Italian bronzes—French art—Dutch brasswork—German metal-work.

The Italian renaissance in art exercised such a wide influence upon manufactured goods in this and other countries that the collector of antiques naturally turns to the achievements of the artists in metal who worked in Florence and Rome for the highest ideals he can seek. In this he is not disappointed, for just as the connoisseur of ancient art finds his delight in the bronzes of Greece and Rome, the collector of more modern art sees grace and beauty combined with skilful grouping in Italian craftsmanship. European influence has been brought to bear upon the metal-work of the world at different times, but it has not always come from the same country. At different periods the metal-workers of certain localities appear to have made their peculiar characteristics take precedence of others. In most of the European countries quite distinct styles and even unique treatment of metals have been noticeable; so much so that our museums to-day contain groups of metal-work having little or no affinity to one another, although coming, perhaps, from towns not far removed in point of geographical position. The collector recognizes as distinct the bronzes of Italy; the screens, candlesticks, and ecclesiastical metal-work of Spain; the beaten bronze, champlevÉ enamels, and the decorative brass of the Empire period of France; the eighteenth-century Dutch brasswork; the metal forged and cast in Germany, and the decorative copper and brass of Turkey showing such distinctly Oriental influence in Saracenic touch. To study all these rival styles at their best the collector, however large his private collection, must perforce visit either one of the more important Continental museums or the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington, where so many cases are filled with Continental works of art in gold, silver, and the baser metals. Local museums rarely possess a selection large enough for comparative purposes. The loan exhibits from the national collection, carefully selected as representative specimens, are very helpful, and many such loan cases strengthen local exhibits and add interest to them. In the United States of America public museums are well arranged with the view of showing the metal-work of different countries at varied periods, and many of them are peculiarly rich in exhibits of domestic metal-work which was taken over in the early days from Europe.

As a guide to curators and others wishful to secure the right kind of exhibits it may be useful to mention the contents of a case on view at a South coast town public library recently. There were some beautiful Italian bronzes of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a damascened candlestick from Venice, a Florentine statuette, a handsome cabinet handle chased with foliated ornament, a bronze mask of Pan, a table lamp stand with winged lions at the base, and a handsome ewer, the body of which was ornamented with foliage, around it figures representing the triumph of Bacchus, a typical seventeenth-century specimen. Among the minor objects in that case were vases from many countries, door knockers, and a few examples of Dutch metal-work, decorative and artistic.

Italian Bronzes.

The metal-workers from the sixth to the tenth centuries, when so many decorative bronzes were being made for St. Peter's and Italian churches, derived their inspirations from Byzantium, hence those early works were often inlaid with silver and gold, and were quite different from those of later date. Art developed, and gradually a more distinctive character was given to the bronze gates and candelabra which were made with such consummate skill. One of the greatest triumphs of that period was the great candelabrum in Milan Cathedral, wrought in the thirteenth century. Its height is 14 ft., and it has seven branches for candles, the stem being supported by four winged dragons. It is one mass of marvellous scrollwork, relieved by the introduction of figures, each one of which is perfect in itself—a study of expression and character. Casts of these remarkable pieces of metal-work may be seen at South Kensington.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the Florentine artists worked. It was then that statues in bronze were sculptured by Verrocchio, Donatello, and others. A century later the wonderful candlesticks in the Certosa, near Pavia, and in the cathedral at Padua, were made. It was about that time that Venetian metal-workers were fashioning so much that was beautiful in domestic utensils and the minor church ornaments.

From that time onward collectable brasses were made, and after long years of use they passed into the category of antiques, rendered beautiful by their artistic merits, and possibly by the touch of age. Even then there was an Oriental look about many of the designs, but it seldom intrudes, and does not spoil the effect of the forms and style so clearly Venetian. Such vessels were chiefly made for the then wealthy merchants of the city, and often their arms were incorporated into the design. Fig. 78 is a bronze oviform ewer made in Venice about 1530. Another beautiful vase is shown in Fig. 79. Other objects much favoured were candlesticks, hand-warmers, and perfume sprinklers, to which must be added the more strictly utilitarian.

The Spanish metal-workers do not appear to have developed a very well-defined school of metallic art of their own. They were especially noted for their highly ornamental jewellery; in the common metals they were influenced by Italy, and to some extent Germany. It is said that the finest piece of work accomplished in the country was the great sixteenth-century candelabrum or tenebrarium in Seville Cathedral, the work of Bart. Morel in 1562.

French Art.

Connoisseurs of the fine arts naturally regard enamels of Limoges as the greatest achievements of the country (see Chapter XVIII). There is, however, much to admire in the early unadorned metal-work, especially that made in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries—effigies in beaten copper, some portions of which were usually adorned by coloured "champlevÉ" enamel. They were afterwards desired by Englishmen, and some good examples of "imported" effigies are to be seen, a notable example being one on the tomb of William de Valence in Westminster Abbey, erected about 1296. Of domestic metal-work there are not many early pieces. In Fig. 82 is shown a cup or ewer of brass with artistic handle and spout ornamented with a grotesque mouth; the date assigned to it is 1570. It may be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, where also is deposited a fine seventeenth-century ewer or tankard with plain cylindrical body and a deep and long spout with fancy handle (see Fig. 81). There is also a trumpet of brass, dated 1738, in the same gallery; it has upon it the owner's monogram, "S.M.A.," ensigned with a count's coronet and crest.

Dutch Brasswork.

The brasswork from Holland, largely imported into this country at the commencement of the eighteenth century, although decorative, cannot be claimed as artistic. Most of the objects are strictly utilitarian, and the ornament stiff and formal; they were hammered by hand, an effective finish being made by small punches, repoussÉ work being occasionally added. Fig. 80, which represents one of the larger pieces, illustrates a highly ornamental cistern with cover and tap. Its shape is semicircular, a dome-shaped back acting as a hanger; that as well as the perforated grille under the cistern being ornamented. The chief ornament consists of star devices, the points of which are united together by curved lines composed of small straight indentations. In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a Dutch foot-warmer, the sides of which are ornamented with repoussÉ panels of flowers and circular bosses; in the centre of the top, which is slightly curved, is a medallion engraved "I.W.H.M. 1733," surrounded by open-work decoration and floral scrolls arranged in geometrical patterns, on either side of which are birds.

The brass milkcans used by modern milk sellers, and the beautifully ornamented churns and milk perambulators seen in some neighbourhoods, are not altogether new or the outcome of modern advertisement. In Holland brass ornament has been used on tinware for many years, and some very quaint old milkcans and dairy utensils in shining polished brass are met with by collectors who visit Holland. The milkcans of that country, or perhaps more correctly large bowls, in which milk and cream are served have double handles, and make extremely handsome flower-bowls or fern-pots on the table, although perhaps collectors would consider such a desecration an improper use for a genuine antique. Many of the chestnut roasters, skimmers, and brass chimney ornaments used in England in the eighteenth century came from Holland. The artists of that country were famous for the characteristic Dutch scenes engraved on their metal-work, just as they were for their tiles with quaint windmills and pictures of peasants in native costume on them. So famous has the collection of these brasses become that much modern metal-work, copies of genuine antiques, has been sent over for sale in London curio-shops. Some of these reproductions are excellent copies; others are "too new" and would scarcely deceive the amateur. Caution should be observed, especially when buying "old time" fire-brasses, knockers and trivets.

German Metal-Work.

Curios, as well as modern antiques "made in Germany," are not always labelled as such; there is, however, a distinctly German look about old metal-work from that country. Elaborate and massive with its wealth of floral embellishment, some of the German metal-work of early days stands out conspicuously. Some elaborate cast bronze gates and door furniture enriched the churches of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Augsburg and Nuremberg have always been famous centres for artistic metal work, and in those towns many objects large and small have been made. Among minor works are the very handsome lock plates and cases. The shapes of domestic utensils, especially of ewers, were very quaint. There is a German aquamanile or ewer in the form of an animal, embodying a lion and stag, along with several others equally as curious, in the British Museum. Nuremberg contributes to our national collection a variety of hand wash-basins in brass; the earlier examples being richly ornamented with engravings typifying different virtues and vices; St. George, the patron saint of England, also figures on some pieces. Turkish metal-work includes copper ewers, chased and decorated with enamels, mostly with handles and spouts, some of the sets or pairs consisting of ewer (ibrik) and basin (tisht). These copper vessels are sometimes embossed with scale ornaments. There are braziers and some vessels of bulbous form, mostly of bronze, and now and then Turkish collapsible lanterns of brass with pierced decorations are met with.

XVII
SUNDIALS,
CLOCKS,
AND BRASS
INSTRUMENTS