Candlesticks—Altar brasses—Metal architectural ornament—Memorial brasses.

The admirer of metal-work finds examples of the early brassworker's art in ecclesiastical edifices. Although in years gone by there has been spoiliation in many churches, and some of the most valued objects in sacred buildings have been taken for secular uses, there are still many treasured relics which are almost unique specimens of the metal-worker's art. It is a wonder so much has been preserved, for too enthusiastic authorities have often displaced the old and substituted newer objects of no antiquarian value. In the past in restoration work much that would have now been venerated as antique has been destroyed. The collector cannot be advised to bring pressure to bear on the ecclesiastical authorities in order that he may obtain such curios for his museum. Oftentimes the brasses in themselves would present no special interest. It is rather in their associations that the antiquary sees much to admire, and to strip brasses from the wall or memorial tablets from tombs is vandalism and sacrilege which cannot be encouraged. There is, however, a peculiar beauty in the metal-work which may be seen and admired in old churches, and the massive grandeur of grilles, railings, and gallery fronts add to the beauty of such buildings as a whole. In addition to these architectural brasses there are many portable antiques, ornate and historical.

Ecclesiastical brasses may be divided into two groups. First, there are those which have been consecrated to religious purposes, including the sacred vessels of the altar and the metal symbols used in Divine worship, and then there are the metal objects which serve the purpose of ornament and to some extent utility. Among the more decorative pieces of the first group are processional crosses, many of which are very beautiful, in some cases being ornamented with precious stones and enamels. Then there are the crosses on the altar, if anything still more decorative, for in fashioning them, especially for use in connection with the old Gothic cathedrals and churches in this country and on the Continent in mediÆval days, the artists concentrated their best endeavours to produce metal-work worthy of the sacred purpose for which it was to be used. Some of the bishops' and archbishops' crooks in the earlier days were made of ivory; then metal-work, richly chased and jewelled, came into vogue, and latterly some of the crooks are fine examples of the metal-workers' art.

Candlesticks.

The ornaments of the altar in Christian churches are for the most part simple in design. There are, however, many varieties of candlesticks, varying in size and degree from the larger ones which hold the Communion candles to the decorative seven-branched candelabra of light and tasteful design. The more important specimens are the massive candlesticks which are used in the chancel and in some of the larger cathedrals in other parts of the building. Such ecclesiastical bronzes are seldom obtainable, although there are some fine examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum in this country, and in the chief Continental museums. The donors of such objects spared no expense, and the modellers and founders treated such work very elaborately. Flemish and Spanish churches are especially rich in large candlesticks, and many of the Continental cathedrals possess wonderful examples. The prominence which has been given to candlesticks in public worship dates back to a period long before the foundation of the Christian Church, for the seven-branched candlestick was an important feature in the Jewish ceremonial. When the Roman conquerors took possession of Jerusalem, among the treasures taken from the Temple on the sack of the city, they carried away the golden candlesticks from the altar. So important was this sacred trophy that it was represented on the triumphal arch of Titus, preserving to the artists of the future its general characteristics of design.

The great bronze candlesticks in St Paul's Cathedral and in other English churches are to be admired but not collected; nevertheless there are some fine candlesticks in bronze and of polished brass offered for sale in the curio shops, and from time to time brought under the hammer in the London auction rooms. The illustration given in Fig. 19 is a remarkable example which may be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum. A fine Venetian bronze candelabrum (one of a pair), now in a private collection, is shown in Fig. 20.

Altar Brasses.

Most of the church plate so-called was of pewter and silver in early times; in more modern days of silver, and sometimes of metal plated with silver. There are, however, examples of metal chalices of bronze, some of which have been found in Ireland. The altar brasses in pre-Reformation days included brass censers and incense vessels, very interesting examples of which are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, being illustrated in Fig. 21. Of vases and other decorative altar brasses there are many. Some, probably, took their origin in older customs and were symbolical; the vases nowadays are for the most part used as receptacles for flowers.

Bordering on the secular vessels, yet associated with the altar, there are the alms-dishes, of which there are a great number in private collections of metal. They are mostly of brass, some quite plain, others engraved and highly ornamental. Some little time ago there was a special display of alms-dishes, two-score or more in number, exhibited at the Kelvingrove Exhibition at Glasgow. Some were covered over with scriptural pictorial designs, among the favourite being those illustrating the old story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; the episode of Samson and the lion; and the visit of the two spies to the Promised Land, returning carrying a large bunch of grapes. Such alms-dishes vary in size, seldom less than 12 in. in diameter, but ranging up to 20 in. Sometimes the collector is puzzled to find what he may regard as inappropriate mottoes on church vessels. On the other hand, it is not an uncommon thing to meet with religious devices or pious mottoes on platters and bowls which were obviously used as domestic vessels. This fact is explained in that at one time there was but little difference between secular and ecclesiastical plate, and the vessels were often used indiscriminately for church purposes and for the use of the household.

Metal Architectural Ornament.

The lectern is frequently of bronze or brass. The eagle with spread wings or other designs adopted by the metal-workers gave the artist plenty of scope. The altar rail and in a few instances the metal screen and grille are composed of elaborately chased brass or copper-work, sometimes cast, at others hammered. Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the coppersmith in connection with church metal-work is the ball and cross of St. Paul's, surmounting the great dome. It was made in the year 1821 by Benham and Froud, an old firm of coppersmiths. An illustration of this gigantic piece of work is given in Fig. 22. When viewed from beneath few would imagine that the cross, although so high up, is 30 ft. in height, and that its weight is upwards of one and a half tons. The occasional gilding of this triumph of the coppersmith's art is in itself a costly procedure.

Memorial Brasses.

The visitor to the country church, as well as the larger cathedral, finds much antiquarian interest in the tombs and monuments, and in the memorial tablets of the illustrious dead the history of their lives may often be read. In the older tombs the work of the sculptors in marble is frequently enriched by the addition of appropriate tablets of brass, sometimes inlaid with enamels. One of the most noted tombs is that in the centre of the chapel of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey, the tomb itself being closely guarded by the massive railings, which are of brass. The visitor to that chapel notes with interest the brass stall plates so rich in enamels, on which are the arms and crests of the knights who in times past occupied those stalls and hung their banners over them.

It may be contended that tombs and monuments cannot be collected, but those who visit such places may fill their notebooks with interesting data, and they may carry away with them accurate records and rubbings of the monumental tablets and the brasses on the tombs (for instructions how to take rubbings, see Wrinkles, p. 393). Such rubbings of old brasses can be kept in a portfolio or mounted and hung upon walls. They form a record, too, of the engraver's art, which was modified and altered to suit the change which went on in architectural design and to some extent in social and religious customs. The variety of brasses is seen when a good collection of rubbings is classified and arranged according to style, period, or locality. Some districts yield prolific returns. Throughout the counties of Gloucester, Somerset, and Norfolk many may be obtained, the more interesting specimens being secured from tombs dating from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. From such a series armorial representation as it became less real and of smaller importance can be traced. The costumes of the period, too, are very clearly shown, for in such a collection of brasses the value of armour in war is seen to change. In the earlier examples there is the chain mail of the cross-legged knights as seen on the early brasses of the Crusaders, the mediÆval armour of the Middle Ages when it had reached its strength, and the brasses of the Stuart days when the ornamental armour of that period had to a large extent lost its utility.

The ecclesiastical brasses on the tombs of bishops and other church dignitaries show the change which took place very gradually in the vestments worn, and indicate the alteration in ecclesiastical ritual in the cathedrals and churches at the time of the Reformation. The dissolution of the monasteries and the sacrilege which took place in the dismantled churches and religious houses caused valuable relics to be sold for old metal, and it was then that many old monuments and tombs lost their brasses. The influence of book knowledge and the change which came about in the style of script after the introduction of the printing-press is seen in the evolution of the lettering on church brasses. Indeed, in some of the older ones the form of the letters is the only indication left of the date of their engraving.

The engraver's art progressed with the art of the period in which he lived, and in a collection of rubbings may be seen the gradual training of the eye and hand until from meaningless pictures without background or perspective the artist was able to engrave on metal a beautifully realistic picture of the subject he had chosen. As a guide to a few indications of the period to which brasses belong, it may be mentioned that the decorative canopies on monumental brasses belong chiefly to the ornate period of art. The embattled canopies and the change to the decorative Gothic tell of the progress in ecclesiastical architecture until it reached its height between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, later brasses telling of its gradual decadence. Of the variety of subject it would be impossible to refer, for at all ages there have been many who would fit into niches between the extremes of the early fighting men amidst the nobles and knights who fell in battle, and those who apparently lived all their lives in the peaceful rural surroundings of some quiet English village, dying within sight of the old church where they had worshipped, and where they were eventually buried.

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