In buried cities—Turned up by the plough—Among Saxon and Norman remains—In hidden chambers—In local museums—Dealers' shops—The engraver's art.

The multiplicity of collectable objects needed to supply collectors makes the uninitiated wonder where all these antiques come from. Countless numbers of beautiful objects have found their way into the melting-pot in the past, and what once was old has in some new form become once more a useful article, in its turn to be discarded and perhaps melted up and recast.

In Buried Cities.

The curios which have been preserved for centuries beneath the soil are often of priceless value, telling of the habits of peoples of whom history has told us little. Celts, knives, spear-heads, and food receptacles are discovered on the sites of prehistoric camping-grounds. The delicately tooled bronzes from buried cities like Pompeii and Herculaneum come to us with almost a living force in this twentieth century. As we gaze at the wonderful beauty of their forms and the charming patina of green with which they are covered, we can almost imagine what they looked like in the hands of patrons of art in the far-off times when they were first fashioned. Our own country is full of ruins of ancient cities far below the present roadways. When the Romans built Bath it was in a hollow much deeper than the level of the modern city, and it is in these lower levels that relics of Roman Bath are found.

There is a ring of sadness in the desolation of such ancient cities as Verulamium, Cirencester, Kenchester, and similarly deserted locations where modern excavations have been going on recently. It seems curious how the very sites of such once famous places have been lost, but not strange when we remember that more recently occupied towns are but grass mounds—to-day explorers are cutting into the turf-covered mounds of Old Sarum to ascertain where its chief buildings stood. The finds on these ancient sites are varied; many of them are metallic, and although of trifling intrinsic value are prized as being authentic curios.

Turned up by the Plough.

The plough has played an important part in history, and collectors owe much to that useful implement. It has been the means of bringing to light many vessels which have been buried for centuries, for although land has been ploughed many seasons, a deeper ploughshare or more frequent ploughing on the same spot has brought nearer to the surface a copper vessel or an earthen jar, full of antiquarian interest. The field and the forest, and even the deserted mines, have brought to collectors of old metal many interesting relics. Until quite recently there was an old bronze caldron on view in the window of a dealer in antiques in Chester. It was the prototype of many similar vessels that have been made in later days in different parts of the country, the model on which the more modern pots or camp-kettles of the gipsies and the three-legged pots commonly suspended over the cottage hearth, until comparatively modern times, have been fashioned. It is worthy of note that the principle adopted by those early metal-workers is still observed in the more scientific construction of cooking vessels to-day. The form of the caldron was such that by applying heat under the centre the flames spread and leapt up the sides, curling as they travelled, following the lines fashioned by the coppersmiths, and heating the contents of the vessel equally. Such ancient caldrons, sometimes much worn and at others in fairly good condition, have been preserved by Mother Earth until discovered in modern times.

Among Saxon and Norman Remains.

The Saxons and Normans used metal, and the brawny arms of the smiths, and later the founders, fashioned the cooking-pots made in their day. Many metal curios, much battered by fallen masonry, have been found among the ruins of Norman castles and in some cases of the still earlier Saxon dwellings. The discoveries of curios of those periods are by no means frequent, and it would appear as if we must now be content with storing carefully those relics already discovered. Modern restorations and excavations have brought many valuable antiquities to light, and authorities have been very careful to preserve them in county or local museums.

In Hidden Chambers.

The splendour of mediÆval days when feasting in the great hall of the baron or overlord has been revealed by many noted finds. The great kitchens of those mansions were full of copper and brass, and it is from such supplies that many of the best authenticated specimens have come. Some are historical; even bronze caldrons and more modest-looking saucepans have been made to the order of some mediÆval chieftain or baron.

The life of the common people of this country varied little between the days of the Norman Conquest and those of the Tudor sovereigns who held court in the houses of the nobility. The dress, costume, and rough splendour of the Elizabethan age had its effect, however, on the homes of courtiers and eventually of the common people. When the stormy times of the Civil War came there was a rude breaking up of the old order of things, and in Cromwellian days some preparation for the new which was to come. After the battlefield came the destruction of stronghold and mansion by order of the Parliament. Some escaped, and within the last century not a few domestic curios have been found during the restoration and rebuilding of old houses dating from the time of the Commonwealth. Priests' cells and secret chambers, sliding panels and concealed cupboards, and other hidden places were the rule rather than the exception at the time of the Civil War. In some of these long-forgotten places of concealment some very interesting domestic objects in copper and brass have been found during rebuilding and restoration.

In Local Museums.

It is a moot point whether the frequent change in the ownership of curios which goes on every day, as evidenced by the auction sales, stirs up the curiosity of the collector and awakens his interest in his hobby to a greater extent than when such curios are placed on view in local museums. The fact remains that, notwithstanding the constant circulation of curios, many find a permanent home in museums. Not only do the national collections in the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington grow rapidly, but in almost every town of note there are local and great district museums. This latter class is instanced in the Welsh National Museum at Cardiff. There are two typical local museums in London—the Guildhall Museum and the London Museum, which has just found a new home at Stafford House. These museums stimulate local collectors, but they do not contribute to their collections. As places of reference they are invaluable, for the wider spread knowledge of antiques secured by the objects shown prevents amateurs from falling into traps and consequently becoming disheartened.

Dealers' Shops.

The shops of dealers supplement the auction-rooms. They are partly fed from them and partly by the persistent search ever going on for objects in which their owners have little interest and are willing to part with for a consideration—not always the "top price." The greater popularity of curio-hunting has caused a vigorous search of attic and cellar at the instance of dealers as well as collectors. Even the palaces of kings and queens and the houses of the nobility have been ransacked, and treasures from an artistic point of view, as well as from a utilitarian, have been brought to light and the dust of many years wiped away.

Many delightful examples of the coppersmith's art were until recently condemned by the travelling tinker as being no longer repairable, with the natural consequence that, their value as antiques being unknown, they were eventually sold for an "old song." Those pioneers of collecting who had time on their hands and foresaw an accruing value of even old metal went about from town to town examining the marine stores and visiting villages and farmhouses in search of anything old and curious. To-day there are few genuine antiques without some one to value them. Nearly every collection belongs to an appreciative owner, and when curios change hands it is generally at a premium instead of at "a bargain price."

Hitherto reference has been made chiefly to metal curios of British make, and to those objects with which Englishmen have become familiar. The collector, however, is cosmopolitan in his aims, and cheerfully searches the world over for objects of interest. His curios come from the Far East, from Central Africa, and from all parts of Europe, and to some extent from the American continents. There have been many methods of producing metal-work, yet native workers in all countries have had but two processes upon which they have based their plans, and it is from the smiths who hammered copper and brass into shape, and in later days stamped it, and the founder who cast the metal in moulds, that all our curios come.

The Engraver's Art.

This outline of the hunting-ground of the collector would be incomplete without some mention of the products of the graver's tool which has produced so many works of art. The much prized mezzotints, stipples, and line engravings are pictures for the most part printed from copper plates. The metal rolled in sheets and planished becomes a work of art in itself when covered with those beautiful pictures so cleverly wrought upon the metal by the light touch of the graver.

Perhaps one of the most interesting uses to which copper has been put is that of executing beautiful miniatures—tiny pictures, portraits, and emblematic designs such as were used by traders on their stationery in years gone by. The copper-plate engraver has left his mark, too, in the beautifully quaint and very valued early issues of postage-stamps, some of which were printed from copper plates. Just as copper plays an important part in the production of postage-stamps and pictures, so copper in conjunction with its alloys is the common metal of currency. Some of the most valuable metallic curios are the ancient coins which have been dug up from where they have been buried for centuries, or discovered in some hidden chamber. Such little objects of copper or bronze have an antiquarian value far beyond either their artistic beauty or their age warrants being associated with them. Collectors of metals know the value of some of the historic commemorative medallions in bronze, and heroes and warriors show their appreciation of one of the commoner metals in the value they set upon the simple Maltese cross inscribed "For Valour," for the Victoria Cross is more coveted than any naval or military award the Sovereign of these realms can bestow. Its owners regard it as a precious relic, and the reluctance of those left behind to part with it is seen in the large sum which has to be paid for one of these simple bronze crosses when it comes in the market.

III
PREHISTORIC
BRONZES