduction of the human form on such a minute scale is an absurdity ; the taste is always questionable, but ill-executed dolls are supremely ridiculous. Within comparatively a few years, however, the standard of goldsmiths’ work has been greatly raised in France ; the spread of artistic feeling called for something better than the stereotyped forms of jewellery, trinkets, and ornaments. Improvements in style appeared little by little ; goldsmiths and jewellers turned their attention to works of Art instead of masses of silver, gold, and precious stones blended without skill, and exhibiting ostentation rather than taste; the improvement was rapid; and at length arose 1 64 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The engraving on this page is of the Boudoir of her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, the much-lauded work of Messrs. Gilloav, of London and Lancaster. It is in the “ Adams ” style, the walls being hung with blue and decorated satin. The richly inlaid and engraved woodwork has, in parts, plaques of delicate carving in box -wood. Much interest is ARAL*, nMlMHilim SBBHi -URL Ay® R -i- * ■rT-ri - 7 m : 5335 centred in the pilasters, the groundwork of which is of cream- colour ribbed satin, with a design upon it in raised gold and an artist, Froment-Meurice, who received the honourable sobri¬ quet of the Cellini of France. This admirable artist died in the commencement of the year 1855, when his widow con¬ tributed some of his latest works to the first International Exhibition held in Paris, where they attracted universal admi¬ ration, as they had already done at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Many of Froment-Meurice’s productions have been engraved in the pages of th & Art Journal, and in particular a large and magnificent brooch avowedly in emulation of a like work of Benvenuto Cellini, which, for perfect modelling, finish- | shades of delicate blue. It is an entirely new feature in interior decoration, and cannot be surpassed for richness and delicacy. ing, and enamelling, has, perhaps, never been surpassed. Happily the impulse did not exhaust itself; the house of Froment-Meurice & Co. exhibits some of the most exquisite productions in the present Exhibition ; and many other artists, amongst whom is M. Philippe, several of whose works have also been engraved in the Journal, maybe quoted as of the first rank. In England little has been done in enamelled goldsmiths’ work of the more ornate class, but both transparent and opaque enamels are frequently employed in articles of jewellery, and sometimes on gold and other plate. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 165 Signori A. Farina and Son are of the few enterprising firms who direct their efforts to keep pure the honour of Italian ceramics. In Faenza, the town that gave its name to faience, Professor Farina has succeeded in imitating the style of the traditional Art of his country: so that the objects he produces are highly valued by those who are able to appreciate the beauty of design, the elegance of form, and the brilliancy of colour that distinguish the most celebrated old Italian majolica. The exhibition made by Messrs. Farina and Son in the Italian sec- For a long period enamel painting was employed in Eng¬ land, France, and other countries of Europe, for miniatures and for subjects to decorate small gold objects, such as the tabaticres and bonbonnieres already mentioned. Thousands of such works are to be found in museums, collections of amateurs, and bric-a-brac shops : many of them exhibit great skill, and the work of such artists as Petitot in France and Henry Bone in England was, and still is, very highly prized, but they cannot be placed high as works of Art, the best of them being little more than curiosities. Their production was tion of the Palace of the Exhibition consisted of few specimens, but they all bore the marks of a highly refined Art. The most important of these specimens were four large portraits painted pure examples of the peculiar and popular style, the name of which is upheld by the eminent firm whence they emanate. beset with difficulties ; the enamels, which were, except in rare cases, opaque, had to be laid on not by eye, but by previous knowledge, for, when used, their colour was totally different from that which appeared after they had been through the furnace and properly “fired;” then the various colours required different degrees of heat to fuse and vitrify them, so that each colour or series of colours of the same composition had to be laid on and burnt separately, those which required the greatest amount of heat first, the intermediate next, and those which would bear little heat last. It is impossible to imagine any 2 t 166 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We grace this page with some of the Jewels of gold, the pro¬ ductions of the renowned artist-manufacturer Castellani, of Rome, whose name is known and honoured throughout the world. These are not absolute copies from the antique, although it is easy to note the source of inspiration. They are of pure gold, unaided by jewels, and owe their value to fine and true Art. The jewellers of all countries are largely indebted to Signor Castellani; he has delved up suggestions from rich mines hidden for ages, and given lessons to living workers— taught by teachers who were dust thirty centuries ago. The Exhibition was enriched by this goldsmith of the existing epoch. great artistic quality, any breadth, to be produced by means of such a process, and the pretty, fanciful little art has dis¬ appeared. But there arose another form of enamel painting of a much higher character, and capable of a high style of Art, namely, the grisaille , or grey style, which appeared at Limoges, in France, in the first half of the sixteenth century. The Limoges enamels rank amongst the most valued objects of Art, and deservedly so, for they are full of interest and artistic character, and admirable as enamels. These are executed on copper, and, as A Vase of great merit and beauty, in bronze, the work of Alessandro Keler, of Rome, fitly accompanies the jewels of Castellani; he is a very prominent artist of the Eternal City. The figures that surround the vase are models of per¬ fection in form—Cupids in various attitudes, dancing in joyous and innocent glee. Italy largely contributes such productions ; they are of much Art value, the works of true sculptors, whose studies are formed by the great old masters in the divine art. but one colour was used in its various tints, the difficulties and confined capabilities of ordinary enamel painting were in a great measure avoided. A marvellous collection of Limoges enamels is included in the retrospective galleries of the Trocadero Palace by the most famous of the enamel painters: first, Leonard Limosin, who painted in the middle of the cen¬ tury, a grand retable and other work by him, shown here, bear¬ ing date 1543—7, including portraits of Catherine de Medicis and Diane de Poitiers ; the Repose of the Gods, and the History of Psyche, by another famous artist of the same period, Pierre PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 167 The Marquis GlNORl-LlSCI is the proprietor of the most im¬ portant ceramic manufactory of Italy. His productions are known everywhere for their richness and taste both of colour and design, and his supremacy has been always acknowledged by the juries of the International Exhibitions. The lower three engravings show some pieces of a rich Table Service in porce- I lain, painted and decorated in the style of the past century. I The Statuettes are allegoric, and represent the Seasons, &c. The height of these objects varies from two and a half to three feet. The upper three represent a Clock and Candelabra. The work is so exquisitely fine and minute, and the style so excellent, as to recall the old Ginori’s manufacture. Reymond; portraits of Francis Premier and Erasmus, by a third famous hand, Jean Penicaud, the second of the name, and a Descent from the Cross, by Jean the third; and other works by celebrated artists of the best period, which lasted rather less than a century. But all the Limoges enamels are not in grisaille; at first they seem to have been so, then we find gold and other tints introduced, and finally all the colours. Perhaps the most beautiful and amongst the largest works executed in colours are found here ; they occupy two very large panels, the enamels themselves representing the twelve apostles, each about two feet high, and not much less than a foot wide, and were done by Leonard Limosin, in 1547, from drawings by Michel Rochetel, executed for Francis Premier in 1545. At the death of the King they were taken to the Chateau of Anet, and in 1802 the authorities of the depart¬ ment presented them to a church dedicated to St. Peter at Chartres, of which they form the greatest artistic attraction : they were lent by the authorities for exhibition here. In the course of years the enamel painting of Limoges became thoroughly debased, but the number of existing fine works is ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 168 We engrave another of the large Rugs of Messrs. A. F. most part floral in character. The colours are skilfully and STODDARD & Co., of Paisley. Their productions are for the harmoniously blended, the flowers are evidently studied from nature, and generally the object is refreshing to the eye. The | fabric is of much excellence, and highly creditable to the firm. We fill up this page with another specimen of Linoleum, the production of the Linoleum Patent Floor-cloth Company. It is one of many good designs issued by the firm, being at once enormous. Here, too, has been a revival; again Limoges enamels are appearing in the Art world, some examples exhibited in the Pottery Court of the French section being beautiful works. Limoges is one of the great centres of the porcelain manufacture of France, there being no fewer than thirty potteries in the vicinity, and the municipal authorities have established a practical School of Art, which has done much to elevate the standard of taste. The enamels here exhibited prove this. About two years since MM. Dalpayrat and Lot took up enamelling in the old style; that is to say, in simple and effective. The peculiar fabric we may hereafter find an opportunity to describe. Though a substitute for it, it has not displaced the time-honoured oil-cloth. That still holds its place. grisaille , with translucent enamels allowing the copper to gleam through in the background. A large oval composition representing Neptune and Amphitrite in their car, surrounded by attendant “ wassermans ” and naiads, is a fine example. They also show other works, decorated with figures and flowers, and a large panel composed of a number of coloured plaques. They have likewise introduced a new form for decorative ware, small vases, lamps, &c., in which the copper is covered with rich translucent amber-tinted enamel that forms the ground, and has an admirable effect. MM. Barbedienne and others in the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 169 Paris is sure to supply abundant examples of Clocks and Candelabra. Those we engrave on this page e have no space to describe, although we have sufficient to praise, an ex- ' I'.iT 1 .. - ..* ., , 11 —"I MDIllHlllllilli liiiiiwil 1 III 3|gg llllllnillllllUlHIIIIIUII"' ifi are in bronze, from the atelier of Jules Ranvier. I quisite Cabinet of carved wood, the work of CARLO Pucci, of Florence. French section also show good enamelled work of the same class ; and there is much of a secondary character in the deco¬ ration of small metal wares in monochrome and colours. The Limoges style of enamelling was also revived with great success on hard porcelain by an artist of much ability, the late Thomas Bott. Some of the best examples of this talented artist s work are included in the admirable collection of the Royal W orcester Works in the Exhibition : they are works of high Art, admirably executed in pure grey monotone, and are deservedly classed very highly by connoisseurs. The Sevres collection in the Exhibition also contains some fine vases decorated much in the same manner. There is no essential difference between painting in enamel on metal and on china. China and faience decoration, however, is not always enamel painting; the most ordinary sort of china and earthenware painting is what is called “under-glaze painting,” or sous couverture, in which the colours are not vitrified, but burnt in at a low heat, and covered afterwards with a transparent glaze, which is vitrified in the furnace, and at once gives brilliancy to the colours beneath, and preserves them. For U 1 7 o ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave another page of the works of Messrs. Jones and Willis, of Birmingham and London, makers principally of church furni¬ ture, in the production of which they have obtained high renown. The artists of the leading parts in this striking group are, the Frontel, Mr. W. C. Branswyn, and the Reredos, Mr. W. Scott Champion. We have no space in which adequately to describe these valuable contributions to the Paris Exhibition. The metal¬ work and the embroidered work are both admirable, perfect in design, and of great delicacy and refinement in execution; they are original, although based on approved “authorities”—a very important matter in productions of the enamelled work the vase or other object is first glazed, and the colours themselves contain sufficient flux or glaze to become vitrified, and bear an immense degree of heat, as already described in our notes on Pottery. The majolica colours, which are similar to those employed by Bernard Palissy, are enamels or coloured glazes, but they do not require, and will not bear, the amount of heat applied to true enamels. In enamelling porcelain, majolica, or other faience, the design is sketched or traced on the ware, and the colours laid on with the camel-hair pencil in the usual way; but, class. The whole of the work—not only that in metal, but that produced by the embroiderer—is manufactured on the premises. as the body of the colour is of good consistency, it can be laid on in relief, and, when burned in, is highly effective, and this effect is often enhanced by indenting the outline. In this way an admirable imitation of cloisonne enamelling is produced on porcelain or faience. France, England, Austria, Saxony, Den¬ mark, and Sweden all successfully practise the decoration of porcelain with enamel colours in their own manner. Certainly none excel the Sevres, the Staffordshire, and the Worcester productions, but some very fine plateaux by M. Rostrands, of Sweden, exhibited here, deserve special notice. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 171 We devote another page to engravings of the works contributed to the Exhibition by the long and justly famous firm of BARBEDIENNE, of Paris. They are not and obtained renown throughout the world. Yet they are productions of surpassing grace and beauty; of refined delicacy in treatment, finished with the utmost care ; and, as examples of pure taste and true Art, have held their own among the best produce of “ all the nations.” It cannot be said that M. Barbedienne shone in•1878 as a star of the of an ambitious order. There are none that command universal admiration—none that attracted the attention of visitors to the exhibits of a firm that long ago earned greater magnitude. Under the Republic he was not as prominent as under the Empire. If he has not lessened, he has not added to his fame. Enamelling on glass presents marked differences from the preceding. The heat applied to a china vase or other object would reduce one of glass to an unsightly lump; the enamels used for glass must, then, necessarily “run” or vitrify at a lower heat than the body of the object itself: the margin is not, however, great, as may be seen by the frequent distortion of enamelled glass. Subjects are absolutely painted on the glass in enamel colours, and burnt in, as in the cases above mentioned, specimens of which kind of work may be seen in old Venetian and other glass, and in the Bohemian glass of the present day, as noted under Pottery. But the decoration of glass more often consists in the attachment or insertion of threads or small figures in coloured glass in a melting state to the body of the object in hand while in a partially plastic con¬ dition. The lamps seen in Arab mosques, in Spanish churches, but still more often in museums and collections, formed of green glass and decorated in brilliant and varied colours, are much admired, but their mode of fabrication had been entirely lost, and was re-discovered and revived with great skill by M. Brocard, of Paris, who has not only succeeded in repro- 172 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OE THE The Grand Prix of the Paris Exhibition was awarded to Messrs. Thomas Webb and Sons, of Stourbridge, for “crys¬ tal.” Considering that this firm had to compete with the best fabricants of the world, and surpass them all, the gain is among the successes of which England may be justly proud. The prize was not awarded for purity of metal only; it was for cutting, and engraving, and designing on crystal glass. Of the designs our engravings give some idea; of the beauty and merit of the execution we can convey none. We heartily congratulate this firm, and their principal artist, Mr. O’Fallon. ducing objects of Arab origin, but in adapting the system to modern artistic taste. Many other glass manufacturers have since produced similar work. The methods employed are not made known, but it is evident on inspection that a mixed system is adopted ; in many instances there are what may be described as washes of enamel colour vitrified on the glass, while more usually the ornamentation is attached in the form of coloured glass. The ornamentation on the Arabian vessels is curiously primitive; the old Venetian is much the same, but both are delightful to the eye. The most delicate application of this method of decoration that we have seen is that of Messrs. James Powell and Sons, of London, who around wine-glasses as thin almost as a soap-bubble and as brilliant as rock crystal have succeeded in placing, with the greatest precision, pale blue glass threads almost as fine as hairs. The same kind of ornamentation is also applied to water carafes and other articles. All that is said above relates to decorating the surface of metal, porcelain, or glass by means of painting or attaching PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. i'/3 M. DuRENNE has long held a foremost place in France among producers of works in cast iron, a branch of Art in which, unfortunately, England made no effort at the Exhibition of 1878 ; yet we cannot doubt that, if Coalbrookdale had come prominently forward, M. Durenne would have had a powerful competitor as to the honours he rightly and justly obtained, for in the productions we engrave of the eminent firm—graceful, effective, and useful Vases, and such-like decorations for gardens and other outdoor purposes—M. Durenne can hardly be described as having made a marked advance on the works he has exhibited in preceding years. They are, however, fine examples of good Art, designed by accomplished artists, who make up the staff of a renowned and extensive establishment; and certainly, if they do not detract from the fame he ob¬ tained a quarter of a century ago, and which he has indisputably retained to the present time. enamel colours or glasses. We now arrive at another kind, that of incised enamelling. Incised enamelling consists in engraving or cutting out letters or ornaments in metal, and filling the hollows with enamel, just as a name is cut in a brass plate, and filled in with black or red sealing-wax, or other like composition, the essential difference being that enamelled work is passed through the furnace, and the colours become converted into glass, or vitrified. This kind of enamelling has always been in use in goldsmiths’ and jewel¬ lers’ work, and produces very pleasing contrasts ; but little Art had been employed with it of late, until the revival of a taste for that of our forefathers, known generally as mediaeval, by the energy and ability of a few men, raised up a new school of Art manufacture. Since the time of the late Welby Pugin our metal workers have applied incised enamelling to the decoration of church plate, memorial tablets, and other articles, with much ability and success, and this has led to the application of similar enamelling to many other objects, a method peculiarly suited to our own country, the atmosphere of which scarcely respects anything not vitrified : enamel it cannot touch. All countries 2 x 174 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave other examples of Lace, produced by Franz Bollarth, of Vienna, executed expressly for the Paris Exhi¬ bition by command of her Majesty the Empress of Austria, designed by one of the most famous of the Austrian artists, and meant to be, what it is, an example of the highest skill of which the art is capable, so as to compete with productions that h ' have been renowned for ages, not only as curiosities in Art, but as specimens of skill and beauty, and the present prices of which, when obtainable, are enormous. We are therefore justified in expecting proof of surpassing merit, for at the make use of this method of ornamentation, our neighbours of France calling it chamj .5 leve , the ground dug out. Where this •or any other kind of enamelling originated is not, and is never likely to be, known. Dr. Birdwood, in his interesting handbook to the Indian section of the present Exhibition, adopts the idea that it is probably a Turanian art. Whether it was first carried to China or India is not known. The Indian work is cut out, ■champ leve, in gold, and the hollows thus produced filled in with transparent enamels, whereas the incised work of other countries is effected with opaque enamels. The Indians have command of Herr Bollarth, the producer, were “ all appliances and means JI to render perfect the works he undertook. Pro¬ duced without regard to cost, they will, no doubt, be retained at Vienna as evidence of progress in the nineteenth century. carried enamelling of this kind to extraordinary perfection ; it is practised in all parts of the country, but the most famous enamels are those of Jeypore. Several superb examples were included amongst the presents made to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales on his visit to India, and exhibited here. The largest is in the form of a plate, which has precisely the appearance of being incrusted with rubies and other gems in a formal pattern. This extraordinary work is said to have employed the enamellers for four years, and to be the largest specimen yet produced. The form is evidently imitated from a European plate, and the 175 PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. An ingenious artist, Mr. Frederick Walton, to whom Art and Art industry are equally indebted, supplies us with materials for the four engravings given on this page. They are of a material which he calls “ Muralis, or the Sunbury Wall Decoration.” It is, in fact, the application to walls of that which has made its way to general use, the floor linoleum that bears his name. There is much difficulty in describing c • that iS a duty We may P° st P°ne, as it requires space. Surface it to say that its advantages are many and great, securing elegance and grace, as well as warmth and comfort, in any apartment where it may be adopted. The designs are for the most part, as they ought to be, simple; but they are of much Art excellence, as they may be expected to be from the mind and hand of the esteemed and excellent artist who produces them. application of such elaborate workmanship to such a poor form is to be lamented. Another example is of a very different kind; it is in the form of an Indian gondola, about ten inches long, being an inkstand, or kulumdan. The stern is shaped like a peacock; the tail of the bird covers half the length of the boat, and certainly nothing can exceed the brilliancy of the enamels, unless it be the tail of a living peacock displayed in the sun¬ light. The ink-bottle has a cover wrought in blue, green, ruby, and coral coloured enamels, and the effect of these on a pure gold ground is fairylike. There is, besides the above, a cup with cover of gorgeous beauty. So perfect is the colour of these | enamels that they are sometimes employed with rubies and I emeralds, and lose nothing by the juxtaposition ; the scintilla- j tions of the diamond seem alone to be beyond the reach of these marvellous Art workmen. There are also in the Prince’s collec¬ tion here several examples of Cashmere enamelled work, in which the well-known shawl pattern is cut in the gold, and filled | in with turquoise-coloured enamel; sometimes, says Dr. Bird- wood, the pattern is filled in with a dark green intermixed with I blue, perfectly harmonized by the gold, and producing a severely 176 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. F. and C. Osler, of Birmingham and London, having supplied us with a no¬ velty in their art, now enable us to engrave one of their Chandeliers and a Candelabrum : it is in the production of that class of work they obtained their renown, and retain it. Beyond doubt, their crystal glass is the purest in the world. Not only in the metal do Messrs. Osier excel; large and long experience enables them to meet all requirements, while their productions are invariably beautiful specimens of true Art, designed with taste, skill, and know¬ ledge, making a graceful adornment to the room in which the Art work is placed. artistic effect. The perception and production of harmony in colours amongst the Indians are, after all, their most remarkable gifts : they never seem to be at fault until they are drawn or wander away from their own forms and methods. Dr. Birdwood also speaks of brilliant trinkets made by spreading a thick layer of enamel on gold, and while the latter is still hot, covering it with a network of thin gold cut in the form of elephants, tigers, peacocks, doves, parrots, trees, flowers, and scroll-work, and finally engraving the gold so as to bring out the most minute details of the design with effect. This kind of work is produced at Pertabghur, in Bengal. There were two or three choice speci¬ mens of Jeypore and other Indian enamelled -work at the Inter¬ national Exhibition held at South Kensington in 1871, but the collection now here far surpasses that. The cloisonne method remains to be noticed: it is a curious process, and when or where it was invented is unknown, but it is certainly very ancient—perhaps as old as the incised or chamfi- leve method. The manner of proceeding is as follows :—The design being drawn on paper or other substance, thin and narrow ribbons of copper, well annealed, so as to be perfectly flexible, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 177 The time-honoured institution at Sevres—the glory of Paris and the pride of France—summoned all its resources pared with those of the present, and certainly to the disadvantage of to the aid of the Republic, as it had done to the Monarchy and the Empire. But of a surety, if it possessed, it did not put forth, the energies it had shown in preceding exhibitions. Its achievements of the past will be corn- works of the Republic are admirable as examples of ceramic art. are bent to the various lines of the work, and fixed on the paper by means of gum or other substance. When a convenient quantity is finished it is placed in its position on the metal vase or other object to be incrusted, and filings of solder with flux being ! applied, the soldering is completed by means of the blowpipe. The operation presents no difficulty on a plain surface, but the task of covering an immense incense burner, say four or five feet high, with lid, handles, and feet presenting all kinds ot curves, regular and irregular—and there are many such in the Exhibition here—must be long and tedious. Again, we see ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 178 Messrs. William Woollams & Co. are among the oldest and the best “ manufacturing paper-stainers ” of the kingdom. They have been largely instrumental in carrying out improve¬ ments in their important trade, in substituting simple, pure, and good Art in design for the absurdities and monstrosities that were in vogue a quarter of a century ago. The specimens we give on this page are of their latest improvements—the Patent Embossed Flocks. They are charming examples of pure and good style. A hundred others might be given of equal merit, well calculated for the rooms in which they are to be applied— drawing-rooms, dining-rooms, libraries, boudoirs, halls, &c. The producers claim for their patent several advantages. We cannot here give the space necessary to describe them, but we may find—as we unquestionably ought—another opportunity to do so. necklaces with cloisonne beads, running from a quarter to half an inch in diameter. The attaching of the cloisons —partitions— to such small spherical bodies must require considerable skill; but the Oriental artist is patience personified. When the cells are all prepared to receive the enamel, this is filled in in a pasty state with brushes according to the design, those colours which require most firing being put in first, as in the case of porcelain decoration described above. When withdrawn from the furnace some of the cells will be full, some half full, others riddled with air-holes ; all the vacancies have to be filled up and the work “fired” again, and this has to be repeated until the cells are quite full. This is not effected, in complicated cases, without the object under hand passing through the furnace from sixteen to sometimes as many as thirty times. The firing, it should be stated, is effected in a muffle, either of fire-clay or metal, which protects the work from flame and dirt. The firing finished, and the enamel thoroughly cold, the whole surface is rubbed down with pumice-stone and water, and then polished, and the visible edges of the cloisons gilt. Thus described, the work would seem rather mechanical, and so indeed it is ; the art con- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 179 A distinguished lace manufacturer of Milan, Signor Joseph Valerio, supplies us with examples of the beautiful and deli- [ cate fabric, designed with considerable skill, and made by the | hands of young Italian girls. All the specimens we engrave are hand-made. The fabricant is especially desirous that we 1 manufacture of the machine is not unfrequently accepted in lieu lay stress on that fact; for in Italy, as in England, the cheap ! of the produce of hand and mind. Signor Valerio is well known to, and highly estimated by, connoisseurs in the art. Influenced by pure antique models, and gifted with much artistic knowledge, sists in obtaining good colours and blending them skilfully, and this the old Chinese and Japanese enamellers did with marvellous skill. There is nothing remarkable in the composition of the body of the enamel; many examples have been analyzed, and the results are given in the work of the French chemist already alluded to, M. Campion, who says that the frequent occurrence of small holes is probably a necessary effect of the composition of all their enamels. The enamels used are all opaque, so that the whole surface is flat or matted in appearance when finished, presenting a striking contrast to the Indian work, which looks he has carried the productions he issues very near to perfection, and made his claim good to honourable distinction in Paris. like a mosaic of gems: the opaque enamels, however, offer a much better field for artistic ornamentation than the transparent or translucent. It does not seem impossible that the two should be blended, like burnished and matted gold. Dr. Birdwood says that the Japanese produce a spurious enamelling by painting in the pattern coarsely, and then out¬ lining it with strips of copper or gold to imitate true cloisonne work; but we have never met with examples of this mock cloi¬ sonne enamelling. Not many years since appeared the first cloisonne work made i8o ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE To the contributions of Ecclesiastical Work, in brass and also in embroidery, produced by the renowned firm of POUSSIELQUE- R.USAND, was justly awarded the Meiaille d ' or . They are of the highest order of merit, not only as Art works, but as exhibiting refinement and finish in execution, such as to have placed the name among the most renowned producers of the French capital. Messrs. Steel and Garland, of Sheffield—one of whose decorated stoves we have engraved—are the only English con¬ tributors of works that may be described as almost exclusively immmmnminiTTim^rffliiriiinipmniniinTmnM^ English—the Fenders that are necessities in every household, from the very humblest to the very highest. These eminent manu¬ facturers supply both. Their productions are Art works of con¬ siderable merit, and go far to preserve the renown of Sheffield. in Europe—small objects, pretty, though rather weak in cha¬ racter, and excessively costly. The Art workmen of France and England soon found means of adapting enamels to the taste and to the ordinary objects of the European world. In spite of all the admiration which Chinese and Japanese cloisonne had elicited, the style of its decoration does not harmonize well with European work, and therefore English and French artists have given their work a cache, a character of its own, which is highly attractive; at the same time they have not adhered solely to the cloisonne system, and have introduced modifications even into that. Much of this work is champ leve , or incised, after the Indian fashioq, but executed in opaque enamels, like those of the Chinese and Japanese. One applica¬ tion of enamelling executed in this manner is highly effective, namely, the introduction of plaques, with flowers or other orna¬ mentation in enamel, in the sides of bronze or gilt vases and other objcts d'Art. But a still further innovation has been made in the production of the metallic body of the work by modelling and casting, and finishing it to receive the enamels by hand: this method has been applied with great success to PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 181 rank among the most meritorious of British producers of Ecclesiastical Metal Furniture. They were almost alone in Paris, where few English contributors entered an appearance, and were conspicuous for the excellence of all their works. Of these we give a selection. They are pure and good in design, and of undoubted merit in manufacture. In the latter quality, if not in the former, they compete advantageously with the best produce of France. bold patterns on cabinets and other objects of large size. Our artistic metal-workers have applied both the incised and cast methods to enamelled work in copper and brass with admirable effect for ecclesiastical and decorative purposes. Another method has been tried—but we are not aware whether it has yet been carried into practical operation, though there would not appear to be any difficulty about it—and that is to draw the design on I the work in some waxy or bituminous substance, a non-conductor of electricity, and then to submit this object to the electro- galvanic battery, which would build up the walls, or cloisofis. on all the unprotected parts. Such a method would greatly reduce the cost of production of enamels, and the introduction of the scientific element would in no way interfere with the artistic value of the work. 182 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave a Grand Pedal Harmonium manufactured and exhibited by Mr. Gilbert L. Bauer, of London. This instru¬ ment is intended to represent the pipe organ as nearly as con¬ sistent with the use of vibrating tongues, and is constructed for use in small churches or chapels, students’ organ practice, or as a substitute for the real organ in opera or drama on the stage. The relatiye position of the keys and pedals has been carefully scaled after that of the pipe organ, and the mechanism affecting the manual and pedal couplers is extremely simple. It is a beau¬ tiful example of Art manufacture, being designed with great judg¬ ment and taste, as well as a valuable specimen of wood carving, and it is well entitled to the high honour it obtained in Paris. The incised method has in one respect a great advantage over the cloisonne. In the latter the outlines are all of one breadth, like a cobweb; but when the work is cut out by the graver many variations may be introduced : thus lines maybe gradually tapered off to nothing, and spaces of any shape and size may be left here and there. Excellent effects are obtained by these means, the spaces being engraved or otherwise decorated, and thus producing an agreeable contrast with the quiet and beauty of opaque enamelled work. Another charming application of incised work is in the introduction of enamelled .borders and ornaments in table services and other domestic metal-work, especially that of the writing-table ; and many beautiful examples of this kind are to be found in France and England. Another and a very great innovation has been introduced in the method of filling the cells, or interstices, with the enamel. The Chinese and Japanese, as well as the Indians, generally, if not always, confine themselves to the introduction not only of one colour, but of one shade of each colour, in a single cell, so that the work becomes a kind of mosaic of simple-coloured tesserce, very bold, very effective, but somewhat hard. The enamellers of PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 18 The engraving's on this page are selected from the very large collection of Paintings on Porcelain exhibited by Messrs. Howell and James in Paris, and now shown at their galleries in Regent Street. They are chiefly the works of ! amateurs, sent in response to the offer of prizes in competition ; but many of them would do credit to the most accomplished professors of the art. It was a happy idea, that which directed the attention of ladies to an employment at once pleasant and remu¬ nerative, giving, or ra¬ ther extending, occupation for women — a social requirement universally admitted. AVe engrave on this page five of the works. Nos. i andj.two plaques by Miss Kelly, were pur¬ chased by the Prince of AYales ; No. 2 is by Mrs. Nesbitt, some of whose works her Majesty has commissioned ; No. 4 is by Mrs. Sparkes, also purchased by the Prince of AVales; and No. 5 is a portrait of Lady Eva Greville, by her mother, the Countess France and England have departed widely from this rule in seeking after pictorial effect. In their smallest works, such as decorated bonbonnieres or other trifling objects, three shades of the same coloured enamel will often be found in one cell, and in skies and backgrounds large spaces are shaded off, as in oil or water colour, or as nearly as possible. This shading is very pretty in small fancy work, but scarcely to be recommended on a larger field, while it is totally inapplicable to geometric patterns, of A\ r arwick, to which was awarded the Gold Medal presented by her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess of Germany. or any design in the character of mosaic : for broad effects the old method is the only one. Enamelled work, like stained glass, seems to demand a certain conventionality of treatment. In some modern work grapes and other objects are produced of the natural size, each having its hard gilt rim, the grapes especially being a series of perfect circles in rather thick metal, and as hard and ungraceful as possible. Messrs. Elkington & Co. have a superb collection of enamelled ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE 184 We engrave two other examples of the Carpets of Messrs. ] Henderson & Co., of Durham ; they are renowned for purity and excellence of design, and also for the substantial and en- | during character of the fabric. The firm has long held a fore¬ work in the Exhibition, consisting of a large number of examples, vases large and small, salvers and ornamental objects: the decoration consists principally of flowers and birds admirably designed, and executed with that finish which marks Messrs. Elkington’s works. All this is, we believe, true cloisonne work, and as re mds design, colour of the enamels, and admirable workman'll p, they are scarcely equalled : they are truly objets d'Art'm the highest sense of the word. Their decoration of a table service in the Egyptian type, in incised enamels, is equally good of its class. The incised enamels of our mediaeval and other metal workers, Messrs. Hardman, Singer, Hart, Jones, and Willis, are ad¬ mirably designed and executed. In fact, all the English Art work is remarkable for its finish. The magnificent show of MM. Barbedienne includes some remarkable enamels, two of them being circular pictures PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 185 The Kamptulicon of Messrs. W. D. Harry &Co., of London, has for several years held a prominent place among productions of its important and interesting class. Mr. Harry was, we be¬ lieve, the earliest to introduce the valuable substitute for the old and time-honoured oil-cloth, which, however, for some purposes maintains its supremacy. He terms it “ untearable Kamptu¬ licon,” and he has invented a process of printing the design similar to that of paper or cotton printing—a contrivance for a = « 1 §§ ISilSi gg 1 i I B CT.J1 IMl 1 gauge fixed on to the printer’s table, the blocks being fitted measuring nearly a yard in diameter, one showing ducks in a sedgy pond, the other a beautiful golden pheasant strutting about, as if to display his splendid plumage. There are other pictures and plateaux, as well as minor objects, similarly orna¬ mented, but a casket deserves special praise. These are regular cloisonne enamels—at least, w r e did not perceive any incised work—but in the decoration of bronzes MM. Barbedienne have applied the incised method with great success. One other object deserves special notice—it is a cabinet about two feet high and wide, and a foot in depth. This is a very remarkable with pins or registers, by which means perfect work is obtained. From a mass of patterns submitted to us we have selected those we engrave on this page : they are all of great excellence, pure, simple, effective, and appropriate, though in great variety. Some of them, indeed, as will be seen, are admirable specimens of true Art. There is no attempt at over-display ; the position they are to occupy—always on the ground—has been steadily borne in mind by the competent and clever artists employed at the extensive works. We congratulate them on the result. example of enamelling on—or rather in—cast metal: every portion of the doors of the casket, inside as well as out, the fronts of the drawers and shelves, are all glowing in brilliant enamels, beautifully harmonized in the Oriental style, the cells having been modelled and cast. The beautiful birds and flowers of Messrs. Elkington & Co. and MM. Barbedienne present the finest illustrations of the shaded method already alluded to. MM. Christofle exhibit a beautiful small vase, two very bold ornamental vases designed for a hall or grand vestibule, and other specimens in both cloisonne and incised work. 3 « 186 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. Marshall and SON, of Edinburgh, supply us with material for a second page of what is usually described as this famous firm of the Scottish capital does not limit itself to productions of that class—for they are general jewellers, and they have long and very suc¬ cessfully striven to make Art works of objects specially prepared to be remembrances of Scot¬ land, either by casual visitors or by the sons and daughters of the soil who seek fortune in the sunnier south or in other climes. It may be mentioned that in almost all the European pro¬ ductions there are certain departures from the old Chinese and Japanese method of cloisonne: metal ribbons of various thick¬ nesses are introduced to give expression to the work, just as the so-called “ gimp ” is employed in lace with the same object, and strips are here and there tapered off to nothing to give softness. This renaissance of enamelling is very extraordinary when we remember that it has occurred entirely since the date of the previous International Exhibition held on the Champ de Mars, in Paris. FURNITURE AND DECORATION AT THE EXHIBITION. In the scheme of the Exhibition, furniture of all kinds formed one class, and upholstery and decoration another; and the distinction was maintained in the official catalogues, but there was little other separation; and the inconvenience of such arrangement was discovered at an early period, for one jury only was appointed to examine and decide upon the merits of the whole of the contributions, under the title of Jury for Furniture PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 187 Messrs. W. A. and S. Smee are excellent and extensive cabinet-makers of London City—strictly the “ City,” for their works are in venerable Finsbury. We engrave one of their productions, a Sideboard of carved oak, designed, as well as made, in their establishment. It was one of several examples of what is termed “ high-class furniture,” thoroughly good, yet not too costly for dwellings of moderate ‘‘grace and grandeur.” They are such as will surely find admission into homes where com¬ fort, combined with taste, is the desired object. Their exhibits We have already engraved one production—a Ceiling Centre_ obtained marked approval-, and a medal of the second order. of Messrs. JOHN Allan and Son, of the Wick-Lane Works, Bow; we now give three examples of the common work of the I soundly educated and truly experienced. All the issues of the establishment, which is presided over and directed by a mind i firm are in good taste, refreshing, and not confusing to the eye. and Accessories. These facts deserve to be noted, with a view to future exhibitions, as every improvement in classification simplifies working, and increases the value of such undertakings. The collection of furniture, upholstery, and accessories was certainly the largest, the finest, and the most varied ever seen. The contributions of the skilful cabinet-makers and decorators of France alone required a dozen visits to enable any one to form anything like an adequate idea of their great merit, and all other nations contributed in various degrees. Under such circum¬ stances the space we have at our disposal is totally insufficient for anything like a general review, and, after a few remarks upon the contributions of other nations, we must confine our¬ selves to those of our own countrymen; and this is the more imperative upon us from the fact that the British section not only attracted all the world of visitors, but reaped high honour in these classes. In the French section the Renaissance was, as usual, predo¬ minant, and the amount of fancy, skill, and taste exhibited was beyond question immense; the infinite varieties of form, the skill exhibited in carving and inlaying, the richness of the i88 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. Doulton & Co., whose Lambeth Pottery has obtained renown throughout the world, and achieved an almost universal popularity in England, had marvellous medal, then a medal of bronze, this last being for drain pipes. The principal en¬ graving on this page is taken from one of the success in Paris, acquiring first the Grand Prix, next the gold medal, then a silver views of their show, as also are the other two: they explain the character of the whole. materials employed, the daring contrasts of wood, metal, and marble, the lavish employment of the most brilliant colours and most delicate tints, the happy combinations and completeness of most of the contributions, called forth the highest encomiums. In those enormous galleries—we might almost say streets and squares—of the French furniture courts were specimens of almost every style yet conceived, from the severely classic to the neo- Greek, passing through every phase of the beautiful Renais¬ sance to what may well be called the flamboyant. There was one style charmingly conspicuous by its absence, namely, the hideous spurious classic of the First Empire. M. Fourdinois, whose productions are known to every connoisseur, exhibited, among other works, an exquisite cabinet in satin-wood, with classic ornamentation in metal, ivory, and lapis lazuli; inlaid work of the most delicate description; and examples of fine combinations of pierced, inlaid, and carved woodwork, sur¬ passing anything of the kind yet produced. MM. Leglas- Meurice, Mercier, Gueret, and many others exhibited carved wood of exquisite beauty, from the most delicate fretwork on boudoir furniture in the most precious of woods, and panels PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 189 A very graceful page is supplied to us by selections from the numerous productions of Messrs. Minton, Hollins & Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent. They are not merely makers of ordinary Tiles, although that is the staple of their extensive trade. They produce paintings on porcelain for all the purposes to which the Art material can be applied—fireplaces principally, perhaps; are “hand-painted,” and are really charming pictures, often refined examples of pure and good Art in design as well as in but there are a score of ways in which they give beauty and value to interior decoration. Those to which we specially refer ijjpi f execution, from those that are ordinary themes—leaves and flowers and birds—up to those that have claim to be considered as high Art. Messrs. Minton, Hollins & Co. take the lead in decorated with chaste carving in lowest relief, to the severest forms of ornamentation in ebony and oak, and in all styles, Classic, Mediaeval, and Renaissance. The admirable effect of Art teaching in France is nowhere more evident than in this charming decorative work, the best of which is evidently done by Art workmen who, if they did not design the work themselves, appreciated fully and reproduced every touch of the artist’s pencil. The same may be remarked of the best English works now, but it could not have been said thirty years ago. M. Penon exhibited at an angle of one of the transepts what he himself this important and very extensive department of Art industry. called a “ fancy installation in a grand saloon,” a collection of decorated work, including a couch surmounted by drapery, an easel, and several pieces of furniture, in which every branch of the decorative art was carried out in the highest key—a gorgeous tour de force, the dream of an industrial Rubens. And in contrast with this gorgeous feast of silk and satin, damask and gold, there were around many examples of wood¬ work in the style of the Middle Ages. Still it was felt by all connoisseurs that, generally speaking, our neighbours expend their admirable talents for ornamentation far too profusely. 3 h ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE i go We give on this page engravings of four of the Carpets of Messrs. H. and M. SOUTHWELL, of Bridgnorth. They are of the highest order of merit in design, in fabric, and in manufacture, No kind of ornamentation has lately exhibited more improve¬ ment than carving; we have already referred to that of M. Fourdinois, in which inlaying and carving are most happily blended, and to the delicate pierced and other work of French artists ; but other sections of the Exhibition call for special notice. In the Italian Court were numerous examples of carving by Signor Frullini and others, which have never been surpassed, either as regards artistic feeling or perfection of execution. The Belgian Court was unusually rich in carved work, especially that executed in oak for ecclesiastical purposes; and in the rienced artists, headed by their chief, Mr. John B. George. British section the collection of carvings, generally in the style of Grinling Gibbons, but with some exquisite classical specimens by Mr. G. A. Rogers, the Gothic work of Mr. Hems, of Exeter, and the oak and ebony carving of Messrs. Marsh, Jones, and Cribb, were all excellent in their various styles. In no Art work are there more gradations ; the elaborate carvings often bestowed on second, not to say fourth rate furniture, are a hideous offence to the artistic eye, while.-a simple panel, a bit of ordinary wood, decorated by a Fourdinois or a Rogers, is as full of charm as repousse or chased work in silver or gold. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 1 91 The Pottery of Lambeth has obtained large renown. The specimens we engrave on this page are productions of Messrs. Stiff and Sons, of Lambeth, a long-established firm, who have but recently striven to bring Art to bear on their commoner pro¬ duce. Though second in the race for distinction, they are worthy | competitors for honours. “Competition is the life of trade.” Messrs. Stiff have good artists to aid them, study the best models, give due care to finish, and are issuing in great variety works that The Indian and the Chinese Courts exhibited a vast amount of carved work, some of it very beautiful, but much also having no quality but that of elaboration or grotesqueness. True Indian work often exhibits admirable taste, especially in small productions and simple patterns; but masses of so-called Indian carved work have appeared of late years which have no more claim to be called Art work than has a worm-eaten beam or panel. It is not, however, the Indians who are answerable for this, but certain European employers, who believe that the elaborate and the curious must find admirers. The Chinese also produce some would not be out of place in the choicest museums of the collector, while fitted for daily use, and brought within reach of the many. beautiful carved work, not unlike Indian in feeling ; but they also, in other cases, revel in the elaborate and grotesque. There is no doubt of the ability of their carvers, and there is equally no doubt about the mistake which they make in the ever¬ lasting repetition of trivial figures and quaint forms : vermilion and gold make such work gay in effect, but of Art there is little. The Japanese show us quite another kind of carving, in a style which is peculiarly their own : it is tolerably safe to say that it originated with them, for it fits in with none of the existing rules of Art recognised by other nations. Uni- 192 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE formity is utterly discarded, and repetition almost as decidedly; there are no parallel lines and balanced parts—all is free and fanciful. It is in a sense realistic, for the beautiful forms of nature, animal and vegetable, are reproduced with unsurpassed, we had almost said unequalled, exactitude; every leaf, every vein, is studied with admirable art; but the art appears in the beautiful adaptation of the work to its position and the skilful combination of the parts of the design. Thousands of visitors must have noticed the decoration of the sandal-wood gates of the Japanese farm in the Trocadero grounds ; the panels on each side of these gates were decorated with exquisite carving, in very low relief, of grasses, flowers, fruit, and foliage, and on The Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Company supply us with a series of objects selected from their enormous assemblage of beautiful works. Most of them are now to be seen in their establishment at St. James’s Street, for they were not made for sale, but as proofs of the marvellous accuracy with which they have copied, to rival, and often to excel, the ancient and long-renowned Venetian glass. The present director of the company, M. Giovanni Cas- teflani, obtained the Cross of the Legion of Honour, and the company the gold medal. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Mr. William Oppenheim, of London, an agent for the Royal Factory at Dresden, exhibited a remarkable and very meritorious Cabinet, largely decorated by admirable paintings on porcelain, the productions of the long-renowned manufactory of the This column contains productions contri- Saxon capital, and which fully maintain its ancient fame. We have not space for entering into particulars, but it is not requisite to do so; and we may have a better opportunity of rendering justice to the works shown by Mr. Oppenheim. butedby the Royal Works at Worcester. the top were a cock and hen full of life and vigour, intended, apparently, as signs of what was to be found within. Nothing could be in better taste, more original, or more perfect in execu¬ tion. Like the Chinese, they possess remarkable talent for the grotesque and the horrible ; they exhibit it in their bronze cast¬ ings of mythic animals, combinations sometimes of biped and quadruped, in their caricatures, and in a hundred other ways; but their decorative carving, such as we have referred to above, is as pure Art as it is original. The interesting feature of a series of buildings, or, as they were called in the original draft, facades, exhibiting the archi¬ tecture of the various nations which took part in the Exhibition, offered the cabinet-makers, decorators, and other Art workmen an opportunity which the English alone saw and of which they 3 c 194 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE We engrave another of the contributions of Beauvais, a Panel charmingly designed, and worked with the skill and knowledge for which the great establishment has very long been renowned. wood furniture, contributes the Clock that graces this page. It is a design of much elegance, and is very admirably executed. We engrave two of the silver Boudoir Boxes of Messrs. Jones, of St. James’s Street, London. They are good specimens of Art, took admirable advantage. The erections of other nations were either mere faijades—several of them very remarkable—or they masked a plain room or two occupied as offices. In the English section alone the houses were more or less furnished and decorated, and two of these formed most attractive features in what was happily called by our neighbours La Rue des Nations. Claiming precedence for more than one reason, we refer first to the pavilion of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, President of the as well as examples of excellent workmanship ; the makers have, therefore, successfully competed with French manufacturers. English Commission, which was thronged by eager crowds early and late. Here a host of famous English Art manufacturers exhibited their taste and skill in a more complete manner than in any former exhibition. Messrs. Gillow, who had already earned all the honours, not only supplied the furniture for the several rooms in the pavilion, but their artists, Mr. Henry and Mr. Hay, designed the cabinet-work as well as all the other 1 objects exhibited there, with two exceptions, namely, Messrs. PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, *95 We devote a page to examples of the linoleum of Messrs. Michael Nairn & Co., Kirkcaldy. They are of the usual order of materials of the class: substantial, durable, and generally good in design. It is almost a new industry, in a great degree removing from use the time-honoured oil-cloth ; but Messrs. colours, appropriate to the places they are intended to cover— halls, staircases, and so forth—and in some cases made expressly for churches. Messrs. Nairn compete with the best producers of the much-used article, which forms a large and extending trade —a trade that has grown enormously within a very few years Nairn are also manufacturers of oil-cloth, and in their extensive factory at Kirkcaldy produce both. The designs are, as past. The material is, we presume, cheaper and more lasting than oil-cloth, while at least equally capable of taking any they ought to be, generally simple, in two, or at most three Doulton’s very curious fountain, modelled by Mr. Tinworth, and Messrs. Minton’s fountain, from the design of Mr. Comolero. Messrs. Barnard, Bishop, and Barnard supplied an elegant forged-iron gate to the pavilion, and one fireplace; while Messrs. Feetham produced another, a beautiful piece of steel and brass work; Messrs. Elkington the table services and chimney ornaments; Messrs. Minton the porcelain; Messrs. Minton, Hollins & Co. the mosaic pavement and decorative tiles ; Messrs. Powell a coloured glass ceiling and delicate table glass; Messrs. James Templeton the rich carpets, portieres, and curtains ; Mr. colours and exhibiting to advantage any description of design. Andrews, of Belfast, the damask table linen ; and Messrs. G. Jackson the ornaments. The Royal Windsor Tapestry Works supplied the principal room with an excellent likeness of her Majesty the Queen, and eight pieces of tapestry with sub¬ jects from the Merry Wives of Windsor; and the Royal School of Needlework and the Ladies’ Work Society applied very beautiful embroidery to panels, friezes, curtains, hangings, and furniture. The furniture and decoration of the largest apartment— dining-room or council-chamber—were very bold and striking. 196 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE Messrs. John Brinton & Co., the long-renowned firm of design, but for sound value of material and perfection of finish. The establishment ranks among the most famous as well as the obtained the honour of a gold medal, not only for excellence of most extensive of the kingdom, its own artists supplying designs. A grand mantelpiece, dado, and cornice in walnut-wood, deco¬ rated with carving and ivory and other inlays, with the tapestry already alluded to, an immense central table and two side tables, or buffets, and a set of solid chairs, the floor covered with a fine Axminster carpet, and the entrances draped with portieres of English velvet, all in admirable keeping, gave the room a noble air, which was enhanced by a handsome steel and brass stove set amidst beautiful tiles, and pieces of repousse table service, vases, and other beautiful objects on the tables and mantelpiece, over which was the likeness of her Majesty in tapestry. On one side of this room was an octagonal drawing-room, decorated and furnished in the Adams manner, the walls covered with rich silks and satin, and the furniture in satin-wood inlaid with highly artistic and delicately carved work in boxwood. On the other side was a charming morning-room in the pre¬ vailing semi-Japanese taste, with some very rare antique work from Japan introduced, the walls covered with velvet, and the PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 197 Messrs. Pitman and Cuthbertson, of London, among- many excellent and artistic examples of household furnishing-, exhibit a remarkably good Stained-Glass Window for a hall or gallery. We engrave another example of the ecclesiastical metal-work of the very famous firm of POUSSIELQUE-RUSARD, of Paris. It is a Cross, made for the cathedral of Sens, full of fanciful details, all admirably modelled from the design of M. Viollet- le-Duc, an artist of high celebrity in this special style of Art. borders and frieze being in applique embroidery ; the furniture of solid rosewood, enriched with ivory and lacquer plaques and repousse silver ornaments. In the rear were two dressing- rooms, with lavatories, decorated with great taste, and fitted with every modern contrivance. In all these rooms were nume¬ rous objects of use and beauty, giving a lifelike air to the whole. The William III. house of Messrs. Collinson and Lock pre¬ sented an admirable example of an English country residence furnished in the Queen Anne style. Here one design was car¬ ried throughout, hall, dining-room, staircase, drawing, and bed room in perfect keeping, fully furnished, and enlivened by a profusion of curious china and faience. The drawing-room, however, presented a feature which gave rise to much discus¬ sion : some of the cabinets and other pieces of furniture were of rosewood, and others of satin-wood, an innovation which was objected to by many connoisseurs. A judicious union of these two beautiful woods in the same pieces of furniture would, we think, have a better effect. On the ground-floor of the charming red-brick house en- ig8 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE This page contains three of the “ brilliant’’ contributions of the | long-famous firm of Mellerio, of the Rue de la Paix, Paris. The first is a Crown, made for the statue of the Virgin at | Lourdes, the second the Sword of St. Michael, and the third a Coiffure of costly diamonds: the first two designed to honour saints, the third to adorn some lofty dame. The sword was accompanied by a crown, and both now decorate the statue of St. Michael at Mont St. Michel, near St. Malo. livened with coloured bosses in glazed stoneware and decorated tiles, erected by Messrs. Doulton from the design of Messrs. Tarring and Wilkinson, Messrs. Shoolbred furnished an exqui¬ site little room in English style in satin-wood, which attracted much attention, and an elegant bureau, or study, above ; and in another small house, erected by Mr. Lascelles from the design of Mr. Norman Shaw, R.A., Messrs. Jackson and Graham fitted up three rooms for the use of the juries—two in early English, and one in Queen Anne style. The walls and ceilings of all the rooms were covered with artistic papers by Messrs. Jeffrey & Co. ; the furniture in dark woods—including a kind called adouck, a heavy solid wood somewhat resembling teak, sent expressly by the King of Burmah to be tried as a furni¬ ture wood—was designed with a special view to utility and comfort, but presented much elegance, the harmony maintained throughout, in furniture, carpets, curtains, and wall decoration, being perfect. The idea of presenting to the world these specimens of British PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXEIIBITION. 199 Mr. JACOBY, of Regent Street, London, ranks among the most extensive manufacturers of carved-wood furniture in England. He has trained a large number of skilled workmen, | and, aided by appropriate and useful machinery, issues wcrks which, while of high Art character, are produced at compara- I tively small cost. They are well finished in all minor details. decoration and furnishing was most happy, and the result emi¬ nently satisfactory. The juries and every visitor of judgment saw numerous specimens of Art work of all kinds, exhibiting not only workmanship and finish of the highest class, but also full evidence of great artistic taste and skill in the adaptation of various styles to different circumstances and purposes, and in the harmonizing of the many elements with which the Art workman has to deal, and this was freely admitted by many. One firm, however, demands special notice, namely, that of Messrs. Jackson and Graham. The excellence of their pro¬ ductions has long been recognised, and every succeeding exhibition has added to their reputation. In the present in¬ stance, however, they have made an advance which has been marked by the highest honours of the Exhibition. The great manufacturing power of this firm enables it to employ the highest skill available, and to deal equally successfully with any and all styles- In addition to the furniture, &c., already men¬ tioned in Mr. Lascelles’ house, these contributions included works in Oriental, Italian, and French styles, as well as after the manner of our own countrymen, Chippendale and Adams, and were in 200 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF TLIE We engrave on this page five of the Vases produced at, and exhibited by, the National Porcelain Works —the renowned factory—at Sevres. There is one of the vases to which we direct attention ; it occupies the centre column, and demands special notice. The vase is a gift of the Government — the city of Paris — to Mr. JOHN WILLS, F.R.H.S., in recognition of great ser¬ vices rendered to the Exhibition, but more especially of honours acquired at the Grand International Horticultural Ex¬ hibition held at Versailles on the 26th of August, 1878, at which Mr. Wills com¬ peted in several classes, and obtained fifteen first and two second prizes, and the “grand prize of honour.” Mr. Wills long ago established high fame in Eng¬ land as a producer of “ stove and green¬ house, and new and rare plants.” He is well known and esteemed by a very large pro¬ portion of those who in this country love and cultivate flowers; and his conservatories at Kensington are rare treats of the metropolis. every case successful. It included grand chimney-pieces, with clock cases and candelabra, cabinets, a buffet, glass cases to con¬ tain objects of Art (called in France bonheurs du jour), escritoirs and occasional tables in ebony, satin, sandal, thuya, and other of the choicest woods, including some novelties, such as the use of palm-wood (cut across the grain, and presenting a beautiful speckled surface), and of what is known as mottled ebony : the latter wood frequently presents a greenish-black mottled appear¬ ance, and here we see advantage taken of this peculiarity with admirable effect. Most of the pieces are elaborately inlaid with the finest known and rarest of woods, ivory, and other precious substances, and in some cases the effect is heightened by the introduction of porcelain plaques. Every piece is a work of Art, but not a mere tour de force for exhibition purposes; for we could mention mansions in London and elsewhere fitted and furnished throughout by the firm with the same kinds of beau¬ tiful Art work. The selection and arrangement of the choicest materials and perfection of workmanship are characteristic of our great cabinet-makers, but never before has there been exhibited such an elaboration of truly artistic ornament. The artists who PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 201 These tans were contributed to the Exhibition by Bach, of Madrid. It was a large collection, principally painted by his daughter, but some by himself, for he is an able artist as well as a dealer, and often employs first-class painters to do his work. Every Spanish woman, of any grade, carries her fan. The col- probably be distributed in England. The fans are singularly lection was acquired by M. Eugene Rimmel, and will, therefore, beautiful examples of Art, both as to the pictures and the settings. supplied the designs are Mr. A. Lorimer, Mr. Prignot, Mr. All- wright, and Mr. B. J. Talbert, and we do not hesitate to say that much of the ornamentation is more delicate, and at the same time more elaborate, than we have ever before seen; the inlays are in many cases so fine as to present the appearance of delicate pencilled work; and, to crown the whole, the workman¬ ship is so perfect that even with the aid of a powerful magnifying glass scarcely the slightest imperfection is to be found anywhere. In addition to the inlaying, some of which is solid, much of the ivory is engraved in the most delicate manner—a system of orna¬ mentation which this firm has often adopted, and beautiful examples of which have appeared in our pages. 3 * 202 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE their contributions. It is of rose¬ wood, of the highest order of finish, Messrs. Collinson and Lock made good their claim to two gold medals. They were justly entitled to them, not only for the works actually exhibited, but for productions that have placed the firm high among the most eminent of our cabinet¬ makers. We engrave a Cabinet, one of an example of the style that made the manufacturers famous. Ivory has been extensively employed for inlays and other modes of decoration in all countries, but a novel treatment was exhibited by Messrs. Giroux, of Paris, in what they call ivory mosaic, of which they sent a number of beautiful examples in the shape of cabinets, trays, &c. The ground is formed of veneer of dead-white ivory, and the ornamentation produced by inlays and incrustations of various metals in the Japanese manner, with figures of birds, foliage, &c., in choice coloured woods. We have already spoken of the beautiful wall-papers of Messrs. Jeffrey, but we must add that those of Messrs. Woollams &: Co. and of Messrs. Allan and Son also attracted much attention for beauty and chasteness of design and harmony of colour¬ ing. No decorative articles, perhaps, have been more improved during the last few years. If any have, it is assuredly carpets, and none more so than those produced by our own countrymen. The specimens exhibited by them in Paris were generally ad¬ mirable in design, colour, and execution. Messrs. John Brinton & Co., besides carpeting Messrs. Cubitt’s pretty half-timbered house, exhibited about twenty carpets, all fine Royal Wilton, PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 20; Xylography is the name given to a new process of printing on wood, applicable in many ways to the purpose of artistic m deco ration. Its inventor and An des igner is Mr. T. Whitburn, | of the firm of WHITBURN and YOUNG, the sole producers (patentees), whose extensive manufactory is at Milford, Surrey | (in London, 60, Berners Street). Drawings are made on soft wood; they are then, under a regulated pressure and with pig¬ ments specially prepared, made indelible. They may be safely Jacquard, or velvet pile, except two, which were what are called tapestry velvet. Messrs. Brinton have for a long time been famous for the artistic character of their designs, due principally, we believe, to the taste and practical knowledge of colours and materials of Dr. C. Dresser, the Art adviser of the firm. Many of the examples were very beautiful, especially one which was described as “inspired by a morning walk on Hampstead Heath when the March marigolds were in their glory and a few harebells peeping forth.’’ Altogether the English carpets made i washed, being all but indestructible. A full account of the inter¬ esting and useful process has been given in the Art Journal. an admirable show, including many kinds by a considerable number of manufacturers, among whom were the well-known names of Templeton, Southwell, Thorn and Lawson, Woodward, Grosvenor & Co., Willis, Tomkinson and Adam, Widnell, Smith, l'urberville and Son, Henderson, Cooke, and Grimond, all of whose productions showed the influence of Indian Art, so admi¬ rably illustrated in the Grand Vestibule by Messrs. Vincent Robinson, Lapworth, Turberville, Smith, and others. Great improvement appeared also in the peculiarly English 204 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The Fountain is of cast iron, the produce of the re¬ nowned firm of DURENNE, of Paris, who has obtained merited honours in all the exhibitions at which he has competed. His designs are of the highest order, made by eminent artists, and in execution they are singularly sharp and brilliant. They are, in truth, examples of high Art, usually adornments for grounds and gardens, but such as might grace halls, drawing-rooms, and boudoirs. We give another of the admirable examples of Carved-Wood Furni¬ ture, the production of Mr. Joseph Parvis, of Cairo. The ma¬ terial, as well as the style, is peculiarly and very effectively Egyptian. fabric of oil-cloth, and especially in linoleum and other similar productions. A happy application of the latter was exhibited by its inventor, Mr. F. Walton, under the name of muralis, a thin kind of linoleum which is thoroughly impervious to moisture, so tough as to be practically everlasting, and which, if necessary, could be scrubbed without injury. The patterns produced are eminently artistic, ranging from simple diapers and running patterns to beautiful designs in many colours, some resembling those of the famed Cordova leather. Admirable imitations of woodwork for dados, now so much in vogue, were included among the specimens exhibited. Like the famous Spanish leather, the muralis may be fixed to the wall with a few tacks, and removed without trouble. The material seems to take all colours equally well. The decoration of textile fabrics has been carried out to an extent which it seems impossible to surpass, but ingenuity is never at a loss to supply, fashion. The French, Swiss, and British sections were rich in lace curtains, hand-worked, machine made, or the result of the two methods combined, exhi¬ biting marvellous fancy and skill; but these were surpassed by PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 205 Rugs we have given examples, are extensive manufacturers of Carpets, and have obtained merited renown not only for the the substantiality and wearing qualities of their fabrics. Their principal work is entitled “ Patent Tapestry.” They have added to the renown of Scotland by largely extending its trade in a novel article on the French side—embroidered stores, or blinds, of great size, and covered with most elaborate designs (tropical birds, flowers, and foliage being favourites), worked in chain-stitch in brilliantly coloured silks and wools, some of them remarkably beautiful, and, it is almost unnecessary to add, very costly productions. The groundwork is net, but a piece of calico is laid behind, which gives strength to the embroidery, that portion of it not covered by the latter being cut away when this necessary luxury—a need more or less in every household. the work is finished. There were also many examples of the same kind of white material. Another kind of ornamentation seen in the French-silk court consisted in the production of a kind of moss-work in the loom by means of loops formed above the ground pile : several varie¬ ties of this were exhibited. But of all the elaborate and brilliant ornamentation exhibited, the aftftlique work in silk and satin, generally mixed with 3 / 206 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE The “Collar of St. Michael’’ is made for the statue of the saint in the cathedral dedicated to him at Mont St. Michel, near St. Malo. It is a production of the renowned firm of Mellerio, of Paris. “ It is com¬ posed of twelve shields, in comme¬ moration of St. Michael’s protecto¬ rate of the twelve sons of Jacob, and at the same time of the twelve apostles. The shields are joined by an inscription in relief, explaining the dignity of St. Michael: Michael constitui te ftrincifiem. The medallion represents the glory of Jehovah and the creation of the angels.” The two jewel Brooches are examples of the ordinary produce of the establishment. jfzl'l|p loOSBHa embroidery, was the most remarkable. The French furniture court was resplendent with it in the form of hangings, sofa and chair covers, antique bed-curtains and coverlids ; and Messrs. Simpson and Sons exhibited charming specimens, while Messrs. Barlow and Jones, of Bolton, contributed similar work admi¬ rably executed on a cotton material. This firm also showed a variety of objects of a different kind, and having a much wider interest from the comparative cheapness of the fabrics, which are of cotton, but so manufactured as to produce highly artistic effects : some of the fabrics resemble bath towelling, others thick heavy velvet, and all fall into graceful folds. The decoration is produced in some cases in the loom, and in others by the printer. Among the most remarkable items are window curtains woven in two colours, or two tints of the same colour, with chaste classic patterns ; others printed v'ith highly effective designs, composed of flowers and foliage ; quilts formed of cotton cloth resembling towelling, with brilliant and highly harmonious patterns woven in it; table covers, in which PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Messrs. Craven, Dunnill & Co. are extensive manufac¬ turers of Tiles at the Jackfield Works, near Ironbridge, Salop: tiles for all the purposes, refined and common, to which they | can be applied. The examples we give, however, are of painted Slabs. They are of great beauty, designed with- much Art know- the same principles are applied—these are all produced under the direction and from the designs of Dr. Dresser, who has like¬ wise made various modifications of the Marseilles and other quilts, some in beautiful white material of the finest texture, with bril¬ liant printed borders, others of a cheaper character, but in deli¬ cate, though fast tints; and a number of smaller articles, such as toilet covers of all degrees of fineness, and decorated with chaste borders woven in red. As all these articles are of re¬ cent production, and some quite new, they deserve special notice, as successful applications of true Art to ordinary fabrics. ledge, the productions of a true artist, executed with great ability. White fabrics with red ornamentation were also exhibited in the Russian section, but principally for articles of clothing; and in the Austrian Court was a show of table-cloths and napkins, called Danubian linen, with effective red borders. There were many other evidences of the same tendency on the British side of more or less importance. Messrs. Barbour and Miller, of Glasgow, exhibited mixed fabrics for hangings, panels, and other purposes, decorated with beautiful Gothic, Indian, and other designs, in which field flowers and birds of brilliant plumage are made use of with admirable effect: the designs. 2 o8 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE ^m mb in w hat may be termed a new fabric—a material that within a Linoleum and works of the class, a high place must be given few years has been taken into general use. The issues of Messrs. Treloar are of foremost merit in material, manufacture, and cer¬ tainly in designs: these are greatly varied, as well as of much excellence, as indeed might have teen expected from the well- known zeal, activity, and ability of the renowned establishment. executed in from three to ten colours, are by Mr. G. E. Drake and Mr. Talbert, already mentioned. The doors of the British Fine Art galleries were draped with bright-looking fabrics, with good, bold, effective patterns, flowers, and foliage; the tissues were of jute, and the ornamentation was printed. These handsome economical stuffs were the production of Messrs. Corbiere, Son, and Brindle, of London. The Barrow Flax and Jute Company also exhibited brilliant-looking tissues, the ground tint being nearly that of gold, with excellent designs, which, like the preceding, attracted much attention. Of another class are the beautiful tapestry curtains and portieres of the Messrs. Templeton, seen in the Prince’s Pavilion as well as in the body of the Exhibition. Among other novelties deserving notice were the patent double-faced stuffs of Messrs. Thorn and Lawson for portieres, curtains, &c. Even that curiously obstinate material, cocoa-nut PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 209 We engrave three examples of ceramic art, productions of the firm of Villeroy and merit, but manufacturers of this class of Art in France have fallen behind those of England. lire Chimney-piece here engraved is a portion of an exquisitely carved cedar-wood room that won for Messrs. Trollope a gold medal. In it a serious attempt was made to revive the true spirit of the style of Queen Anne. The room in ques¬ tion was truly representative of the first decade of her reign, the tapestry panels being illustrative of scenes taken from Pope’s “Rape of the Lock;” while the poet’s bust most appropriately fills the niche over the fireplace. The lower- portion of the chimney-piece is of rosso-cintico marble, the rich red of which harmonizes admirably with the lighter reds of the cedar-wood of which the upper part is composed. The carved festoons are of the very highest order of excellence. fibre, has been made to assume an artistic air, the floors of the British picture galleries being covered by Messrs. Treloar and Sons with their matting, striped in two delicate tints. Messrs. H. and J. Cooper, of London, exhibited some beautiful artistic tissues for curtains and panels, and decorative painting on linoleum. In France some very effective tissues have lately been produced with the aid of waste silk. One of these, for covering furniture, in which the material was of wool and spun silk, and the orna¬ mentation in tufts of bourette, or waste silk, was exhibited by Messrs. Marcotte & Co., of New York and Paris. Another kind of French tissue attracted deserved attention, namely, the printed linen curtains of Tarare ; and even French experts expressed great admiration of the British printed linens for dresses, and the figured towels and other articles from Belfast and Paisley. The progress made in woollen manufacture is one of the most remarkable facts elicited by the Exhibition, and a French critic has said that, while the fineness and durability of the superior French goods are still unrivalled, England has made great progress in light and fancy tissues. The same critic says, “Art occupies an important place in production: it is one of the essential 210 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE from the old models of renowned Josiah, one of the greatest Art producers of the modern world, to whom England owes a large debt of gratitude : his works, in certain special -ways, have never been surpassed. We give on this page an engraving of the “ Show Case ” (we can find no better term) that con¬ tained the major part of the contri¬ butions of Wedgwood. They are very varied, some entirely original, others based on “ heredi¬ tary” examples, others directly copied factors of capital.” The truth of this has long been urged by those who, not engaged in the conflict of business, were enabled to watch calmly the immense effect of systematic artistic training on the productions and trade of France and other countries. While enormous business seemed to warrant a continuance in the old grooves of manufacture, argument and warning were but too often addressed to deaf ears. Fortunately the theorists per¬ sisted, and they included a certain number of enlightened manu¬ facturers who worked steadily to add the “essential factor of capital” alluded to above’to their stock, by cultivating Art them¬ selves, and calling the Art of others to their aid ; and the result has been that, while other nations have in some instances raised their manufacturing power to a level with our own, the artistic qualities of many of our productions have been enormously im- PARIS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 2 I I proved. We have insisted on this, especially in the case of the metallic Art workman, the potter, the engraver, and others, for their success was beyond cavil, and we find our most honoured rivals admitting our progress in fancy textile productions. It is most pleasing to see our porcelain, faiences, glass, furniture, and carpets admitted to the first rank of Art manufactures, specimens being sought not only by connoisseurs, but by the directors of foreign institutions for the artistic instruction of the youth of their own country, while there is a regular and growing demand for them abroad. But, looking at the present condition of trade and the prospect before us, and considering the serious rivalry in the foreign markets of the world, it appears to us still more gratifying that Art is being applied to the improvement and decoration, not only of rich tissues and costly objects, but to every-day products and manufactures composed of the cheapest materials, and ministering to the comforts of the humblest. It must not be supposed that we have achieved anything like per¬ fection in the application of Art to manufacture; it is a work which admits of unlimited progress in all directions, and our rivals are quite as intent as we are in cultivating their means and powers. 212 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE PARIS EXHIBITION. If the examples of its manufacture have been less remarkable | they were far beyond those of any competitors of France in pro- than they were in former great shows of the French capital, j ductions of ceramic art, though not beyond those of England. rii\w v Af X Jj l , fi ilE» /In