The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors (April, 1916)

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TheConnoisseur An Illustrated Magazine For Collectors Edited by C. R. Grundy Vol. XLIV. (JANUARY—APRIL, 1916) LONDON PUBLISHED BY THE Proprietor, W. CLAUDE JOHNSON, at THE EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISEMENT OFFICES OF THE CONNOISSEUR, AT 1, DUKE STREET, St. JAMEs’s, S.W. 1916

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THE SCHOLAR From the pastel by Francois Drouais

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APRIL, I9QI16. Naval and Military Heroes in By G. Woolliscroft Rhead THE ‘‘topical” pottery that recorded the glorious deeds of our soldiers and sailors, and gave the counterfeit presentments of the heroes themselves, forms one of the most interesting sections of the potter’s art. And this is especially the case since this excellent habit of recording current events by means of the material of pottery has at the present time practically fallen into desuetude. The list of naval and military heroes commences with the equestrian statue of the Duke of Cumberland, of which an excellent example is given from Mr. Falkner’s collection. Astbury had recorded earlier, but in low relief, in the form of teapots, bowls, and mugs, the victory of Admiral Vernon and the deeds of the good ship Burford at _ the taking of Portobello in 1739. Duke William of Cumber- land’ was the third son of George II., and was born in 1721. He was the hero of Fontenoy (although the issue of the battle was against him) and of Culloden. He was‘a born fighter, and the most popular commander of his time, albeit unpopular as a man. In the words of Horace Walpole, referring to his northern commission to replace Hawley after Fal- kirk—‘“‘ The great depend- ance is upon the duke; the soldiers adore him, and with reason; he has a lion’s courage, vast vigilance and activity, and, I am told, great military genius.” He was a strict dis- ciplinarian, not to say an No. I.—THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND BY RALPH WOOD FRANK FALKNER COLLECTION VoL. XLIV.—No. 176.—K 183 English Pottery inveterate martinet, and the habit increased in his later years and rendered him personally unpopular. “The laws of the country, my Lord!” he exclaimed on one occasion. ‘“‘I’ll make a brigade give laws, by God!” His personal unpopularity was, however, encouraged by his elder brother, the Prince of Wales, who was jealous of him. When the proposal was made to elect him a freeman of some city company, an alder- man said, ‘‘ Then let it be of the Butchers,” and he invartably appears as a butcher in the caricatures of the period. In December, 1746, appeared a print representing the figure of an ox with a calf’s head, standing on his hind legs, a cleaver in the one hand and slaughter axe in the other, a butcher’s tray on his breast, and a candle stuck in his little cocked hat. In the background are burn- ing houses, with the duke’s soldiers preventing the in- mates from escaping, and a gallows for the execution of rebels. The print is inscribed with the following verses :— ‘Qld Atsop, who in morals did surpass, Wrapt in a Lion’s Skin, pro- duc’d an Ass, And sure as fit a Cloathing we provide, Who dress a Butcher in an Oxe’s Hide. The Candle serves his Foe-men to disclose, The Tray’s a Breast - Plate, to ward of their Blows. His Axe, Knives, Clever, is prepar’d for fight, A Death & Slaughter are his sole delight. Thus arm’d he Terror all aro‘ doth spread, Had he not borrow” from a Calf his head.”

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The Connoisseur Being mixed up in a disturbance at the Hay- market Theatre in 1749 and losing his sword, a voice in the crowd cried, _“ Billy the butcher has lost his knife ! ” The latter part of his comparatively short life (he died suddenly in 1765) was marked by ill-health and misfor- tune. His campaign in Hanover had been a failure, and, upon his return from thence, the _ king, 2n an interview of four minutes’ duration, charged him with ruin- ing his country and his army—with spoiling everything, and with losing his own reputa- tion; and on the same evening, at cards, the king exclaimed, upon the duke entering the room, ‘‘ Here is my son, who has ruined me and disgraced himself.” Cumberland may be said to have occasioned the production of two great works of art, or, as we might say, a little one and a big one— Gay wrote his fables to amuse him as a child, and Handel composed /udas Maccabeus in his honour. The Chelsea bust, which appears in the Willett collection, was probably produced to celebrate the victory of Culloden in 1746, and would therefore be one of the earliest productions of the Chelsea factory. Whieldon’s version was doubtless modelled from this bust, though its general treatment and the fine quality of its mottled glazes give it a character which is quite its own. ‘Billy the butcher” observed, at Culloden, a wounded Highlander ‘who seemed to smile defiance of them.” “Shoot!” thundered he to a young lieu- tenant beside him. The young man refused, and thereby made an enemy of the ‘“ butcher” for life. The young lieutenant was James Wolfe, afterwards the hero of Quebec. There are few more stirring No. II].—Bow STATUETTE WILLETT COLLECTION, incidents in military annals thanthe storming of Quebec in 1759. Wolfe’s charge to his men anticipated the famous signal at Tra- falgar :—‘‘ The officers and men will remember what their country ex- pects from them, and what a determined body of soldiers are capable of doing against five weak battalions, mingled with a disorderly pea- santry. The soldiers must be attentive to their officers, and reso- lute in the execution of their duty.” It was, as in the case of Nelson, his last order. In taking up a position on some high ground, he exposed himself to the enemy’s sharpshooters. He was hit three times, the last proving fatal. “They run,” cried an officer who supported. the dying general. “I protest theyrun.” ““Who run?” asked Wolfe, as he raised himself with difficulty. ‘‘The French,” was the reply. ‘‘ Then,” said he, ‘‘I die happy.” Wolfe’s body was landed at Portsmouth amid the booming of the minute guns, and the British people were called upon to rejoice over a great victory, and THE MARQUIS OF GRANBY BRIGHTON “mourn the death of a hitherto almost unknown hero. 184 The difficulty of the entire absence of engraved portraits was soon surmounted by the enterprising printsellers—old plates of forgotten celebrities were raked up, the names erased, and that of Wolfe sub- stituted. Thus it happens that the existing engraved portraits of Wolfe are so delightfully varied in their character ! Wolfe, the potter of Stoke, claimed to be a descen- dant of the famous general. He made a number of jugs-and other articles with transfer prints of the Death of General Wolfe, atter the picture by Benjamin West. It is possible that he may also be the author of the curious little bust which appears at South

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Naval and Military Heroes in English Pottery Kensington and in other collections, and is a late production in enamel colouring. This bears some far-off resemblance to the only authentic portrait of Wolfe—that inthe National Portrait Gallery, which is believed to have been painted by a fellow-officer during his last campaign ; but the features of the bust are that of an older man than was Wolfe. Asa bust, however, apart from _por- traiture, it is a good one. The’well-known Bow statuette was probably pro- duced soon after the event In 1750. Thackeray has drawn for us, in Zhe Virginians, a spirited pen portrait of Wolfe :— “There was little of the beautiful in his face. He was very lean and very pale ; his hair was red, his nose and cheek-bones were high; but he had a fine courtesy towards his elders, a cordial greeting towards his friends, and an anima- tion in conversation which caused those who heard him to forget, even to admire his homely looks. ‘““*Who is that tallow- faced Put with the carroty hair?’ says Jack Morris, on whom the Burgundy had had its due effect. ‘Mr. Warrington explained that this was Lieutenant- Colonel Wolfe, of the zoth Regiment. ‘** Never saw such a figure in my life!’ cries Jack Morris. - ‘Did you—March ?’” Echoes of American Independence appear in the impressive bust of Washington by Ralph Wood. Marked “ Ka. Wood, Burslem,” the example at South Kensington is in the white, but it was probably also coloured, either in the Ralph Wood glazings or in enamel. The coloured bust in the Willett collection is later, and is probably by Enoch Wood. Height, 8 in. Portraits of Benjamin Franklin appear on all kinds of ware. The coloured statuette in the Willett collection represents him as standing delivering an No. III.—Bow STATUETTE WILLETT COLLECTION, BRIGHTON 185 oration, with book in left hand and right arm out- stretched. Height, 13 in. Rodney cups and busts date from 1780, the year of the admiral’s victory over the Spaniards off Cape St. Vincent. He had received orders to relieve Gibraltar, then closely blockaded,and had sailed from Plymouth Sound with twenty-one ships of the line, a number of frigates, and some three hundred storeships and transports. He intercepted _ theSpanishsquadron,under Don Juan de Langara, making its way towards Cadiz. ‘The victory was a sufficiently remarkable one, although the Spaniards were greatly inferior in strength, as the action was fought at night, during a storm, and with some dangerous rocks to the lee- ward. Of the nine Spanish ships engaged, only two escaped. Rodney’s popularity, however, greatly increased after his victory over De Grasse at Dominica, in Martinique, two years later. De Grasse, who was pre- paring to attack Jamaica, -had the advantage in this action of the co-operation of fourteen Spanish ships of the line, otherwise the opposing forces were about equal. Rodney, who had been joined by Hood, took up a position at St. Lucia, awaiting the movement of the enemy, which took place on the 8th of April. Rodney immediately pursued, sighted his adversary next morning under the lee of Dominica, and a partial action was fought. The final struggle took place on the 12th, the fighting beginning in the morning and continuing throughout the day. Rodney succeeded in breaking the French line, completely routing his adversary, the rearmost ships being everpowered and taken. At sunset the flagship of De Grasse, the Vil/e de Faris, surrendered to the Barfleur, thus ending one of the severest sea-fights on record. Rodney, however, GENERAL WOLFE

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The Connotsseur failed to follow up his vic- tory, for which neglect he was sharply criticised, Hood maintaining that there never was an instance of a great fleet so completely beaten and not pursued, and that at least twenty ships might have been captured. The victory was, nevertheless,a most popular one. The thanks of Parlia- ment were voted to Rodney, and he was createda Baron, with a pension of £2,000 settled on the title. in per- petuity. He died in 1792. The mug in the Willett collection (No. 179) ds well modelled, in a white body with pale greenish glaze, lightly coloured in enamel; its rim is decorated with naval emblems in relief. It may be taken to’be one of the earlier examples. Height, 6 in. There is a smaller ex- ample, less characteristic in modelling and less re- fined in its enamel colour- ing, inscribed round the rim, “Success to Lord Rodney.” Height, 44 in. A similar cup appears in copper lustre, inscribed “‘ L. D. Rodney.” A curious teapot, shaped as a bust, appears in the above-named collection, of a buff body, slightly coloured with manganese and orange, inscribed on each side, “Success to Lord Rodney.” Height, 44 in. Rodney cups continued to be made for a consider- able time, the character, however, deteriorating. They were also made at Herculaneum, where a colony of Staffordshire potters was established in 1796 by Messrs. Worthington, Humble and Holland. Many of the more popular Staffordshire vases were imitated here, the character in most instances poorer. In the Falkner Sidebotham collection isa Liverpool Rodney cup, with naval trophies round the rim, the handle formed of his pigtail. Height, 64 in. An excellent jug, fine in proportion and skilful in modelling, with Rodney’s head forming the spout, was made at the Derby works: the body of the jug painted with flowers, and inscribed with the date of No. IV.—BUST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON COLLECTION OF MR. A. E. CLARKE 186 the victory over De Grasse, “ April the 12th, 1782.” The “Noble Duke of York” was zo¢ a born mili- tary commander. .He is the hero of the doggrel which describes him as marching his men up a very high ill and marching them down again, the song being popular in Stafford- shire as late as 1870. He was handsome, affable and good-natured, the favourite son of his father, George III., who gave him a Field Marshal’s baton in spite of his blunders and excesses in Flanders. The Duke of York’s school at Chelsea, which he founded, serves to remind his countrymen of his genero- sity and public spirit, and the column at the end of Waterloo Place of his com- plete failure as a general. The curious little bust which appears in various collections is one of a pair, its pendant being Eng- land’s greatest sea-captain, Nelson! There is a strong family likeness between the two (the busts); the modelling is feeble, and the colouring is in enamel. They are evidently the production of some smaller potter. They are stamped at the back respectively, ‘Duke of York” and ‘‘Nelson.” Height,‘ 6 in. The stoneware jug of Nelson, from General Terry’s collection, is stamped Doulton & Watts, who com- menced business at Lambeth in 1818. Height, 124 in. “Ze petit caporal” naturally filled aconsiderable space in the minds of the Staffordshire potters, as he did of all Europe during the time that his star was in the ascendant. The bust of Napoleon as First Consul is unmarked, but may be assigned to Wood & Caldwell, and belongs to one of the first years of the nineteenth century (the election of Napoleon as First Consul took place in December, 1799). It is well modelled and carefully coloured; it appears in a number of collections. Its height is roin. A smaller bust was subsequently made, probably after Waterloo, as it represents Napoleon in his later years. The head

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No. V.—BUST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON No. VI.—MUG FORMED OF THE HEAD OF LORD RODNEY WILLETT COLLECTION, BRIGHTON WILLETT COLLECTION, BRIGHTON No. VII.—ASTBURY MUG No. VIII.—SALT-GLAZE MUG THE TAKING OF PORTOBELLO THE TAKING OF PORTOBELLO COLLECTION OF MR. A. E. CLARKE COLLECTION OF MR. A. E. CLARKE 187

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and shoulders are delicately tinted. The piece has a marbled base. Height, 83 in. The Staffordshire men, however, paid their atten- tions to ‘‘ Boney” more in the form of engraving than in modelled work, as giving them a freer hand, and as affording them better op- portunities of “‘ having their say ” in the form of inscrip- tion. Thus we have on an earthenware printed mug, “ Bonny in his New Clothes,” referring to the coronation of Napoleon by the Pope in 1804. Ona lustred jug, “‘ Jack Frost attacking ‘Bony’ in Rus- sia,” and ‘‘Little Bony sneaking into Paris with a white feather in his tail.” On a printed mug, a “Cock and Bull Story,” Napoleon on the one side of the Channel as a French Cock and John Bull as a Bullonthe other. Ona New Hall jug,the King of “‘ Brob- dingnag and Gulliver,” representing George III. viewing Napoleon through a telescope ; on another jug from New Hall, lander playing upon Napoleon as bagpipes. On a The Connoisseur No. IX.—cCOLOURED EARTHENWARE BUST OF ee ae NAPOLEON AS FIRST CONSUL COLLECTION PS a High- OF MR. A. E. CLARKE Nos. X. AND XI.—TWO NAPOLEON TRANSFER PRINTED JUGS 188 in 1852 and after. COLLECTION OF cream-ware mug, Buona- parte as the monstrous beast of the Apocalypse, one of the seven heads of the beast uttering the word “Blasphemy.” Finally, Na- poleon appears suspended from a gallows, the piece inscribed, ‘‘The end of Boney,” the potter thus echoing the universal cry of France and of Europe, ‘** Assez de Bonaparte.” Of the many represen- tations of the victor of Napoleon, by far the most interesting is the little statuette now in the Han- ley Museum, modelled by Ralph Ridgway, brother of Job and George Ridgway, the former being the builder of the Cauldon Place Works. ‘The piece is excellently modelled, the colouring being in enamel. It is unmarked, but its authorship may be taken as correct, as the piece be- longs to Mr. John Ridg- way, J.P., and has never been out of the family. Height, 11 in. Wellington was a favourite subject for representation up to the time of his death His form and features do duty MR. A. E. CLARKE

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Naval and Military Heroes in English Pottery No. XII.—bBusT OF LORD NELSON, FORMING A JUG STONEWARE INSCRIBED ‘‘ NILE, 1798,” ‘* TRAFALGAR, 1805,” ‘* ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS{ DUTY” STAMPED DOULTON AND WATTS‘ COLLECTION OF GENERAL TERRY for all manner of things— statuettes, busts, jugs, mugs, cups, and even furniture supports, which were common in the . cottages in Staffordshire, and served to raise the different articles of furni- ture, chests of drawers, clocks, etc., from the tiled flooring. At the close of the eigh- teenth century England occupied a_ peculiarly advantageous position— trade was flourishing, was going up by leaps and bounds. France had suf- fered the loss, one by one, of her colonies and settle- ments—of Canada, in the middle of the century, wrested from her by - No. XIV.—PRATT PLAQUE COLLECTION OF MR. A. E. CLARKE ADMIRAL DUNCAN 189 No. XIII.—sbuST OF THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER INSCRIBED ON BACK: ‘* ALEXANDER AECT 35 MOSCOW BURNT EUROPE PRESERVED I812” "WOOD AND CALDWELL | :«: COLLECTION OF GENERAL TERRY Wolfe ; of India by Clive and Cook. Spain and Holland hadalso suffered, and were destined to suffer again. Pitt carried the war into the very harbours, of France. A Staffordshire printed jug records the ‘Glorious Defeat of the French Fleet off Brest by Earl Howe, Junethe rst,1794.” Lord Howe also appears as the subject of a Derby biscuit statuette, well modelled by Stephan, who also produced figures of Rodney and Hood. Two small busts of Duncan and De Winter commemorate the victors of Camperdown. Dun- can’s ship, the Venerable,

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The Connoisseur No. XV.—BLUE DASH CHARGER THE OLD PRETENDER COLLECTION OF MR. A. E. CLARKE iy; with the Vryferd in tow, appears on a painted jug, inscribed— ‘*Vain are the boasts of Belgick’s sons, When faced by British ships and guns. Tho’ de Winter does in Autumn come, Brave DUNCAN brings his harvest home.” The excellent coloured bust of Admiral Sir William No. XVII.—PRATT JUG COLOURED EARTHENWARE IN THE FORM OF A SAILOR SEATED ON A CHEST WILLETT COLLECTION Sidney Smith, probably by Wood & Caldwell, appear- ing in many collections, reminds us of the defeat of ‘“Bonapartte at D’Acre.” The first years of the century saw the terrible battle of Copenhagen, by which Denmark was forced to seek an armistice, during which Nelson sailed up the Baltic to pepper the fleets of Russia and Sweden. Five years afterwards, Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar BY No. XVI.—FIGURE OF WELLINGTON RALPH RIDGWAY HANLEY MUSEUM ~ completely annihilated the French and Spanish fleets, 190 and left England the unquestioned mistress of the sea. Ney, ‘“‘le brave de braves,” was the man of whom Napoleon once said—so much impressed was he with his courage and resources in the Russian campaign— ‘“T have two hundred millions in my coffers, and I would give them all for Ney.” Marshal Ney was true to Napoleon, though not to himself. After the capture of Paris, he had made strong protestations of loyalty to Louis XVIII., and was sent to oppose the escaped prisoner from Elba ;

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BOY WITH DOG [Photo Mansell BY J. Be. C. GREUZE In the Wallace Collection

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Naval and Military Heroes in English Pottery but his enthusiasm for his old master, and possibly his belief in his ultimate ‘success, overcame his scruples, so he joined issue with Napoleon, and served under him at Waterloo. He was subsequently condemned to death for high treason, and shot in the Gardens of the Luxembourg before the fatal year, so big with consequences, had expired. A bust of Ney appears in the uniform of the Consulate, on oblong pedestal. Height, 114 in. Nor were the rank and file neglected by the potters. Astbury made a number of little figures in his system of differently coloured clays, of which a cavalry soldier in the Frank Falkner collection is a characteristic example. Similar figures, mounted and on foot, appear in tortoiseshell ware. Jugs, mugs and other vessels illustrate, both in modelled, coloured and printed work, soldiers’ and sailors’ farewell and return. A Staffordshire cream-ware jug is printed with a view of Green- wich Hospital and the ‘Sailor's Adieu,” in- scribed, ‘‘What should tear me from the arms of my Dearest Polly but the undeniable calls of my country, 1n whose cause I have engag’d my Honour and my Life.” We have also “ Beat- ing up for recruits”; and the more tragic side of war is illustrated by a figure of a Greenwich pensioner with both legs amputated. Then we have soldiers and sailors carousing. An excellent jug in the form of a sailor seated ona chest appears in the Willett collection, with the following breezy in- scription :— ‘ Hollo, Brother Briton, Whoever Thou be, Sit down on That chest of Hard Dollors by me, And drink a health to all sealors Bold” —‘‘sealor” being the Staffordshire vernacular “WOOD AND CALDWELL No. XVIII.—FIGURE OF BRITANNIA 193 for sailor. This is by the second Felix Pratt, and is an excellent example of a number of similar wares produced by that interesting potter. It is unmarked, except by that indelible stamp of character that all good works of art possess, a mark which is as impos- sible to forge as it is impossible for the clear-sighted to mistake. Pratt also made a number of jugs and other articles of good modelled relief and quite excellent colour commemorating the different victories of his time (roughly between 1780 and 1815). These include a Cumberland jug, on which the duke appears on horseback, with a representation on the reverse of Hercules slaying the Hydra; a “ Duncan” jug, with a bust of the Admiral and two ships in full sail; a ‘““York and Coburg” jug, with an equestrian figure of the Duke of York, and on the reverse Prince Coburg ; a Jervis jug, with the Admiral rising out of the sea and flourishing a trum- pet, commemorating the victory over the Spanish fleet off St. Vincent in 1797. It would be futile to claim the things we have been considering as his- torical documents of the first rank, as in no sin- gle instance was the Staffordshire potter, or for that matter any modeller working for the different china fac- tories, able to obtain his material first-hand, but was dependent for his information upon the various prints, sta- tues, etc., already exist- ing. Nevertheless, the pieces in question, in most instances, are pro- duced with a sufficiency of skill, andin some cases display artistic power of avery high order. They certainly serve to illus- trate, in a very graphic and convincing manner, avery remarkable period of British history. EARTHENWARE FRANK FALKNER COLLECTION

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The Plate of the City Companies of London Fishmongers’ Company THOSE who wander over London Bridge will often have observed the stately home of the Fishmongers’ Company, which ranks high amongst its kindred fraternities, occupying the position of the fourth amongst the twelve great Companies of Lon- don. It existed at a very early period, and although its charters and archives were destroyed in the Great Fire, there is evidence of its establishment prior to the reign of Henry II. In the charter granted to the Company by King Edward III. in 1364 it is stated that ‘“‘the mystery of Fishmongers had grants from the king’s progenitors in ancient times.” The antiquity of the Company is well established. The large number of charters granted to them, the great privileges assigned to them, and the general im- portance of their trade, caused them to occupy a very high position among the Livery Companies. We need not concern ourselves with the general history of the guild—how there were originally two communities, the Salt Fishmongers and the Stock Fishmongers, which were united by the charter of Richard II., separated by Henry VII., and finally joined by his royal successor. The Company possessed at one time no less than six halls, and it was not until the time of Henry VII. that they abandoned their other residences ‘‘for their house in Thames Street, of the gift of Lord Fan- hope.” The Great Fire wrought terrible devastation in Thames Street, where large quantities of oil, hemp, tar, spirits, and other combustibles were stored. Starting in Pudding Lane, in the vicinity, it crossed the end of London Bridge, and the old hall must have been the first large building de- stroyed by the conflagration. It consisted of a large square block of masonry, having towers at the angles, and a central gateway facing the river. It had two courtyards, separated by the high-roofed and turreted dining-hall. Upon the ashes of the old hall the architect, Mr. Jarman, built a new edifice ; he also Part II.—The By P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A. 194 erected Drapers’ Hall at the same period. When new London Bridge was built in 1831, the Fish- mongers reared their present hall, which is a very fine and dignified structure, overlooking the stately river. It contains many interesting treasures, por- traits of departed worthies, royal portraits, relics of bygone naval battles, a fine statue of St. Peter (the patron saint of fishers), and one of Sir William Wal- worth, Lord Mayor, who slew the rebel Tyler in the reign of Richard II. We are, however, concerned only with the plate that is now in the possession of the Company. As the records were destroyed by the Fire, we cannot trace how much of their former treasures has been sold at various times. During the Reformation period much of their property was seized by the king’s commissioners, and they paid no less a sum than £18,744 to the royal exchequer in order to redeem it. That was an enormous amount of money in those days, and we may conclude that much valu- able treasure of plate was sold ‘to enable them to realise it. As I have said, the Great Fire over- whelmed the old hall with a great and sudden de- struction, and must have destroyed nearly all their possessions of gold and silver plate. In fact, there is only one piece that I ‘can find earlier than the disastrous date 1666. This is a frosted silver cup on baluster stem (height, 14 in. by 7 1n.; weight, 49 0z.), thus inscribed: ‘‘ The gift of Mr. Abraham Johnson, Prime Warden of ye Worshipful Company of Fish- mongers, London, anno dni 1664.” It is engraved with the arms of the Company and those of the donor. - But even this piece will not pass muster, as the hall-mark gives the date 1677 (maker’s mark ‘““T. R.”), and the Company’s records contain an entry: ‘‘Bought by Mr. Southealt, given by Mr. Alderman Johnson to this Company by his last will.” So evidently the date 1664 refers only to the date of the donor’s office as Prime Warden, and not to the

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The Plate of the CUPS antiquity of the cup. There is, therefore, no evi- dence that any plate now in the possession of the Company survived the Great Fire. Since writing the above I have, however, discovered one earlier piece that somehow escaped the Fire. It is a silver salt, parcel-gilt, 14 inches high, with a base 12 inches. It was bequeathed by John Rushout, Prime Warden, in 1654. He came from Flanders, and was the ancestor of Lord Northwick. It is a curious piece, formed of three escallop shells, supported by tails of dolphins ridden by boys who hold coral and escallop shells, and in the centre is a naked boy. The earliest piece in the Treasury is a silver tankard, with cover and bow handle, bequeathed by Daniel Pennington. It has the hall-mark of 1666. Its height is 6 inches, diameter 54 inches, and It is inscribed: “The gift of Daniel Pennington, 166%,” and bears the arms of the Company and those of the donor. Mr. J. Wrench Towse, the esteemed Clerk of the Company, whose excellent work describing the portraits, pictures, plate, and other treasures now in the hall, has been most valuable to me in the preparation of this article, states that these are the arms of Lord Muncaster, whose patronymic is Pennington or Penington. This piece must have been the sole possession of the Company after the Fire had de- stroyed all their other treasures, and, with the curious salt, must have appeared somewhat lonely. It, however, soon attracted others. The story of the City Companies reveals the true English character. After enduring the most appalling misfortunes, an Englishman will always stir himself and recover his strength. In all periods of their history the Companies weighs 30 ounces. 195 City Companies of London THE GIFT OF JAMES PAULE, ABRAHAM JOHNSON, JOHN OWEN, RICHARD NORTON, AND PEAKE did the same. Scarcely were the flames died down ere they began to build again, and although the members were impoverished, they soon began to replenish their treasury. A frosted cup on a baluster stem is inscribed: “The gift of John Owen, Esq,, Prime Warden* of this Company anno dni 1668, 1669, 1670. In which yeares this Hall was new built, after ye dreadfull fire in 1666.” ‘The date of the cup is 1671. During the next decade several gifts were made. In 1671 Dame Anne Dawes pre- sented for her late husband, Sir Jonathan Dawes, Sheriff and Master, a large loving-cup, silver-gilt, with a large baluster stem and acanthus leaves on the base, 15 inches high. In 1676 William Allington presented a large silver basin and ewer. This basin, or rosewater dish, is quite plain, except that on the rim are engraved the arms of the Company and those of the donor, who was Prime Warden in 1676. It is 24 inches in diameter, and the same arms appear on the ewer, which is plain with bow handle, lip, and strap round the centre. ‘The hall-marks of both show that they were made in 1670, six years before they were pre- sented, by a maker whose mark is ‘‘ P.P.” inclosed in a heart. A large silver-gilt loving-cup was given by Richard Norton, Master in 1678; it has a date-mark of 1675. At the close of his Mastership in 1680, Sir Richard How presented a handsome silver tankard bearing his own and the Company’s arms. The * It may be noted that the chief ruler of the Fishmongers’ Company is often styled Prime Warden, that office correspond- ing to that of Master in the other guilds.

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The Connoisseur _maker’s mark, is ‘‘A. H.” surmounted by a star, and inclosed in a shield. The height is 113 inches, and its weight nearly 90 ounces. In 1682 Sir Simon Lewis gave another large tankard with cover. On London, Master of ‘the Fishmongers. It bears the date 1696, and is the earliest example of a Monteith known to the great authority on plate, the late Mr. Cripps. He tells us that these punch-bowls derived ALLINGTON ROSEWATER DISH AND EWER, DATE-MARK 1670 the top of the handle are two dolphins. The donor, who was Sheriff in 1679-80, presented this gift in acknowledgment of ‘‘the extraordinary favour to him for the use of the Hall and rooms in the tyme of his late Shrievalty.” © The Company possesses an old Hungarian silver alms-dish dated 1681, which was presented in quite recent times by Mr. J. Travers Smith, Prime Warden 1870 and 1890. ‘The treasures of plate were slowly growing, and several pieces were added during the next decade. James Paule, Master in 1690, presented a loving-cup, and a similar one was given by an unknown benefactor, save that his arms denote that he belonged to the family of Peake of London. A large Monteith, known as the John Bull bowl, was presented by Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of 196 TANKARDS, DATES 168I AND 1669 their name from a gentleman of fashion named Monteith, who was remarkable for wearing a scalloped coat. In King’s Art of Cookery occur the lines— ‘*New things produce new words, and so Monteith Has by one vessel saved himself from Death.” Like this gentleman’s coat, the vessel had ‘‘ a move- able rim ornamented around the top with escallops, in which glasses were placed with their feet outwards for the purpose of bringing them into the room. The bowl was, of course, brought in empty, each gentle- man fancying he had an especial talent for concocting the beverage, and a silver ladle and a lemon-strainer were brought in with it.”* There is another large Monteith, very similar in style, of the date 1698, and * Old English Plate, by W. J. Cripps, C.B., F.S.A., p. 329.

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The Plate of the City Companies of London made by “‘ John Ruslen at Ye Golden Cup in Swithen ? Lane,” who also fashioned the accompanying ladle. The same maker produced the large silver salver, ‘\ a silver tankard with cover and large bow handle, bear- ing the arms of the Company, and some handsome silver candlesticks were added in 1703 and 1704. 4 ae aonb - ih ae wt ‘ . eres : ins . 4 a eimai SILVER CANDLESTICKS AND SALVERS 144 inches in diameter. No donor’s name appears upon it, but Mr. Towse has discovered in the Court Book a reference to it as having been given by Sir Richard How “‘for their former regards and kindness towards him.” A very similar salver by the same The first pair were presented by Sir William Withers. As in the example in the collection of the Merchant Taylors, branches have been added later, the donor being Samuel Smith, in 1767. The stem is in the form of a Doric fluted column with an octagonal foot. ROSEWATER DISH, PURCHASED AT THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS’ SALE TYRONE CUP, THE GIFT OF THE EARL OF TYRONE, 1747 maker, of the same date, was given by Sir William Coles, Master in 1697. When the eighteenth century dawned the Com- pany’s prosperity began to increase, and the members flourished, giving of their bounty generous gifts to the treasury. John Ruslen again produced, in 1700, another item, 197 The second pair were given by Sir John Buckworth, Sheriff of London. On the base is the following inscription :— Amicitiz Tessera Johan* Buckworth Mil* & Bar" Societatis Pisca Custo* p™ ~ et Vic Com’ Londini Anno 1704.

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The Connoisseur John Ruslen wasagain the maker of these, and branches were added some years later. In 1717 a rosewater dish and ewer were given by Robert Oxwick, in 1739, and eight years later the Company became possessed of the Tyrone cup It is very handsome, and elaborately (silver-gilt). ROSEWATER DISH AND EWER the Right Hon. Sir James Bateman, Lord Mayor, bearing the arms of the Company and of the donor. The maker was “‘ David Williame im the Pall Mall.” Two large candlesticks were presented by Robert Kendal Cater, Alderman, in memory of his uncle, AFTER A DESIGN BY CELLINI ornamented with fruit and flowers, and on the base the four elements. On the cover appear representa- tions of the four Seasons and the four quarters of the globe, enriched with fruit surmounted by an Indian pineapple. The handles consist of two satyrs’ heads MONTEITH BOWLS, DATES 1696 AND 1698 CUP, DATE-MARK 1677 198 CUP WITH DOUBLE HANDLES, DATE-MARK 1703

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The Plate of the City Companies of London and a representation of music. This elaborate cup was made by William Grundy, and is inscribed : ‘‘ The gift of the R! Hon** Marcus, Earl of Tyrone, 1747, OVAL ROSEWATER DISH, THE GIFT OF RICHARD SYMONS, 1749 SIR JAMES BATEMAN, 1717 TANKARD, 1700 on the granting to His Lordship a Lease of 3 lives of the Company’s Irish Estate known as the manor of Walworth.” It is a very interesting and curious cup, and a triumph of the silversmith’s art. Richard Symons, Prime Warden, presented a hand- some oval-shaped rosewater dish in 1749, with his own arms engraved upon it and those of the Company, and three years later they caused to be made a very massive silver chandelier (parcel-gilt), 3 ft. 9 in. high, 3 ft. ro in. across the branches (which number seven- teen), ‘fin grateful remembrance of Sir Thomas Knesworth, a principal benefactor of the Worshipful Company, London 1752.” ‘The body of the chande- lier is composed of three large dolphins entwining round a rock with seaweed, and on the upper part is a pineapple. A Clerk of the Company, Mr. Harding Tomkins, having bequeathed 4 20 to the corporation, they resolved to purchase in 1759 a helmet-cup similar to that presented by Sir James Bateman, which we have already examined. The latter had a mermaid on the handle, but the Company decided to substitute for the lady a ‘‘mareman.” ‘This was accomplished by Thomas Whipham and Charles Wright, of Ave Mary Lane, who also did,some work for the Merchant ‘Taylors’ Company. The nineteenth and twentieth-century members of the guild have not failed to follow in the footsteps of 199 their predecessors in presenting their corporation with gifts of modern art; but these modern works concern not the collector of old plate, and excite not his OVAL ROSEWATER DISH, THE GIFT OF HELMET-CUP, WITH MERMAN HANDLE, 1759 HELMET-CUP, WITH MERMAID HANDLE, THE GIFT OF SIR JAMES BATEMAN, I717 interest. We may, however, glance at some of these recent works of art. The most striking is the Doncaster race shield of 1866. It is a very fine specimen of the silversmith’s art. In the centre is a group representing the meeting of Bolingbroke and the Earl of Westmoreland at Doncaster, and on the outer border are medallions of Roman, Greek, and English races. This shield formerly belonged to the late Marquis of Hastings, and at the sale of his effects it was bought by the Company. ‘There is a beautifully designed rosewater dish and ewer (electro) modelled after a design by Cellini, and another fine rosewater dish, of unknown date, purchased at the sale of the goods of the same late marquis. There is one gift which, perhaps, the Company may prefer to hide in the most obscure corner of their treasury, or even to throw into the neighbouring Thames. It is a handsome gold snuff-box which was presented by H.I.M. the German Emperor in com- memoration of his visit to the City of London. I gather that it was given to Sir William Lawrence, Alderman, and bequeathed to the Company in 1897. Another snuff-box has a more pleasing association. It was given by Colonel Cowell Stepney, and was made from a fragment of the tree under which the Duke of Wellington stood for some hours at Waterloo. The silver model of a Viking ship is not without

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The Connoisseur interest, and I ought to have recorded before the two silver staff heads for the. beadles of the date 1724-26. They are richly ornamented with dolphins of plate possessed by this Company, but my task would have been impossible without the aid of the Clerk of the Company, Mr. J. Wrench Towse, who Sin ‘ er oe , A Sete OE - ee THE DONCASTER SHIELD, PURCHASED BY THE COMPANY AT THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS’ SALE -and cross keys, and on one is a merman in a hel- met, ready fearlessly to fight with a sword, and upon the other a mermaid who is preparing her weapons of offence or defence with the aid of a mirror and a comb. I have endeavoured to record the chief treasures most courteously placed at my disposal his valuable work on the portraits, pictures, plate, etc., in the possession of the Company, and has allowed me to make use of some of the excellent illustrations that adorn his book. I desire to express my grateful thanks to him for his great kindness. 200

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NINA (MDLLE. DUGAZON) BY F. JANINET, AFTER C. HOIN, 1787

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254 3 re oe are as La re aed EP jit ny: FS #

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The Pictorial History of ShaKespeare’s Birthplace By Henry C. Shelley On the programme which has been arranged for the celebration, at the end of this month and the beginning of next, of the tercentenary of Shake- speare’s death, a prominent position has been assigned to a pilgrimage to Stratford-on-Avon. There are various engagements for that occasion, chief among them being a visit to that neat little cottage in Henley Street which is accepted as the birthplace of the poet. Whether the facts correspond to tradition is at least open to question. Sir Sidney Lee was among the doubters when he drafted the earliest version of his Life of Shakespeare. ‘‘Some doubt,” he wrote in 1897, ‘‘is justifiable as to the ordinarily accepted scene of his birth.” But a birthplace-trustee change has since modified his views. In the new and re- vised edition of the Zz there is no reference to that “justifiable” doubt. Perhaps the poet’s biographer realises that his official position in connection with the Henley Street shrine entails greater circum- spection of language in describing the house which attracts some forty thousand sixpence-paying visitors every year. As, however, it ill becomes the Shakespearean to ‘worship shadows and adore false shapes,” the ques- tion as to whether the poet was born in this particular by . pint v j , s * . ¥ fat terv-ehlaee. NDP Ae yw $44 verte worn PBS cote yy ex ae wv? é x le. tee ¥ ae eS : ” Frain <8 Ole. SS bd al. om Lae liner, THE BIRTHPLACE myhny tf #4 203 44.5 é ott Rogie fe FROM THE ETCHING MADE IN 1788 BY COLONEL PHILIP DE LA MOTTE

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The house ought to be faced boldly and regardless of consequences. It must be admitted, then, even though such candour is rare, that there is an older tradition, which is somewhat fatal to the claims of the Henley Street house. A late echo of that tradition sounded in the ears of Washington Irving in 1815. Did not the venerable sexton who showed him over the church express a “doubt” as to the genuineness of the birthplace? True, the kindly Geoffrey Crayon attributed the sexton’s suspicion to envy; but if the American pilgrim had been acquainted with the lore of the learned and industrious William Oldys, he would have realised that the sexton had solid grounds for his scepticism. Oldys, in fact, in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, had recorded a tradition to the effect that Shakespeare was born in a house near the churchyard, and this legend persisted until the last century. ‘‘A house near the river,’ as the laborious J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps wrote, “called the Brook House, now pulled down, was some years since asserted to have been the birthplace of Shake- speare.” It is significant that the earliest Shakespeare devotees entirely ignored the Henley Street shrine. Sir William Dugdale, the first to give us a drawing of the poet’s Stratford monument, made no reference to the house in which he was born. Travellers of 1682, 1693, and even of 1751, made no reference to any house as having been that of Shakespeare’s nativity. Indeed, in 1760, only nine years prior to Garrick’s spectacular ‘‘ Jubilee,” a noteworthy visitor to the town was wholly silent as to this matter. No explanation has ever been offered as to how the Brook House of tradition came to be supplanted by the cottage in Henley Street. Yet when the engray- ings of the latter are examined from a chronological standpoint, it seems reasonable to conclude that Garrick’s “‘ Jubilee” had much to do with that trans- ferred allegiance. It is granted that the drawing of the house reproduced by Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps is dated 1762, but its close likeness toa sketch made seven years later is practically conclusive that 1762 is a mistake. There is no record of any pictorial delineation of the Henley Street building prior to that made by Richard Greene in 1769. The date is suspicious when taken in conjunction with Mr. Greene’s rela- tionship with Dr. Johnson, his friendship with Bos- well, and his lifelong association with the city where David Garrick spent his early years. Garrick’s notorious “ Jubilee” was held at Stratford-on-Avon in 1769. We know that Boswell busied himself in that melodramatic affair, and it may be assumed that Connoisseur all the actor’s Lichfield friends were interested in his venture. Nothing is more natural than that Mr. Greene should have attended the “Jubilee,” especi- ally as his sketch of the birthplace is dated that year. That sketch, as hinted above, begins the pictorial history of the now accepted birthplace. The version, however, which is reproduced (by the courtesy of the trustees of the birthplace), is that executed in the form of an etching in 1788 by Colonel Philip de la Motte, the cousin of the painter and the friend of Captain Grose. That it follows faithfully the sketch dated 1762, by Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps, will be obvious to all who compare the two, and suggests the con- clusion that Mr. Greene’s drawing was the original of both. All the earliest illustrations of the Henley Street building have several features in common. They show a modest structure consisting of two houses, each having its own doorway; but the building on the east is distinguished from that on the west by having two gables to its companion’s one. And the western cottage has a pent-house over its doorway as compared with the unsheltered entrance of the other. In each the surface of the wall is broken up with those massive beams of timber which were so pic- turesque a feature of houses built in the sixteenth century. It should be added that the right-hand upstair window of the eastern house was in the form of a projecting bay. Drawings made in the early or nearly mid-nine- teenth century show in a startling manner that the most notable features of the eighteenth - century pictures have disappeared. ‘The pent-house of the western building has given place to two projecting windows, while the bay of the eastern cottage has become a flat window of four hghts. By 1849, on the unerring testimony of a daguerrotype (reproduced by the courtesy of the trustees), other changes had taken place, including the bricking over of a part of the front wall. In all these later illustrations, moreover, the most striking difference is the aspect presented by the roof, for the three gables of the two houses have been entirely demolished. By a study of the accompanying sketches and en- gravings it is possible to follow the pictorial history of the birthplace from 1769 to 1849, even though Colonel de la Motte’s etching is dated 1788. It will be seen that during the thirty-seven years which separated Mr. Greene’s sketch and the more elaborate drawing which appeared in Saunders’s Warwickshire 204 Drawings, the Henley Street structure had under- gone a notable transformation. The latter draw- ing was made in 1806, to which year also belong the engraving by R. D. Wheler and the water-colour

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THE BIRTHPLACE IN 1806 THE BIRTHPLACE IN 1806 FROM FROM SAUNDERS’S ‘‘ WARWICKSHIRE DRAWINGS ” : i M ; s THE WATER-COLOUR SKETCH BY D. PARKES 205

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The Connoisseur LPublisied a it EE kha ‘ es FROM THE DRAWING sketch by D. Parkes. The latter is reproduced from a sketch-book in the Manuscript Department of the British Museum—it is believed for the first time. Beneath the picture Mr. Parkes wrote: ‘“‘ The above is an exact representation of the house at Stratford- upon-Avon, in which the Immortal Shakespeare was born, on the 23rd of April, a.p. 1564.” In his brief notes about the town he added: ‘The house in which the Immortal Bard was born is in Henley Street, near the White Lion Inn: the room in which the Poet was born, by the names left upon the walls, has been visited by most of the literary characters in the kingdom, as by likewise many of the nobility.” Between the Henley Street building as it appears in the trim sketch of Mr. Parkes and the same structure as depicted in the drawing by John Brandard in 1838, there is again a marked difference, not in general outline, but in dilapidation. It had fallen into decay, indeed, by 1824, in which year the manu- script diary of the Rev. J. Hunter speaks of it as ‘now the worst house in the town.” Itis significant, too, that Mr. Hunter also refers to it as “‘the house in which he is said to have been born.” Why had the birthplace been allowed to fall into such a wretched condition, as is hinted at in the BY R. D. WHELER meaner Ke I fe vests iil =47 eh ‘\ yoo it: ty ¥. PY ol 206 drawing by Mr. Brandard of 1838, and is painfully evident in the daguerrotype of 1849? Mainly be- cause from 1820 there were two Richmonds in the field. The birthplace had lost its diligent cicerone, Mary Hornby by name, who had collected a miscellaneous museum of Shakespeare “relics.” Widow Hornby became the tenant of the Henley Street cottage in 1793, and had become ‘“‘oarrulous,”- in Shakespeare lore, by the time of Washington Irving’s famous visit of 1815. Several years later the owner of the property, Mrs. Court, moved by considerations of the.unearned increment which Widow Hornby was enjoying by showing the natal shrine of the ‘‘Immortal Bard,” decided to increase the rent of the house from twenty to forty pounds a year. ‘That threat took effect in 1820, whereupon Widow Hornby surrendered her tenancy, and carried off her relics to another house for the ‘‘amusement of those Ladies and Gentlemen” who took pleasure in such souvenirs. Mrs. Hornby had correctly diagnosed the situa- tion. Her varied ‘articles of Shakespeare property” secured her a liberal share of the pilgrim patron- age, and to make matters worse for the extortionate Widow Court, the new custodian of the birthplace industriously

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' $k ‘ = 223 _—- THE BIRTHPLACE IN 1838 FROM A PENCIL SKETCH BY JOHN BRANDARD tg pes ‘eiieereageoanse entipRs Rye ana $5 i, Pe i ees on pimegns top ieis n AE BT: iiiggr sneer arent jp eg Re a! it THE ay. te g's t ae ® . * ; : - ee a THE BIRTHPLACE IN 1849 OUSE IN WHICH o* = SHAKSPERE WAS BGR q “fa iy

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FROM A DAGUERROTYPE THE BIRTHPLACE IN 1849 4 nea ae ¥ Se ee 4 a © oe. coemnsnnesso~nt nee tne Bi es ape Sg Paemaaoesinecteetena ait iacpennnenesiaatt e ee sapeaeg se =e 1 naire tae. i ean oaestemetee a ee Nitin as eee ee 2 2 eon RR sen nin Sng ete 6 Rt ESR eter rites seis SEE etme See eRe Heer, BRANDARD FROM A PENCIL SKETCH BY JOHN 208 39 MBER IN 18 H-CHA T INTERIOR OF THE BIR

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The Pictorial History of Shakespeare’s Birthplace 4 ie - oy a Sak - EINER aR sande HAE St THE BIRTHPLACE AS IT IS TO-DAY seems to have sadly neglected her charge. Thus the Henley Street cottage became ‘‘the worst house in the town,” and visitors confessed they would have passed it by in disgust had it not been for the board bearing the legend, ‘‘ The immortal Shakespeare was born here.” Widow Court’s death in 1846 marked another epoch in the history of the birthplace. As the heir to her estate was a minor, it was decided to sell the property. The announcement of the auction stirred the nation’s Shakespearean conscience, and a com- mittee was formed to raise a fund for the purchase of the Henley Street buildings. But there were Doubt- ing Thomases still in the land. An effort to get a subscription from the London Court of Common Council was defeated ; and during the actual sale on March 17th, 1847, the auctioneer’s assertion that Shakespeare was born in the building was stoutly contested. However, the ‘‘lot,” which Mr. Court had purchased for £260, was finally knocked down for 4#,3,000, and from the fall of the hammer the birth- place became the property of the British nation. That was in 1847. The daguerrotype of 1849 shows that two years later the building was still in a shameful condition. In due time the question of restoration was resolutely tackled, with the final result shown in the photograph of its present appearance. What is obvious isthatthe restoration carefully followed 209 FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY THE WRITER the oldest drawings of the twin building, so that there is a striking likeness between Mr. Greene’s sketch and the structure familiar to present-day pilgrims. There is another matter connected with the birth- place which must be noted in connection with Mr. Brandard’s sketch of the interior of the birth-room. Not merely is it true that the poet’s father did not obtain possession of the western cottage—the reputed birthplace—until his son was eleven years old, but there is a conflict in the evidence as to which room in that western building was the natal chamber. The Rev. R. Warner, who visited the town in 1801, noted in his diary: ‘‘On enquiring for the birthplace of our great poet, we were not a little surprised to be carried through a small butcher’s shop: into a dirty back room.” And yet it is a front room upstairs which is shown as the actual birth-chamber ! Such are the facts. Each must draw what deduc- tions he thinks warranted. The problem, however, suggests a new field for the collector of prints. In the birthplace itself there are only eight pictures of the building. Apart from the three here reproduced, . there are an etching by A. Rider of 1824, a copy of a water-colour made by Miss Halliwell in 1867 from an original of 1830, a chromo-lithograph of 1849-50, a water-colour of the western cottage dated 1858, and an oil-painting by J. T. Marshall showing the building in 1871.

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y yy | Zhe Editor invites the assistance of readers of ‘THE CONNOISSEUR who may be able to impart the information required by Correspondents. | UNIDENTIFIED PAINTING (NO. 209). Dear Sir,—The following are the particulars of the picture of which I send you a photograph :—My husband, the late Mr. E. J. Bridgman, estate agent of Cheshunt and Hoddesdon, bought the picture Our Saviour and St. John Embracing at a sale at Cheshunt about twenty-two years ago, at the house of the late Miss Batho. Her family bought it at a sale by Messrs. Robias & Co. in 1820 at Wanstead House, the seat of Lord Essex, when it was catalogued as a Rubens. I have seen a small copy of it in the Dulwich Picture Gallery, and the curator there told me that that one was a copy of a Van Dyck, and that the original once belonged to James II., and afterwards to Sir — Grey. What I want to know is where «the original of this picture is, or if the one I now possess is the original. The canvas 1s 37 In. by 39 1n., and is framed ina gilded hand-carved oak frame. I cannot see that it is signed any- where by the artist. Can any reader give me information on this subject ? Believe me, Yours truly, (Mrs.) A. BRIDGMAN. CHINA MARKS: NANTGARW PORCELAIN (NOvV., I9IS5). SiR,—Re- ferring to the question of the (209) UNIDENTIFIED PAINTING impressed mark on the Nantgarw ware, it is impossible that the letters could be G.w., because there was no such person as George Walker employed there. Billingsley’s son-in-law was named Samuel Walker (vide The Ceramics of Swansea and Nantgarw, pub- lished by Bemrose, London and Derby, in 1897). Yours, etc., W. TURNER. CHINA MARKS: NANTGARW PORCELAIN (NOv., 1915). DEAR S1IR,—Mr. Sheldon first suggested that as the works at Swansea were known as the Cambrian Works, the “c.w.” found in conjunction with Nantgarw might stand for “Cambrian Works,” to distinguish the wares made under Billingsley’s management after the factory was transferred to Swansea. This view was adopted by Mr. Solon in his work on English porcelain. Yours faithfully, E. J. SipEBOTHAM. UNIDENTIFIED PAINTING (No. 210). DEAR SIR, — This picture measures 584 in. by 28 in. without the frame. Itseems to have a thick coat of varnish on it. It came into my pos- session after lying in a furni- ture depository for many years. A pasted label on the back has some indeci- pherable writ- ing ending with WP alvetor Rosa.” Can any reader tell

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cs = NaMUVd GIOUVH Ad ANGVIEV Jasuny 0}04q]

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de) Ree ; a oo ie fs " apps O48 a bo aah oF + oN ms

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Notes and Queries (210) UNIDENTIFIED PAINTING me if the character of this work is after this artist’s style ? Yours faithfully, E. O. G. Rep LACQUER VASE (OCT., 1915). Dear Srr,—With reference to the red lacquer vase illustrated in THE CONNOISSEUR belonging to Francisco Munz Barreto, of Buenos Aires. This vase is Chinese work, probably of the time of Kang-hsi, possibly earlier. If about 9 in. high, it may be worth £50 to £80. Yours sincerely, L. W. C. Lorpen, A.R.I.B.A. (Shanghai). UNIDENTIFIED PAINTING (No. 190), AUGUST, 1915. DEAR S1r,—In the August 1915 number Thos. C. Turner puts question No. 190. The painting will probably be by Frans Francken the Younger. He was born May 2nd, 1581, at Antwerp, where he died May 6th, 1642, son of Frans Francken the Elder. During the lifetime of his father till 1616, whose pupil he was, he signed his name _ preceded by den J(ongen), which means “the Younger.” Of course the signature has been wrongly read (an 5S. instead of F). F. Francken the Second was a painter of biblical and historical subjects. Truly yours, Fiuci1 v. ASPERMONT (The Hague). N Ww UNIDENTIFIED ParinTING (No. 206), FEB., 1916. Dear Sir,—I see in THE CONNOISSEUR for Febru- ary a photo of an unidentified painting (No. 206) which is said to be the original /o by Correggio. Perhaps it may be of interest to the owner to know that I have an old engraving (Bartolozzi) which seems to be exactly the same one, only in my engraving the figure is seated facing the opposite direction ; there is also more detail to be seen. The inscription underneath is as follows :— Allegri da Correggio Pinxt F. Bartolozzi Sculpt. M. Benedetti delt: *“Coat Jupiter of and /o Arms.”’ Josepho 11 Romanorum Imperatori &c. &c. &e. Franciscus Bartolozzi D.D.D. From an original picture by Correggio in the Imperial Gallery at Vienna Published March Ist, 1785, by Torre & Co., No. 28, Haymarket ; et a Vienne Chez Artaria Co. I could have engraving photographed if it would be of any use or interest to the owner of the painting. Yours faithfully, (Mrs.) N. M. Butt. UNIDENTIFIED PainTING (No. 204), FEB., 1916. Str,—In reference to the picture No. 204, ‘‘ Un- identified Painting,” I think if the owner would refer to the catalogue of the Dublin Exhibition of 1873, he will find the title is Diana after the Chase, by Correggio. ‘There were no Albanos exhibited. Yours faithfully, JAMES WALKER.

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‘“‘TatTEN—the old English name for a mixed metal, a variety of brass, much used for monumental brasses, candlesticks, and other metal work. It began to be manufactured in England in the sixteenth century, after having been long imported from Flanders and Germany ”—so says my Encyclopedia, Sixty or seventy years ago every horse in the team of a large farm waggon would be decorated with a set of bells as well Latten (or Waggon) Bells # A })) ALU PAE as many brass ornaments. ‘They were frequently the property of the waggoner, were highly prized, and kept in splendid order. Each bell was attuned to a different note, not simply to make jingle, but to give a pleasant sound. One object of wearing the bells was to warn a team coming in an opposite direction, many of the country lanes being so narrow that pass- ing another team was out of the question. Certain rules of the road were instituted, which, if not complied OF SIX No. I.—sET BELLS FROM 214 CHRISTCHURCH

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Notes No. II.—sSET OF FIVE BELLS FROM SUSSEX with, often led to the waggoners fighting out the ques- ‘* For though ’tis so long, it is not very wide, tion of which should give way. The Rev. J. Marriott For two are the most that together can ride, a And e’en then ’tis a chance but they get in a both likens marriage to a Devonshire lane :— ys er, » > . And jostle and cross and run foul of each other.” ‘cT ‘ Ips in 1 - . arcana imi bine mn aie Mrs. Jekyll, in her charming book, O/d West Surrey It holds you as fast as a cage does a linnet, i" , eli For howe’er rough and dirty the road may be found, says that “an aged farmer remarked to her, ‘I mind Drive forward you must, there is no turning round. when we always went to market with the teams and No. III.—setT OF FOUR BELLS FROM CIIRISTCHURCH 215

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The Connoisseur the latten bells on, and when they wore ¢#ey, the horses was just as proud as the carters was.’ There were four rings of bells ina set, and each set had four bells, except the one with the largest bells of deep The leather surround is scalloped, and does not come down so far as in No. 1, giving a better view of the bells. This set is the most musical. Four bells on the frame; they also came No. iii. No. IV.—SET OF THREE BELLS FROM WILTSHIRE tone ; each set made its own chord, while the whole clanged and jingled in pleasant harmony.” Doubtless customs varied, as a writer from Chichester says he well remembers the farmers’ waggons coming through the North Gate, the horses carrying bells in frames. ‘The first horse had three bells, the second four, the third five ; they were of various sizes, har- monising well. A single round bell like the outside ones in No. iv. were called “rumblers,” and frequently “the letters W.R. (Willielmus Rex, William III.) were stamped on the under-side of the bell.” I have fortunately obtained four sets of bells, as here illustrated. Each set is fixed to a strong piece of board, covered with stout leather, which is brought down round the bells, so as to protect them from the weather. No. i. has six bells. On the end of the frame is a brass plate marked ‘‘18 W.B. 38.” The leather comes down very low, almost hiding some of the smaller bells. Three hearts are stamped out of the leather on both sides of the frame; a row of brass-headed nails runs round the top, and three such nails adorn each heart. This set came from Christchurch. No. 11. These are from Sussex ; five on the frame. 216 from Christchurch. The leather is only relieved by a row of brass-headed nails. No. iv. This set, I was informed, came from Wiltshire. It is much inferior; there is only one bell with ‘a clapper; the other two are what we should now call cow bells. Inside each is a piece of metal that causes anything buta musicalsound. I am told that it is some years since a team of horses with a full set of bells has been seen upon any of our country roads. The shaped irons-that are in all cases attached to the frame, fitted into. sockets provided for them on the horse’s collar. The frame of the largest set is 2 feet long and 5 inches across the top, the leather curtain being 3 inches deep. It weighs 134 pounds, which must have been a serious addition to the weight of the horse’s trappings. —MABERLY PHILLIPS, F.S.A. Tue Norwich Castle Museum collections have recently been enriched by the acquisition of a brass weight (see illustration), which was, in all probability, one of the standard weights of the City of Norwich at a time when the famous goldsmith, Peter Peterson, was Elizabethan Brass Weight

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Notes living and working in the city. The weight is one of a set of cup-shaped weights, and measures 6} inches in diameter. It bears an inscription on the rim :— ‘“CCLVI oz.’R [Troy]” and the stamp Castle over ELIZABETHAN Lion (= Norwich), and on the side :—‘‘ Ano. Do. 1588. EL. Ao. Reg. XXX” and a crown. The following is an extract from the City Records under the Chamberlain’s accounts for 1587-8 :— li. Payed to the Barons and other officers of the xchequier for a Pyle of Brasen wayts for this Citie appoynted by proclamation to bee hadd thear - to Mr. Pearsse, Keeper of the xchequier for his fee - - - to Mr. Fanshow for his fee - for thindentures to receyve them by - - - to Aiéiimnain Mattyns for a \ Pyle of gould waytes - - - to the Porters and watermen for goyng and stayeing to and at the xchequier dyverse tymes for the same wayts to carry them to the water syde - - to carryeng them to Qiieachithe to be carryed by a ‘lane into Cheapsyde - - for hays, a mnnipes sna lyne to pack with - - - - to a Carre to — them to the Carts - : - to Fond for bryngyng Miia: ome London wayeng CC wayghts~ - IX. Item HIT. Mt, HH. VET. BRASS WEIGHT IN THE CASTLE MUSEUM, NORWICH 217 The National Gallery of Melbourne S1R,—With regard to Mr. Frank Gibson’s tardy reply in the December number of THE CONNOISSEUR to an article on ‘‘ The National Gallery of Melbourne ” which [PHOTO D. PAYLER appeared in your magazine last August, I beg to offer the following remarks :—Mr. Gibson refers to the criticism quoted by you from the Melbourne Argus as ‘‘ inspired by malice or incompetence, or by a combination of both.” Your readers, Sir, will decide if the trustees of that institution are influenced in these matters by such criticism, or whether they may not rather be supposed to look for a high standard and exact information, which in many cases has not been provided. I appreciate the difficulty of making a discussion of this nature interesting to those who have not the ‘‘damning evidence” of the pictures before them. J], therefore, confine my remarks mainly to the ‘‘ Hoppner” portrait illustrated in your August number. Of the Reynolds (also illustrated) I merely say that the general tone of the flesh is colourless, a hectic patch has been scumbled over the cheek, and the ear, nostril, and lips have been coarsely redrawn, I should say, with venetian red. The painting of the bodice, cape, and glove is barely passable, while the hair is poor in quality of pigment, and flat in tone. For this £5,000 was paid. Most of the other pictures mentioned by Mr. Gibson are characterised in my article as ‘‘good names but poor company.” Of those instanced as recommended but declined, it should be understood that their prices ranged

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The Connoisseur from £350 (for a flower piece) up to £1,000, £2,800, £4,000, £6,000, and £7, 500. Surely it is not to be won- dered at that the trustees hesitated to make so many costly experiments after the disappointments already ex- perienced. The Bent Tree, by Corot, claimed by Mr. Gibson, was originally se- lected by myself, and my recommendation was adopt- ed by the trustees months before it was purchased (in 1907), or before Mr. Gibson came upon the scene. This and the Cecil Lawson, I may assume, were bought on my strong recommenda- tion, as the official catalogue recognises. Out of a tangle of con- tradictory. and misleading statements the following are culled as representing the general tenor of the ‘‘ Hopp- ner” transaction (£2,000), which may possibly be of service to others similarly placed. The picture in question, which, in my opinion, is worthless as a work of art, was recommend- ed to the Felton Bequests’ Committee and the Trustees of the National Gallery in 1910 as ‘‘a fine example,” as ‘‘the best of three he did of Mrs. Robinson” (I understand the picture that fills this place was sold at Christie’s in 1896 for £945, and now belongs to Sir Carl Meyer); as “ representative and finely preserved”; “cheap at £2,000”; “a bargain for the National Gallery”; “at Christie’s it would fetch from 3,000 to 4,000 guineas” ; that ‘it had been in the possession of the Bouverie family for generations (thirty-five years was the term)”; that it was definitely a portrait of Mrs. Robinson, painted by Hoppner; and that it was ‘‘mentioned and described in the standard book on Hoppner,” which Mr. Gibson had to admit was not the case. The dealer who bought it at auction as a Romney (for £165), and sold it two months later to Sir William Bennett asa Hoppner (for £1,000), was ‘‘almost certain” that he informed the buyer of this ‘‘at the time.” Sir William, however, fears ‘‘he is mistaken in thinking that he told me about the purchase of the picture as WEIGHT 20 OZ. TO BE SOLD AT THE RED CROSS SALE AT MESSRS. CHRISTIE’S ROOMS 218 a Romney—at all events I have no recollection of his doing so. So far as I remem- ber, the picture was shown to me as a Hoppner and nothing more.” One can hardly believe that a collector would pay £1,000 for a picture and forget such an interesting fact as that it had for many years passed under another name, if this infor- mation had been imparted. Nor can one think for a moment that the vendor would withhold this fact from the Felton Bequests’ Committee while professing to give its history, as far as he knew it. According to the late owner and Mr. Gibson, the joint authors of the standard work on Hoppner knew this portrait—one of them ‘*wished to buy it as a Hop- pner,” while both ‘‘ wished to have it catalogued and photographed in their book as a Hoppner.” But they did none of those things, and declined to mention it in their exhaustive and authoritative work. In Mr. Gibson’s letter to THE CONNOISSEUR, I notice he contradicts his previous statements, and says ‘*the picture only became known to Messrs. Mackay and Roberts just after the first edition of their book on Hoppner had appeared.” I have not séen the new edition of this work, but I understand there is an entry of this painting in the supplement with the following remark: ‘‘In the opinion of both Mr. C: J. Holmes and Mr. Humphrey Ward the portrait is undoubtedly by Hoppner.” In the light of what follows this is interesting. These two gentlemen were called in to give an opinion on this picture before its sale to Sir William Bennett in 1907, and both of them apparently attributed it to Hoppner. In 1911, after its authenticity had been challenged, Mr. Ward was shown ‘‘ photographs” of it, and said it certainly looked like a Hoppner. But he declined to put this in writing, as he hardly remembered the picture, it being ‘‘ nearly four years since Mr. Turner said he had shown it to him.” At the same time Mr. Holmes ‘‘ was shown photographs of it before it was cleaned and afterwards,” upon which SILVER-GILT ELIZABETHAN COMMUNION CUP, WITH PATEN COVER, BEARING LONDON .HALL-MARK 1571

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Notes evidence he wrote, ‘‘the picture has every sign of being a fine Hoppner.” So it appears that the above decided opinions, together with that included in Messrs. Mackay and Roberts’s new edition of their ‘‘ Hoppner,” were derived mainly from photographs, and only in a lesser degree from vanishing memories of the painting itself. The question becomes still more vexed by the fact, only discovered after its sale to the Melbourne Gallery, that this picture had been cleaned about 1909, and that photographs of it exist before and after the process, though I have only been able to see the latter version. Were the opinions of these two critics formed from the picture in its original state or photograph therefrom, or from one taken after having been cleaned, with possibly the ‘‘ restoration” that that process so often entails? I have great respect for Mr. Holmes as a writer on art, but as he and Mr. Humphrey Ward saw the picture before it was cleaned, and I have only seen it since, I am the less troubled about our opinions being ati variance. However that may be, as an artist I take full responsi- bility for saying that, as it was delivered in Melbourne, there was no vestige of mastery to be found in the painting from top to bottom, and, therefore, that it had no significance or worth as a work of art. Moreover, in view of the foregoing extraordinary circumstances, for Mr. Ricketts, who is conjointly responsible for its pur- chase, to assert that this particular ‘‘ Hoppner” ‘‘is not in the category of doubtful pictures” is, to say the least, astounding. Yours faithfully, L. BERNARD HALL, Dec. 17th, 1915. National Gallery, Melbourne. | We believe that the present letter of Mr. Hall to THE CONNOISSEUR 7¢s written with the permission of the Trustees of the National Gallery, Melbourne.—EDITOR. | S1R,—Your issue of August, 1915, contains an article on the National Gallery of Melbourne and Felton Be- quest. I am desired by the Felton Bequests’ Committee, of which I am chairman, to state in correction that all purchases of works of art under the terms of the bequest are made with the full concurrence of the Felton Bequests’ Committee and the Trustees of the National Gallery. Either body may recommend a purchase, but the other must concur before the purchase is authorised. The Trustees, Executors, and Agency Company, Ltd., are the trustees of the Will, and are a distinct body from the above. . The article proceeds to reproduce an attack made in our local press by Mr. Bernard Hall, the Director of the National Gallery, on certain purchases. I am pleased to be able to inform you, on the authority of the Trustees of the National Gallery, that Mr. Hall did not write the article in question as their representative, and that its publication did not receive their sanction or approval. Yours faithfully, CHARLES BAGE, Chairman, The Felton Bequests’ Committee. 219 IN continuation of our notes last month on postage stamps, whose issue have been caused by the war, we give further particulars of the issues made by the various Expeditionary Forces in the conquered German colonies. CAMEROONS.—In 1915 the British authorities seized the German S.S. Professor Woermann at Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, and among her cargo they found a large stock of the stamps of German “ Kame- run,” the well-known type with a view of the Kaiser’s yacht, the Hohenzollern. ‘These were surcharged with the letters C.E.F. and a new value in English currency, and were put on sale at Duala, in the Cameroons, on June 21st, 1915. The letters C.E.F. signify ‘‘Cameroons Expeditionary Force.” The following are the values issued and the numbers of each :— Stamp Collecting $d. on 3 pfennig - . $d. » 5 29 é. es 100,000 fey BO ra - - 100,000 2d. »3 20 29 z 59,900 24d. ,, 25 a - - 10,000 ee ss - 10,000 4d. ,, 40 ,, - 10,000 ee os - 10,000 Oe ee . - 10,000 18.) 40) 2 ee 2,000 2S. 4, 2 marks - 2,000 Shoe Ni ay - 2,000 5% sy 5 ies x = 2,000 As will be seen, the number of these war pro- visionals is far greater than that of German New Guinea or of the Marshall Islands, which we published last month, and these will be much commoner stamps and within the reach of most collectors. Samoa.—The German Colony of Samoa surren- dered to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on August 29th, 1914. The whole of the stock of German Samoa stamps were seized, and were sur- charged at the office of the Samoanische Zeitung, at Apia, with bold letters G.R.I. and new value in British currency. | The following is a list of the stamps issued and the number of each :— 4d. on 3 pfennig”§ - 16,700 $d. » 5 9 14,700 bas: 45 30 a . 7,000 aad.: 5; 2 is - 19,700 3d. >» 25 ” " 3,800 yy Ve a 1,600 5d. 9» 40 9 % 1,400 6d. ,, 50 os : . 6,000 od. 29 80 ” 1,700 4 oR ae : 135 2s. 5, 2 marks - 126 BR gen Shoe 458 5s. 99 5 99 535

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The Connoisseur These stamps are much scarcer than the Cameroons, and the high values are very difficult to get, most of them having been bought up in Australia. Walter Bull & Co. December Sale.—Great Britain, O.W. officials, pair of 5d. unused, £6—full catalogue price ; Portugal, p. en croix, 12or., used, “#1 12s.; Ceylon, 2s. blue, imperfect, used, 70s. ; Patiala, 1891, 2, 3 and 5 rupees, unused, £7 tos. (catalogued A#lz2 5s.); Zululand, 5s. used, 33s.; Gibraltar, £1 used, multiple watermark, £3 12s. 6d. January Sale.—Belgium, 1850, toc., unused, £4 ; Bangkok, 1882, Two CENTS on 32c., mint, £3 175. 6d. (catalogued £10) ; Ceylon, 1857, imperfect, 4d. dull rose, used, £12 (catalogued £28); 1883, 16c., violet, C.A., unused, £7; Cape of Good Hope, 1855, 1s. yellow green, 315. (cat. 35s.); Patiala, 2, 3 and 5 rupees, #7 10s.; Wurtemburg, 1879, 2m., 50s. Messrs. Puttick & Simpson, of Leicester Square, W.C., sold a set of Tientsin provisionals for £11; Great Britain 2s. brown, unused, £10—a good price ; and a very fine used £6: 10d. O.W. OFFICAL, 1902, 46; Trinidad 1d. litho., blue, early impression, Zio tos.; and medium print, 84s. Glendining & Co., 7, Argyll Street, Oxford Circus, W.—France, 1870, 20c. blue, unused téte-béche, 43 58.; Martinique, 1888, 15c. on 4c., £4; a set of thirteen Cameroons sold at £4 5s., but three values had the perforations clipped ; Gibraltar, 1911, 8s., unused, 44s.; Great Britain #5 orange, used, 37S.; Lagos, single C.A. 2s. 6d., unused, 42s. ; rI0s., unused, £7 5s.; British Colombia, 24d. rose, im- perfect pair, £4 2s. 6d.; Panama, 1906, inverted centres, 2c., 188.; 5C., 15S. ; 50C., 22S.; St. Vincent, 1915, ‘ONE PENNY” on Is. green, unused block of 4, 42 10s.—a price considerably over what they are sold for retail; Canada, 6d. on laid and on wove paper, a number of used copies sold at from 42 15s. to £3 5s. each, well over catalogue prices. January Sale.— Togo, narrow selling, used 5pf. green, 36s. ; 1opf., unused, 44s.; Zurich, 4rp., poor, 473; Straits Settlements, 7c. on 32c. red, no stop after ‘‘cent,” £3 7s. 6d.; Cameroons, set of 13 sold at full catalogue price of £6, and sets of eight low values at 21s. each; Lagos, 1os. brown, unused, £7 5s. February Sale.—This sale contained a good lot of the old issues of New Zealand, among them being 1862 1d., pelure paper, imperfect, sold for £6, although only catalogued at #5; 1s. green on blue paper sold at £45; 1d. red on blue, g5s., although catalogued only gos.; 2d. watermark lozenge, #4 7s. 6d.; and the rare 1d. brown, watermark N.Z., fetched £12 tos. Recent Auction Prices of Stamps Harmer, Rooke & Co.—A very rare piece was a mint block of four Barbados, 1870, 1d. blue, water- mark, large star, which sold for £18, and must be considered a great bargain, as single copies have been sold for this much each; Ceylon, 1s. 9d., imperfect, #3 28.; and 2s. blue, fine, used, £7; East Africa and Uganda, 1906, 2or., used, 31s.; Great Britain 1d. black, V.R., £47 15s., unused, 1840; strip of three 2d. blue, 27s.; Levant, 1887, 40 paras, un- used, double surcharge, £12. Messrs. Plumridge & Co., of Chancery Lane, W.C. January Sales.—Barbados, 1873, 5s. rose, unused, 7os.; Gibraltar £1, single watermark, unused, £4 ; British 2s. brown, used, 60s. ; £5 orange on bluish paper, used, £6 1os.; £5 on white paper, used, 64s.; £1 brown, watermark crowns, with ordiSiar and SPECIMEN, sold at £g—a good price for a ‘specimen ” stamp ; but the 41 green, King Edward I.R, OFFICIAL, brought #15 ros. with ‘‘specimen,” this being one of the rarest British stamps, and worth over £100 without the word “‘spECIMEN”; New Brunswick, 1s. mauve, used, 413 ; Nova Scotia, 1s. penstroked, £8. FuLuL of interest to the connoisseur is our plate entitled Zhe Scholar, which is reproduced from an is Shas original pastel study by Drouais. The draughtsmanship is arresting, and carries conviction with it, whilst the forceful handling makes the head stand out in a manner that compels admiration. It maybe said with truth of this picture that it is a work of art, and not merely a subject with a well-known name attached to it. Better known, perhaps, under the title of Vina, ow la Folle par Pamour, the fine engraving in colours by Janinet, after Hoin, is also a portrait of Mademoiselle Dugazon. It forms an interesting-and valuable ex- ample of French work of the higher class during the eighteenth century. The majority of our plates this month are taken from works of the French school. The original of Greuze’s Boy with Dog hangs in the Wallace collection, and is therefore one of the national art treasures which have been withheld from the public by the closing of the museums and galleries. The Portrait de la Princesse de Conti, at Versailles, is an excellent example from the brush of Pierre Gobert, who was born in 1666, and died in 1744. ‘Although John Baldrey was a painter by profession, he also produced a few engravings, and of these Cecilia is one of the best-known subjects. Baldrey was born in 1750, and exhibited three portraits at the Royal Academy in 1793 and 1794. It is not known precisely when he died, but he is ascertained to have been still living in the year 182r. 220

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Soh “2M pA RAR HR aT, Sr ie % e Ageia ¥ ak CECILIA BY J. BALDREY AFTER JOHN HOPPNER, R.A.

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Le win f lash ee ‘va ate a ar aa We cy ut * bs ae

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A PAINTING by F. Guardiof A Landing on the Lagoons, Venice, was sold at Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods on February 4th for £220 Ios. It measured 12} in. by 20 in., and was put up to auction by order of the executors of the late Mrs. Ayrton, of Abbot’s Rock, Chester. Zhe Jnterior ofan Apartment, by L. de Jongh, 19 in. by 24 in., was knocked down for £199 10s. The English School was most in evidence, however, and two of the more important bids were made for examples by a modern artist, Charles Sims, R.A. Of these Bacchus and Ariadne, 19} in. by 29} in., realised £89 5s., whilst Cupid Captive, an oval, 35 in. by 264 in., brought £84. Amongst other lots, Heeding Pigeons, by W. R. Bigg, R.A., 16 in, by 20 in., fetched £48 6s. ; Verona, by W. Callow, 1855, 28{ in. by 224 in., £39 18s. ; Scene on the Sussex Coast, by W. Shayer, 29} in. by 39} in., 32 118s.; Portraits of two Children of the Harrison Family, Early English School, 283 in. by 244 in., property of the late Mrs. Ayrton, £31 10s. ; An Old Cottage at Shottermil/, by H. Allingham, 13 in. by 17 in., £31 10s. ; Regular Customers, by Edgar Bundy, A.R.A., 144 in. by 21 in., £29 8s.; and Love’s Curse, by Lady Alma-Tadema, on panel, 123 in. by 84 in., exhibited at Burlington House, 1909, from the collection of G. Maculloch, 1913, £26 5s. A curious item consisted ofa pair of /rozen River Scenes, with skaters, including Mr. Van Brussel, the flower painter, and Mr. Vallette, the Hague collector, by H. W. Schweickardt, on panel, 1o$ in. by 16} in., which was knocked down for £22 Is. A Portrait of the Countess of Portland, by Netscher, 28 in. by 22 in., from the collection of James Cowan, of Glengorm, realised £47 5s. On February 3rd Messrs. Knight, Frank & Rutley dispersed a collection of paintings which had belonged to the late Lady Pirbright. The most important item was a Portrait of a Lady seated in a garden, by Fraganard, 1794, 20 in. by 15 in., in carved frame, exhibited at the French Loan Exhibition, Guildhall, 1898, which fetched £15 10s. 27 in. by 17 in., brought £94 10s.; The Holy Family, by G. A. Bazzi, 244 in. by 19 in., exhibited at the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition, 1904, £73 10s. ; and Sz Catherine, by Luini, 143 in. by 114 in., on panel, in carved Italian frame, exhibited at the Royal Academy Pictures and Drawings M “~ A Virgin and Child, by Luca Signorelli, — 223 Winter Exhibition, 1904, £67 4s. Amongst other lots a Head of a Boy (portrait of the artist’s son), by J. B Greuze, 154 in. by 12 in., exhibited at the French Loan Exhibition, Guildhall, 1898, was knocked down for £40, whilst A Garden Scene, by Lancret, 28 in. by 22 in., sold for £57 IS5s. At the sale of the collection ofthe late Edward Allday, of Edgbaston, which was held at Birmingham by Messrs. Horatio Lane & Smith on February gth and roth, two hundred guineas was realised for a pair of paintings, A Lincolnshire Gang and Potato Harvest in the Fens, by R. W. Macbeth, R.A. Amongst other lots, 4 Coast Scene, by W. Shayer, senior, brought 150 gns., and Mending the Sail, water-colour by Walter Langley, 102 gns. On February 14th, a Portrait of Anne Rogers, by John Opie, 29 in. by 24 in., was knocked down for 200 gns. at a sale held by Messrs. Hampton & Sons. The subject of this picture was the grandmother of the late Miss Lister, of Upper Heath, Hampstead, by the order of whose executors it was sold. A curious item came under the hammer at Messrs. Sotheby’s on February 2nd. It was a Portrait of a Child, standing and holding an open circular box, dated 1624, on a panel. It came from Moyles Court, near Ringwood, the residence of Dame Alice Lisle, who was beheaded in 1685 for sheltering Monmouth’s supporters. The highest bid for the picture was one of £12 Ios. The most important sum realised on February 11th at Messrs. Christie’s was £136 1os.—bid for 7wo Cows and a flock of Sheep in a Meadow, by T. S. Cooper, R.A., 1858, 294 in. by 413 in. It came from the collection of the late John Cockshut, of Glenmore, Willesden Lane, as did also The Morning of the 12th of August: Loch Earn, Perthshire, by Basil Bradley, 394 in. by 69 in., exhibited at the Victorian Era Exhibition, 1897, which fell for £43 1s. ; Elaine Guarding the Shield of Lancelot, by Henrietta R. Rae, 514 in. by 284 in., £31 10s. ; and A Farm Stream, by Yeend King, 23 in. by 354 in., £29 18s. 6d. The property of H. E. Smith, Esq., of Leamington Spa, /n the Woods, by J. Syer, 39% in. by 59% in., fetched £37 16s., and Zzme to Get Up, by Arthur J. Elsley, 1898, 333 in. by 25 in., £23 2s. From various sources, Avare et Gourmand, by F. Brunery, on panel, 17} in. by 14} in., brought £73 10s.; A Moorish

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The Connoisseur Courtyard, by M. Fortuny, 1866, on panel, 17} in. by 252 in., presented by the artist to Tomas Moragas, ° £58 16s.; Arundel Castle from the Arun, by E. M. Wimperis, 1889, 114 in. by 18} in., £32 11s.; and Zhe Tuilleries Gardens, by A. A. Glendenning, jun., 1906, 354 in. by 233 in., £26 5s. The collection of the late Charles Leeming, of Ken- sington, came under the hammer at Messrs. Christie’s on February 18th. Zhe Madonna and Child with an Angel, by the Master of Frankfort, on panel, arched top, 26} in. by 20 in., realised £136 10s.; Madonna and Child enthroned with St. Joseph, by the Master of the Death of the Virgin, on panel, 18 in. by 13 in., £105 ; /tertor of a Barn, by Jan Steen, on panel, 224 in. by 254 in., £84; Backgammon Players, by the same, 16 in. by 193 in., £73 10s. ; The Piazetta of St. Mark’s, Venice, by Guardi, 29$in. by 40$in., £69 6s. ; Peter Denying Christ, by Gerard Seghers, 61 in. by 89 in., £60 18s. (a framed print by Bolswert was included in this lot); A Zowmn on a Frozen River, by H. van Minderhout, on panel, 28 in. by 41 in., £58 16s.; Landscape with lime-kilns, by J. van Goyen, signed with initials and dated 1665, on panel, 144 in. by 224.in., £57 15s. ; Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John, School of Botticelli, on panel, 24% in. by 17% in., from the Abbey of Glastonbury, £56 14s.; View of Amsterdam, by J. H. Verheyden, 224 in. by 31 in., £43 1s.; and Zhe Card-Players, by J. M. Molenaer, on panel, 134 in. by ro in., £39 18s. PROBABLY what was the most discussed lot of the season’s print sales was a complete set of thirteen plates in colours of the Cries of London, by Schiavonetti, Vendramini, Cardon, and Gaugain, after Wheatley, upon which the hammer finally fell at 500 gns. at Puttick & Simpson’s on February 18th. The set took twenty-five years to collect. Asa matter of fact there were fourteen plates in all, since two versions exist of Gingerbread. In pre-war times sets put up to auction have realised close upon £1,000 apiece. The opening lot of Messrs. Christie’s sale on February 15th consisted of a plate in colours, from the Cries of London, by Gaugain, after Wheatley, which brought £26 5s. It was the property of Major Sir Arthur J. Campbell-Orde, Bart., from whose collection also came a portrait of Admiral the Earl of St. Vincent, by J. R. Smith, after G. Stuart, which was knocked down for £35 14s. On the same day the collection of the late E. A. Thurburn, of Rothiemay, Banffshire, was dispersed. Amongst the portraits after J. Hoppner, R.A., a first published state, with title in etched open letters, of Zhe Daughters of Sir Thomas Frankland, by W. Ward, attained the sum of £546; Zhe Hoppner Children: Chil- dren Bathing, by J. Ward, open letter proof, realised £189; Sophia Western, by J. R. Smith, first state, £99 15s. ; Juvenile Retirement, by J. Ward, £94 Ios. ; and Lady Anne Lambton and Family, by J. Young, first state, £48 6s. After Sir J. Reynolds, P.R.A., Mrs. Pelham Feeding Chickens, by W. Dickinson, a fine im- pression of the only state, sold for £252; Jane, Duchess of Gordon, by the same, first state, £162 15s.; Lady Engravings 224 Caroline Montagu, by J. R. Smith, first state, with wide margin, £157 10s. ; Viscountess Crosbie,by W. Dickinson, second state, £52 10s. ; Lady Bampfylde, by T. Watson, £48 6s. ; and Miss Kemd/e (in black dress), by J. Jones, first state, £29 8s. Shortly before this, an engraver’s proof, before the plate was cleaned, of Regnier Hansloe and his Wife, by J. Boydell, after Rembrandt, brought £92 8s.; an etched letter-proof of 4 Visit to the Grana- father, by W. Ward, after J. R. Smith, fetched £38 17s. Amongst the portraits after G. Romney, a first state of Mrs. Stables and Daughters, by J. R. Smith, realised £99 15s. ; The Clavering Children, by the same, £48 6s. ; and Zhe Hon. Mrs. Beresford, by J. Jones, with wide margin, £24 3s. Ai first state of Lady Acland and Chil- dren, by S. Cousins, after Sir T. Lawrence, P.R.A., was knocked down for £50 8s. Some subjects after George Morland were the next items of interest :—Feeding the Pigs and The Return from Market, a pair, by J. R. Smith, proofs with early publication lines, one with untrimmed margin, made f115 10s.; Zhe Turnpike Gate, by W. Ward, after Morland, proof before any letters, realised £54 12s.; Cottagers, by and after the same, an open-letter proof, realised £46 4s.; The Warrener, by and after the same, proof with the early publication line, with untrimmed margin, £42 ; /umocence Alarmed, by J. R. Smith, jun., after the same, proof before letters, £44 2s.; and The Fisherman’s Hut, by J. R. Smith, after the same, open letter proof, £44 2s. The same firm’s sale of February 9th did not contain any lots of very great importance. Zhe Roadside, by W. Say, after W. Owen, in colours, brought £29 8s. It came from the collection of the late John Cockshut. A fine impression of the only state of the plate, The Reading Magdalen, by J. Pichler, after P. Battoni, fetched £39 18s. AMONGST the furniture which came under the hammer at Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge’s on Febru- ary 3rd, an English walnut and marque- try writing cabinet, of the William and Mary period, with ovolo frieze and fall-down front, on stand with four turned legs and curved all-round stretcher, 5 ft. 5 in. high by 3 ft. 8 in. wide at frieze, by 1 ft. 7} in. deep, realised £35. The outside of the fall-down front was decorated with an oval panel of four corner-pieces of flowers and birds in various coloured woods, jasmine flowers in ivory and green leaves in stained bone, on an ebony ground, the dividing bands being in walnut oyster work. Two similar panels ornamented the frieze. There were brass floral-shaped plates and drop handles to the inside drawers and pierced brass escutcheons to the locks ; the front lock, however, was a restoration of Georgian period. At the same sale, a mahogany bookcase and escritoire, the panelled doors and sloping front inlaid with vases in oval panels of satinwood, and corner-pieces of fan pattern, the fronts of the drawers with a narrow bordering, brass handles and escutcheons, 7 ft. high by 3 ft. 114 in. wide, by 2 ft. deep, fetched £24; and a William and Mary walnut china cabinet, with folding glazed doors and glazed sides, enclosing three shaped shelves, above these two drawers surmounted bya curved Furniture

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In the Sale Room frieze, the lower part projecting and containing a long drawer, on cabriole legs, pad feet, brass drop handles and escutcheons, 6 ft. 6 in. high by 3 ft. wide, by 1 ft. 9 in. deep at greatest part, £15 1os. At Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods on February 3rd, an old English lacquer chest, with lifting top, on stand with scroll legs, decorated with Chinese landscapes in black and gold, 52 in. wide, brought £26; a six-leaf leather screen, decorated with Chinese figures and build- ings in colours and gold, 6 ft. 9 in. high, £43 1s.; anda Chinese six-leaf lacquer screen, carved with ladies in the gardens of a palace, and ehheed in polychrome, 58 in. high, £69 6s. Shortly afterwards, a clock, by Wm. Hitchcock, Chard, with silvered dial in mahogany hang- ing case, 5 ft. 9 in. high, fetched £33 12s. Amongst other interesting items, a Louis XV. writing-table, with two drawers, veneered with tulip and kingwood, and mounted with chased ormolu handles, etc., 51 in. wide, realised £68 5s. ; a pair of Adam mahogany side-tables, the frieze carved with bucrania and festoons, 35 in. wide, £50 8s. ; a pair of walnut arm-chairs, with turned legs, the arms terminating in lions’ heads, backs covered with needlework, £45 3s. ; a Chippendale mahogany bedstead, the post carved with trellis work and shells, on ball-and-claw feet, £31 10s.; and a Chip- pendale mirror, in gilt-wood frame carved with festoons of flowers and scroll foliage, a figure ofa boyat the top, and a swan below, 6 ft. 6 in, high, 3 ft. 3 in. wide, £94 Ios. On February 8th, at the same galleries, a Louis XV. secretaire, with cylinder front and five drawers below, veneered with tulip and kingwood, and inlaid with satin- wood mounted in ormolu, realised £189; a writing-table of the same period with three drawers, veneered with tulip and kingwood, and mounted in ormolu, £110 5s. ; a Charles II. oak day-bed, the stretchers, etc., carved with scroll foliage and amorini supporting crowns, on turned legs and supports, with two caned panels in the end, 66 in. long, £107 2s. ; anda Louis XVI. secretaire with cylinder centre and drawer above and below, veneered with satinwood in narrow mahogany borders mounted in ormolu, surmounted by a dove-grey marble slab, 50 in. wide, £68 5s. A suite of mahogany furniture of Empire design, with supports of ormolu designed as classical figures, etc., covered in green brocade, was knocked down for £81 18s. It consisted of settee, couch, two fauteuils, four chairs, three stools, and a circular table, with green marble top. The sensation of the sale was provided, however, by an Adam mahogany side-table and a pair of urns, on pedestals, which were finally disposed of for the sum of £493. The side-table was 8 ft. wide, of serpentine shape, carved with a frieze of fluting and rosettes on fluted tapering legs. The urns were each 6 ft. high, and formed as classical vases carved with rosettes, laurel festoons, etc., mounted with metal-gilt mask and ring handles, on pedestals similarly carved and fitted as cellarettes and cupboards. Five Hepplewhite mahogany arm-chairs, with stuffed seats and oval backs, the borders reeded and slightly carved with rosettes and ribands, realised £105 Ios. at Messrs. Christie’s on February 1oth. A Georgian mahogany side-table, carved with a frieze of running scroll ornament on scroll legs carved with foliage and claw feet, 4 ft. 8 in. wide, sold for £63; an old English chiming clock, by Chas. Bayles, London, in pedestal- shaped mahogany case, mounted with metal-gilt borders chased with terminal busts and flowers, and side panels pierced with strapwork and caryatides, 204 in. high, £40 19s. ; and a Flemish oak armoire, enclosed by fold- ing doors carved with a shield, foliage, and Corinthian capitals, 9 ft. high, 8 ft. wide, rev 13s. the seats and — Furniture formed a feature of the sale at Mr. Daweéll’s rooms (18, George Street, Edinburgh) on February 12th. A Jacobean day-bed, on square and spiral standards, carved with crowns and leaves, with cane panels in bottom and back, realised £72 gs. ; and an old Flemish oak cabinet, enclosed by two panel doors of architectural design with ebony pillars, oblique fluted pediment, masks in relief, on stand with drawer and vase-shaped standards, £26. Amongst the types of later date, twelve Hepple- white mahogany chairs, shield-shaped and scroll backs (eight, three, and one arm), sold for £68; eight ditto, with vase-shaped backs, seats in green hair-cloth (two arm and one single), £50; a Chippendale mahogany dressing-table, with five drawers, serpentine front, legs with strapwork in relief and fretwork brackets, chased brass handles, 3 ft. 6in. long, £60 18s. ; seven Chippen- dale mahogany ribbon-back chairs, on square legs with fretwork brackets (arm and six single), £56; a Chip- pendale mahogany dressing stool on openwork legs, with strapwork borders, £33 12s. ; an Adam mahogany _ serpentine front side-table, on square tapered legs, 225 5 ft. 11 in., £42; and a mahogany inlaid Sheraton china cabinet, base enclosed by two panel doors, upper part by two glazed doors, with shaped astagals, 3 ft. 8 in. by 7 ft., £46 4s. A carved armchair, with finely chased Spanish ieather-work on seat and back, was knocked down for £32 11s. ; and a kingwood inlaid upright writing cabinet, with folding front and two panel doors, oval inlaid panels of classical pillar subjects, on low vase-shaped standards, 3 ft. 4 in. by 4 ft. 11 in., £30 9s. MEssRs. SOTHEBY, WILKINSON & HODGE sold some porcelain belonging to Mrs. Richards. A pair of Minton two-handled vases with stoppers, with white figures in low relief on a dark blue ground, signed L. Solon, realised £20, and two Minton vases, with white figures in relief ona dark blue ground, both signed L. Solon, £18. A Chelsea figure of an Ethiopian holding a butterfly in his fingers, on a scrolled base, fetched £20. A Sévres oval dish, bowl (slightly damaged), and cover, dark blue ground, with panels of flowers and gilding, brought £15, and a Sévres plateau, dark blue ground decorated with gilding, and centrepiece of flowers and birds, £10. On the next day, a Lambeth Delft pill slab, painted in blue with the arms, supporters, and motto of the Apothecaries’ Company, was knocked down for £5 15s., and a coloured salt-glaze farmyard teapot and cover, with a lamb on the lid for a handle, £16. A varied collection of porcelain from various sources Pottery and Porcelain

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The Connoisseur came under the hammer at Messrs. Christie’s on Febru- ary 3rd. The property of the late John Vincent, J.P., of Weymouth, a Chinese famille-verte vase of cylindrical shape, enamelled with tournament scenes before a mandarin, a stippled-green band round the shoulder, and boys playing on the neck, 184 in. high, Kang-He, brought £58 16s. ; whilst a pair of Bow candlesticks, with figures of a girl and youth with bird’s nest and cage standing in bosquets of flowers, on green, lake, and gold scroll plinths, 11 in. high, realised £30 9s. Amongst the different properties which were next dealt with, a set of four Chelsea figures of children representing the Seasons, on green and gold scroll plinths, 7} in. high, sold for £42, and a Dresden group of two children, with drums and flowers, 6 in. high, £15 4s. 6d. The highest bid for a Lowestoft coffee-cup and saucer, painted with vine festoons in red and gold, and inscribed ‘‘ Maud E. Calder, Norwich, 1776,” was £17 6s. 6d. Ofthe services which were put to auction, a Spode dinner service, painted with flowers in colours in white and* gold gadrooned borders, consisting of 161 pieces, reached the sum of £29 8s., and a Coalport dessert service, painted with flowers, and with dark green panels round the borders, consisting of thirty-seven pieces, £27 6s. A Hispano-Mauro dish, decorated with foliage in copper lustre and blue, with raised centre boss, 16 in. diameter, attained the amount of £17 17s. The property of the late Mrs. Horton, of Edgbaston, a Chelsea figure of Britannia, 13 in. high, fetched £17 17s. Messrs. Christie’s on February 8th obtained £131 5s. for-a pair of Chinese figures of H6-Ho birds standing on rock-work, their plumage enamelled green, yellow, and aubergine, 12$ in. high, Kang-He. A Hdéchst group of a boy and girl, with a lamb and flowers, on rock-work plinth, 7 in. high, fetched £77 14s.; a pair of old Worcester commode-shaped jardiniéres, painted with birds and branches in the Oriental taste, in panels with gilt scroll borders on dark blue scale-pattern ground, and with white and gold scroll outline to the tops, 62 in. high, 84 in. wide, £56 14s.; and a pair of Chelsea candlesticks, with white and gold scroll stems, encrusted with flowers, and modelled with figures of children emblematic of the four Seasons in high relief, 114 in. high, £54 12s. A famille-verte dish enamelled with a basket of flowers in the centre, and rocks in compart- ments round the border, 153 in. diameter, Kang-He, realised £44 2s. at the same firm on February Joth. At a sale held by Mr. Dowell, of Edinburgh, on February 12th, an ovoid famille-verte vase decorated with a ceremonial scene, empty ring mark under base, Kang-Hsi, 124 in. high, with carved black wood cover, brought £32 I1Is.; a blue and white beaker vase, decorated with deer and birds in a landscape, Kang-He, 17} in. high, £27 6s. ; a Chinese beaker-shaped famille- rose vase, with ovoid body decorated with figure subjects, circa 1800, 164 in. high, £21; and a Chinese mottled turquoise glaze vase, fifteenth century, 14} in. high, £17 6s. 6d. The sum of 46 gns. was paid for a Crown Derby inkstand at a sale held in aid of the Red Cross at 226 Newport, Mon., on February 17th. Lady Rhondda acted as auctioneer for this occasion. MESSRS. KNIGHT, FRANK & RUTLEY sold an impor- tant collection of jewellery, by order of the administrator of the late Miss E. J. Trehawke Davies, at their rooms (20, Hanover Square) on February 3rd. The highest sum realised was that of £1,360 for a necklace of sixty-five graduated oriental pearls, with diamond snap. A choice white square-cut brilliant, with smaller one above, set in chain of platinum and diamonds as a necklet, was knocked down for £800. To mention a few only of the other items of interest, a three-stone brilliant ring, mounted in platinum with diamond shoulders, fetched £255; an emerald of fine colour, and two choice white brilliants mounted as a ring, £230; and a circular diamond plaque, composed of white brilliants, with platinum and diamond chain, £160. An interesting lot, the property of a gentleman, consisted of an hexagonal emerald of unusual size, mounted in enamelled gold as a pendant, in the Holbein manner, and set with ten square rubies. The back was enamelled in Tudor roses and laurels, and under a crown was inscribed ‘‘ Elizabeth.” This piece, which was given by the Duke of York, son of George III., to Mr. Bridge, of Messrs. Rundell & Bridge, the celebrated firm of gold- smiths, was sold for £180. Immediately preceding the above, a collet necklace of forty-six fine white brilliants brought £460; and a set of brilliant stars, £200. Jewellery AN old Flemish tapestry panel, representing a Bac- chanalian dance, 1o ft. 10 in. by 6 ft. 8 in., realised £162 15s. at Mr. Dowell’s rooms (Edinburgh) on February 12th. A set of old English embroidered hang- ings worked with sprays of flowers in coloured silks and wool on linen, seventeenth century (consisting of a panel 13 ft. 4 in. by 8 ft., another 13 ft. 9 in. by 8 ft., another 6 ft. g in. by 5 ft. 6 in., another 4 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 1o in., and another 4 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 11 in.), fetched £68 5s. at Christie’s on February 3rd. At Christie’s on February 8th a pair of tapestry panels, woven with Italian land- scapes and peasants, signed ‘‘Bernardinvs Bvsoni Venetvs F.,” 19 in. by 24 in., framed, brought £131 5s. The same firm obtained £199 15s. for an Ispahan rug, with a conventional design on ruby centre, and dark blue border, 6 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 6 in., on February roth. A Persian silk rug, with formal foliage and arabesque ornament in red and buff on dark blue centre, and striped red border, 9 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 5 in., fetched £126. At Sotheby’s on February 2nd an English seventeenth- century beadwork jewel box, 9 in. long, with rising lid and fall-down front, the inside fitted with small drawers and compartments, the top and sides covered with coloured beads forming designs of flowers, etc., inscribed on the back, ‘‘F.B. -:- 1654 .:- ET——,” brought £9 10s. At the same sale, a Chinese painting on glass of a young girl pulling down a bough of ripe pome- granates, and a boy by the steps of a house holding a sceptre, 18 in. by 25} in., attained the amount of £4 4s. Tapestry, Objets d’Art, etc.

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————— ee It was Ruskin who, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, confessed that his affections as well as his experience led him ‘‘to that line of richly varied and magnificently intellectual schools which reaches, like a high watershed of Christian architecture, from the Adriatic to the Northumbrian seas, bordered by the impure schools of Spain on the one hand and of Ger- many on the other.” Chance and choice haveiled Sir Thomas Graham Jackson to confine the scope of his Gothic Architecture to much the same field of survey. As he wisely confines his criticisms to what he has personally seen, and seen since he had the book in hand, his two substantial volumes are wholly devoted to the Gothic buildings of France, England, and Italy. The incidence of the war has prevented him from extending his survey to Spain, while the same cause has automatically excluded Ger- many and the Low Countries. The omission of the Low Countries is the only one which need give the reader serious cause for regret. The municipal buildings of Belgium include some of the finest Gothic buildings of Europe, and in view of the deliberate destruction wrought among them by the German forces, it is a loss to both art and architecture that Sir Thomas was not able to make his learned and discriminative appreciations of their beauties while they still remained in their pristine condition. Spain contains some remarkable examples of Gothic architecture, but, generally speaking, it is not rich in them, while German Gothic shows less originality than that of any other of the Germanic nations. To account for its weakness in this respect, a weakness which appears the more surprising when it is remembered that the secondary meaning of the term ‘‘ Gothic” is ‘* Teutonic or Germanic,” one must take into account the fact that the present empires of Germany and Austria are inhabited by the descendants of the least enterprising, civilised, and artistic of the Germanic races. The nations who repelled the power of Rome and finally overwhelmed her empire are now to be found west of the Rhine, among Goths, Franks, Burgundians, Saxons, Normans, Danes, “ Gothic Archi- tecture,” by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, Bart., R.A, (Cambridge University Press, 2 vols. £2 12s, 6d. net) YxLlo tempore? 227 fitiseet ff and Lombards who settled in France, the Low Countries, England, and Italy, and interposed an impregnable barrier to the inroads of the Eastern barbarians and the Mohammedans of the South. The finest monuments of English and French Gothic architecture had been erected when the country from which the King of Prussia derives his title was still inhabited by heathen barbarians. Gothic architecture ‘‘ attained its perfect development in France and England. In Italy, though it was the cradle of Romanesque architecture from which Gothic sprang, classic tradition was never lost, and Italian Gothic is Gothic with a difference.” Splendour of colour, beauty of material, and refinement and delicacy of work- manship are the qualities it emphasises rather than logical architectural form. The last trait is best exemplified in French work, more especially in the churches in the Ile de France, among which Amiens may be taken as the most perfect specimen of logical expression. Sir Thomas does not hold with those extremists who, by their defini- tions of what constitutes Gothic architecture, would limit the term to these examples, and so exclude the great bulk not only of English, but of French and other continental work. As he points out, ‘‘the true way of looking at Gothic art is to regard it not as a definite style bound by certain formulas—for it is infinitely various—but rather as the expression of a certain temper, sentiment, and spirit which inspired the whole method of doing the Middle Ages in sculpture and painting as well as architecture.” English Gothic must be considered less as a branch of the French than as one of two twin stems growing from the same root. It developed on independent lines, and while ideas have passed from either country to the other, the manner in which these have been adopted and carried out makes them the property of the borrower. Sir Thomas Jackson has not attempted to describe a great number of architectural works, but has wisely con- fined himself to those examples which are typical of the history and development of the style, and he is thus able to give a rational and instructive view of it as a whole. In several instances he has been called in to profession- ally investigate the condition of the buildings he has chosen, and so is able to give facts which throw light on

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= - Sandars. The Connotsseur their intention and construction, and in some instances nullify theories which have been advanced by previous writers on the subject. Both the charm and utility of the work are much heightened by the numerous scholarly original drawings, mostly from the pencil of the author, with which the photogra- phic illustrations are supplemented. By means of these, vari- ous features which would only be imper- fectly set out by the camera are fully eluci- dated, while the draw- ings in themselves are often beautiful works of art, as well as archi- tectural records. Alto- gether the two hand- somely mounted vol- umes form a worthy sequel to Sir Thomas Jackson’s previous work on Romanesque architecture. In many respects it is the more interesting of the two books, for the earlier style was never so perfectly assimilated in England as were the various phases of Gothic work, many of which received their highest ex em plifica- tion here. Another point which gives the work an exceptional interest at the present time is that Rheims Cathedral and other Set AVN DEE SECTION OF ROOF AT WYMONDHAM CHURCH FROM ‘‘GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE ” famous buildings which have been wilfully destroyed or suffered grievous damage at the hands of the Germans, are fully described and illustrated. These records help to make the English reader better appreciate the horrors of modern war as waged by the Huns. Centuries of conflict have passed over these buildings without their suffering material in- jury. It has been left to the apostles of modern ‘‘ Kultur” to show that the spirit of their barbarian forefathers still exists among them in all its original savagery. ‘Life and Times of Queen Adelaide,” by Mary F. (Stanley Paul & Co. 16s. net) QUEEN ADELAIDE only enjoyed a moderate degree of popularity during her short reign as consort of William IV., 228 + though subsequently in her réle as queen-dowager she gained the warm respect and affection not only of her immediate associates, but of the whole population of England. Miss Mary F. Sandars’s interest- ing biography enables one to understand this phenomena, and real- ise how a thoroughly good woman, and one perfectly well inten- tioned in all her actions, should give occasion for much aspersion on her con- duct, some of which was not altogether un- justified. The queen was born a princess of Saxe-Meiningen, a little German duchy, not much larger than the individual estates of several English noblemen. Its govern- ment, though nomin- ally constitutional, was practically a benevo- lent despotism, the reigning duke having a controlling influence in public matters, and exercising it with patri- iS archal philanthropy. Coming from the midst of a régime of this de- scription, the princess failed to understand English party politics, a failure which was not of much importance until herhusband came to the throne. As wife of the Duke of Clar- ence, the princess had more than fulfilled all that was expected of her, and had exercised a discreet and beneficial influence on her somewhat erratic hus- band’s conduct; but when she became queen her early training and surroundings inclined her to regard all movements in favour of reform as a prelude to a similar revolution as that which had within her own time occurred in France, and trembled for her own head, and even more, perhaps, for that of her husband. She became a strong partisan of the Tory party, and greatly strengthened the king in his opposition to the Reform Bill. The public, perhaps, gave her credit for more influence than she possessed, and for the greater portion of his short reign she was made a scapegoat by the Liberal press for nearly all his unpopular actions. It was not until his death “hs dir ZEN —— — (CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS)

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The Connotsseur Bookshelf restored her to a private station that her unaffected benevolence, honesty of purpose, and exemplary piety were properly appreciated. Miss Sandars has drawn a most successful character study of Queen Adelaide, and her book throws much in- teresting light on the queen’s rela- tions with the Duchess of Kent, the statesmen of the period, the king’sillegitimate children —the FitzClarences— and On the social manners and cus- toms. It is writ- ten fluently, and reads easily, but would have been improved by more careful edit- ing. One suspects that the contin- gent of three hun- dred men which Miss Sandars states were raised when “Meiningen joined the Con- federation of the Rhine ” were not sent to ‘‘ fight in the armies of the Allies against the French,” but vce versa. The Con- federation was a creation of Napo- leon, and, until after the retreat from Moscow in 1814, was wholly under his control. Miss Mellon, the actress, did not marry ‘‘ Mr. Child, the banker,” but Thomas Coutts. March 18th was not the ‘‘anniver- sary of the battle of Waterloo,” as it took place on June 18th, and an anecdote given on page 135, though fortified by the authority of the Countess of Munster, appears sadly mixed up. It states that Lady Munster (when Miss Erskine), daughter of William’s youngest daughter by Mrs. Jordan, ‘‘ being one day placed at lunch” at Windsor near a girl much younger than the rest of the company, and anxious to put her next-door neighbour at ease, addressed her with much amiability, “*Parlez- vous Francais, mademoiselle?” to which the i \ ' J ‘ih \\ Soman Fy - WAYS \ - ~) | | a NCSASAZINN _ USNC SEMUR-EN-AUXOIS | Zz, RASS ss Bat oo nn : = ry : WON Sa SSSSSS Sok FROM ‘‘GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE ” (CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS) 229 little girl smiled and bowed, but made no answer. Ofa second and third repetition of the question she took no notice, and then Miss Erskine was rebuked by a lady she did not know, and was told that she ‘‘had no right to address the Princess Vic- toria.” Lady Munster was not the daughter of Amelia, the fifth and youngest daughter of Wil- liam IV., but of Augusta, his fourth daughter. She was over ten years younger than the Princess Victoria, and must have been an infant in short clothesatthe time the latter could still be appropri- ately described as a little girl. ‘* Notes on Some Rare Portraits of Whistler,” by A. E, Gallatin (John Lane 5 dollars net) THAT great men are remem- bered for their foibles rather than by their achievements is an anomaly which illustrates how largely the personal equation attracts the inter- est of humanity. The predilection has been the means of causing an enormous number of books to be written about certain personages equally distinguished for their eccentricities as for their genius, while others who only possessed the latter recommendation have been passed by compara- tively unnoticed. A case in point is that of James McNeil Whistler. Had he been merely a master of the brush and needle, though his work would always have rendered him a noteworthy figure in art, it is probable that by now his career would have ceased to possess any literary attraction forthe general public. But Whistler was also an artist in eccentricity ; he cultivated it as if it were a SS. Ss NARS Skee a {SS ee SS = <a —

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The Connoisseur rare talent, with the result that during his lifetime he bulked far more largely in the eyes of the public than many painters of greater contemporary reputation, and since his death the issue of works concerning him is suffi- cient to filla good-sized library. The flow still continues, the latest addition being a slender and dainty volume by Mr. A. E. Gallatin, entitled Votes on Some Rare Portraits of Whistler, which may be regarded as a supplement to the writer’s well-known iconography of Whistler’s por- traits. One could better spare many a more ambitious work concerning the artist, for all the portraits illustrated —there are six of them—are of great interest, and Mr. Gallatin’s notes are, as usual, crisp, concise, illumina- tive, and admirably expressed. The portraits reproduced include one by Sir Francis Seymour Haden, noteworthy as one of the earliest likenesses of the artist extant; an admirable drypoint by Boldini, executed in 1897, which shows the artist indulging in his ‘‘after dejeuner” nap, and is an admirable and characteristic likeness ; a second drypoint by Paul Helleu; a clever and witty caricature by Max Beerbohm; and one less witty, but thoroughly amusing, by E. T. Reed. These, with the painting by Thomas R. Way, constitute a series of likenesses of Whistler which it would be hard to beat, as revealing characteristic aspects of his versatile personality. A seventh portrait is a description taken from the diary of Mr. William B. Osgood Field, which is too long to quote and too good to condense, giving as vivid a pen-picture of the artist as anything that has been written. IN spite of the war, the thirty-seventh annual issue of that invaluable compilation, The Vear’s Art, appears in its normal guise, with none of its usual features omitted or curtailed. The chief difference between the present volume and that for the previous year is to be found in the record of the art sales. The war has sadly interfered both with the number and value of the art properties offered by auction. Whereas in 1914 thirty-eight pictures sold for 1,400 guineas and upwards, and in 1913 no less than eighty-five attained this figure, in 1915 only four items came up to the standard, the honours being evenly divided between English and foreign artists. The highest price of the year—6,600 guineas— was realised at the Sydney sale by Madame Vigée Le Brun’s Portrait of the Artist; Lawrence’s Portrait of the Daughters of Col. Cartaret Hardy, sold at the Crews sale for 5,200 guineas, took second place; then came Gainsborough’s Miss Marsham, which brought £3,600 “The Year’s Art, 1916,” compiled by A. R. C. Carter (Hutchinson & Co, 5s. net) at the Sydney sale; while the last item in the quar? tette was furnished by Guardi’s Canal Scene and the Square, Venice, which fell to a bid of 2,500 guineas at the Charteris sale. The orthodox sale record is supplemented with a long and interesting account of the leading Red Cross dispersals which have taken place, the most note- worthy being that held at Messrs. Christie’s between 230 April 12th and 26th, at which £37,383 was realised. The volume apparently went to press before the recent closure of the larger proportion of the national museums in London was inaugurated; but the Diploma Gallery at Burlington House has now been shut up for many months, and the National Portrait Gallery has also not been accessible to the public for a long time, so that it would seem that the temporary massacre of these innocents, at all events, might have been noted. Mr. A. R. C. Carter, however, must be warmly con- gratulated on the success he has shown in carrying on this useful publication during these disastrous times for art. THOUGH one may hardly agree with the suggestion implied by Mr. Max Beerbohm in his preparatory note that Sir Rabindranath Tagore owed his knighthood to the wire-pulling of Mr. William Rothenstein, one may readily acknowledge that his accomplished portraits of the East- ern sage and poet have done much to familiarise his appearance to the English public. Six of these por- traits have now been reproduced on a large scale, and issued in a slender folio volume. The reproductions are finely executed in collotype, a process which perhaps excels any other mechanical method for the realisation of pencil or crayon drawings, and the touch and feeling of the originals could scarcely be better suggested. Among the technical charms of Mr. Rothenstein’s work are its directness and simplicity. He sets down what he has to tell easily and unaffectedly, so that, asin the productions of the greater masters, it is the subject that first attracts the spectator’s attention, rather than the manner of its execution. As Mr. Beerbohm states in his note, the artist has been favoured with a sitter of exceptionally interesting personality in Sir Rabindranath Tagore. The latter, unlike most people, is ‘fone of those men who rather resemble their souls and their work,” so that even a photograph would reveal his personality, and thus Mr. Rothenstein has been called upon to exercise less than his usual acumen in revealing the physiognomy of his sitter. This does not, however, detract from the merit of the work, and one may hope that it may be the precursor of other similar efforts. A series of portraits of national celebrities conceived on the same lines—that is to say, giving the aspect of each personage depicted from every point of view—would be “Six Portraits of Sir Rabindranath Tagore,” by W. Rothenstein, with an Introduction by Max Beerbohm (Macmillan, 10s, net) of great interest to future historical students. WE welcome the appearance of an important Life of Robert Adam and His Brothers, from Messrs. B. T. en Batsford, Ltd. The volume is the ; , work of Mr. John Swarbrick, and ane Sun eegreers will be the subject of an extended illustrated review in our May number.

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LA PRINCESSE DE CONTI [Photo Mansell BY PIERRE GOBERT At Versailles

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". Ls op ate’ ae Res a fk oars 5 per mei reve ; 3 eS

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THE fifth annual exhibition of the National Portrait Societye was distinguished by the inclusion of several exceptionally interesting works, while the general quality of the display was well maintained. Mrs. Laura Knight in her self portrait did not appear at her best, the smile with which she had invested her features National Portrait Society having a set appearance which was disagreeable. She, however, showed good colour, and a similar compliment may be paid to Mr. G. W. Lambert’s Llue-Coat Boy, one of the most pleasing transcripts of boyhood in the exhibition. One must confess to a regard for this manly, chubby little fellow, which was not evoked by the JZaster Pringle of Mr. William Nicholson. In this the artist appeared. to have only considered his subject as an esthetic problem, without especially desiring to attract the spectator to the personality of his sitter. Within these limitations he had succeeded perfectly ; the rather sickly complexion of the child, his pale flaxen hair, white fur coat and blue suit had been wrought into a perfect colour arrangement ; while the textures of flesh, hair, and clothing were given with superb mastery. The Boddie Somerset, by the same artist, was a capital cabinet por- trait of an officer in khaki, animated, life-like, and con- vincing. Another work of about the same dimensions was Lieutenant Connard’s Portrait Study of a lady in white, painted with great force and directness. Mr. Charles Shannon’s ELméroidered Shawl (Miss Miriam Levy), and the Woman Sewing, by Mr. Walter Greaves, have both been seen and described before; they both appeared to better advantage than when shown previously. The Mrs. Walter Russell of Mr. Ambrose McEvoy was worthily given one of the principal places of honour. It was a singularly complete picture, the personality of the sitter, as seen by the artist, her graceful form, and the tone and colour of the work being conveyed as a homo- geneous whole, of which all the parts were sympathetically related. The colouring was luminous and tender, and the modelling of the figure, without being over-accentuated, was beautifully suggested. A complete contrast of method was shown in Mr. John’s Cafpéain Pringle, which was hard and unsympathetic, yet a finely forcible piece of unflattered characterisation. The same artist’s Madame Rane was marred by a certain element of vulgarity in $33 the exaggerated accentuation of the sitter’s lips and the unalloyed vividness of the colouring. Most successful of the three examples by this artist was Zhe Lady with the Mantilla, which was marked by greater reticence and feeling, as well as superb brushwork. The /ucantation : Ma Seyn Mé, of Mr. Gerald F. Kelly, was one of his Eastern subjects, marked by good drawing and colouring, yet somewhat lacking in interest as presenting an un- familiar type of figure to whose passions and emotions the spectator has little clue. In this way the well-painted and shrewdly but kindly characterised portrait of M/s. Hlarrison was the more attractive work. Mr. John Lavery’s Mrs. Thorfe, without being one of his greatest portraits, was marked by his usual distinction of style and virile yet refined handling. Mr. Harold Speed had a couple of heads, of which the portrait of Lzeutenant Ralph Speed was a manly and straightforward piece of portraiture ; while Mr. Harold Knight’s Wild Flowers, a picture of a girl holding a large bunch of foxgloves, was noteworthy for its pre-Raphaelite veracity in the rendering of all the details of the work while still retain- ing a feeling of breadth and atmosphere. Mr. Alfred Wolmark’s clever post-impressionist pictures afforded a piquant foil to this. Both gave the impression of being designed for posters, and the portrait of 17. Davids, in fencing costume, bordered on a caricature. Yet in their arrangement of flat tones of brilliant colour they attained a highly decorative effect and were undeniably attractive. ENGLISH eighteenth-century draughtsmanship was frequently faulty; the greatest men of the period had only imperfectly studied anatomy, and ree drew more by instinct than through whe ved knowledge. The tradition for accurate Drawings drawing, which had been established by Holbein, was weakened by Van Dyck, and nearly de- stroyed by Reynolds, who, conscious of the deficiencies of his early training, sought for expression in colour and tone rather than in form. The outcome of this is that English drawings of the period do not reach the same height of attainment as the oil-paintings ; they are, never- theless, distinguished by much the same charm—a charm derived largely from the unsophisticated intention of their artists to express beauty, without wandering aside

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The Connoisseur in quest of novelty or the illustration of abstruse artistic theories. This charm was well exemplified in the col- lection of original drawings by English artists of the eighteenth century, exhibited at the galleries of Messrs. Colnaghi and Obach (144-6, New Bond Street). Though not representative of all the English talent of the period, they gave an epitome of the best, and included one or two earlier examples as well. Of these the portrait of Catherine Countess of Pembroke, in coloured chalks, by the seventeenth-century artist John Greenhill, was the most interesting. He was a pupil of Lely, but this fresh and refined drawing shows more of the feeling of Van Dyck. A portrait of Philip Earl of Pembroke, in the same medium, might also be by the same hand, yet one must approve Messrs. Colnaghi’s reticence in not giving it such attribution, for English artists of the period, if not numerous, were far more numerous than is generally supposed, and the identification of their works, when not supported by signatures or other direct evidence, is a matter of extreme difficulty. Gainsborough was finely represented by a vigorous Landscafe and a Landscape with Cottage and Figures, both in black chalk, and combining brilliance of execution with spontaneity of feeling. The Study for a Portrait of a Lady was not handled with quite his usual daintiness or grace. John Downman, if not an artist in the same rank as Gains- borough, maintained a singularly even level of accom- plishment, and the eight examples by him included in the exhibition showed him at his best. Perhaps the male portraits were the more interesting, because of the superior vigour of their characterisation. The ladies appeared too obviously painted to please, though an exception may be made in regard to his water-colour of Mrs. Petre, in which the age of the sitter was not disguised, and both her face and costume were rendered with fine veracity as well as delicacy. Two highly-wrought ladies’ heads by Lawrence, a graceful portrait of J7/zss Bloomfield, by Adam Buck, realised with more than usual restraint and refinement, and the somewhat effeminate but well-drawn Portrait of a Gentleman, by Richard Cosway, practically completed the examples by portrait painters who worked much in crayon and water-colours. John Hoppner essayed these mediums but rarely, and his chalk draw- ing of a Girl under a Tree, and a rendering in pen- -and-ink of Mrs. Crouch, showed a directness and vigour of execution consistent with the style of a habitual painter in oils. The examples by H. W. Bunbury made one regret that this gifted amateur had not been com- pelled by the pressure of circumstances to take his art more seriously. His water-colour of a Lady and Child was set down with delightful ease and grace, accented by the colour-notes in the black hat and crimson gown of the principal figure. Rowlandson, his more famous contemporary, if possessing more assured technical skill, was heavier and more mannered in his handling. His two most pleasing examples were his Excavations of Bath and A Building Scene, in which the figures and their sur- roundings were happily composed, and the former realised with less questionable humour than usual. Cleverer than these was perhaps A Connoisseur, its grossness being redeemed by the wonderful ease and facility ot its hand- ling, yet this is accomplished partly at the cost of sympathetic feeling. ~Rowlandson, like many other swift workmen, adapted his subjects to his art rather than his art to his subjects. A number of topographical drawings included a careful rendering of London Bridge and Fishmongers Hall, by G. Yates, and an interesting 234 View of East India House, by Thomas Malton. THE exhibition entitled ‘‘ Some Recent Developments of Modern Art,” at the Dowdeswell Galleries, formed Widen tick an interesting corollary to the dis- play of earlier work shown at Messrs. Colnaghi’s. Though by no means wholly confined to drawings, or even to recent work, the great bulk of the exhibits were of drawings by living English artists, and thus enabled the visitor to the two exhibitions to contrast current work with the achievements of artists of over a century ago. The:great difference appears to be in outlook. ‘The moderns are the better draughtsmen, but they are also the more self-conscious, and work with a greater craving for originality ; thus what they produce, though more intellectual, is often the less enjoyable, and is not unfrequently marred by deliberate ugliness. Perhaps the honours of the display were carried off by Mr. Sargent and Mr. Augustus John. The former’s Moraine, an effect of brilliant sunlight on a bewildering chaos of stones backed by blue mountain slopes and glacier ice, was rendered with the ease, fluency, and directness with which the artist appears to master any technical difficulties, however formidable. Mr. John, like the little girl in Longfellow’s poem, is either very, very good or the reverse. His weakest efforts were his Peasants and A Group of Peasants, which were simply pieces of archaic affectation. These looked the worse from hang- ing on either side of the same artist’s sentient and finely drawn Portrait of a Woman, distinguished by its direct and fluent handling. His Yellow Shawl, though savour- ing more of the Italian primitives than of Mr. John himself, was marked by good colour; but best of all, perhaps, were the series of beautiful drawings chiefly from the nude, which were triumphs of flowing and supple line. Mr. Ambrose McEvoy’s pen and pencil drawings of architectural themes, though topographically accurate in their realisation of the buildings depicted, attained both distinction and artistic interest, while Mr. C. J. Holmes, in his Farm Buildings, showed how he could invest a simple and even commonplace subject with something of monumental dignity and repose. Other good work was contributed by Messrs. Henry Tonks, Derwent Lees, Muirhead Bone, and J. D. Innes; while in the retrospective section were some beautiful figure- studies by Burne-Jones, Albert Moore, and Albert Stevens, and an interesting sketch of Llanderis Lake, by Turner. The London Salon THE eighth London salon was this year housed at the Grafton Gallery instead of at the Albert Hall—a change of venue which did not wholly help it. The Albert Hall

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surroundings provided an un- conventional background for an unconven- tional exhibi- tion; the more orthodox rooms of the Grafton Gallery gave the display a more conventional appearance, and it resolved itself into an olio of miscellaneous works, chiefly of an ‘advanced character, yet less so than many on exhi- bition else- where. Gener- ally speaking, the smaller ex- amples looked by far the best, the method of hanging allow- ing them to be far better view- ed than if they were displayed in customary close exhibition array. Among the ex- hibits, three oil panels by Mr. Jack B. Yeats caught the spirit of Irish life, and presented it with force and origi- nality. Some frames of sketches by Miss Winifred Roome had the appearance of being painted from nature, and attained an agreeable freshness of colour. Mr. H. E. Compton contributed several Turneresque coast scenes, pleasing in tone; Miss Hilda Cowham had some quaint and amusing drawings of children, designed apparently for reproduction ; while Miss Mabel Atkinson’s conscien- tious studies of pigs were thoroughly true to life. Other artists who contributed effective works included Mrs. J. C. Pollock, Mr. Jan Gordon, and Miss Gwendoline Williams, MISS BLOOMFIELD BY PERMISSION OF MESSRS. P. AND D. COLNAGHI AND OBACH the latter’s statuette of a little boy, entitled Zhe Daisy, being both original in conception and well modelled. A New de Hooch for the National Gallery THE announcement of the purchase of the little picture known as Zhe Music Party, by Pieter de Hooch, for the 235 saat Avt Notes National Gal- lery, has been received with a good deal of adverse criti- cism, which ap- pears to be fully justified. At the best of times the funds avail- able for the ac- quirement of works of art for the national col- lections are woefully inade- quate, and at the present time the sus- pension of the Government grants for this purpose has re- duced them to a meagre in- come derived from one or two legacies. It is therefore es- sential that this income should be utilised to the best advan- tage. Obviously this can only be done by filling in gaps in the representation of artists who are at present either unrepre- sented or inade- ‘quately repre- | sented in the galleries. Pieter de Hooch comes under neither of these categories. There are already four pictures ascribed to him in the National Gallery, three of which are un- doubtedly by him, while the fourth is accepted by leading authorities; the former are fine and characteristic speci- mens belonging to his best period. The new picture acquired by the trustees is dated 1677—the latest date on any of the artist’s works—and belongs to the time of his artistic decline, when, according to Bode, the painter ‘‘ sacrifices his individuality to the taste of the time, and by piquant representation and costume - painting endeavours to make’ up for what his pictures have lost in the charm of light, beauty and harmony of colour, and liveliness of expression.” It appears to be an act of folly on the part of the trustees to add an unsatis- factory specimen of work by a foreign artist who is already BY ADAM BUCK

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The Connoisseur well represented, when, according to their own recent report, there are 48 painters of primary and 378 of secondary importance who are altogether unrepresented in the national collection, while 64 masters are only in- adequatelyrepresented. Ofthe 490 artists thus scheduled, no less than 62 are English. DURING the ten days it was on view, the British Industries Fair at the Victoria and Albert Museum pre- The British sented a scene of bustling animation. OSE ee In. appearance it was like a huge bazaar, the simulation being height- ened by the character of the exhibits, which ,chiefly consisted of articles of an ornamental as well as a utili- tarian character. Practically the exhibition only touched the fringe of British trade. Many industries were shut out because they are fully engaged on Government and other essential work, and others—like jewellers—be- cause at present it is against public policy to encourage the use of bullion. The products which were repre- sented—toys, fancy goods, fine art printing and blocks, pottery and glass—were not nearly so well exemplified as they would have been in the halcyon days of peace, many leading manufacturers finding that the shortage of labour and materials has so interfered with their output that they have already more work on hand than they can well manage. To some extent, then, the time was in- opportune for such an exhibition, but the Board of Trade in organising it and the firms taking part in it have done wisely. To be successful in the future industrial war, it is necessary that manufacturers should get in touch with likely customers now, so that when the cessation of the clash of arms shall bring back the days of strenuous commercial conflict, they shall have all their plans arranged and be ready to step into the field fully prepared. High as was the general quality of the wares shown in the exhibition, there are some points in which it would be well for manufacturers to alter their methods. One of these isin the practical duplication of wares by different makers. This was especially noticeable in the pottery section. Many of the stalls showed a wide variety of. pieces very similar in quality and design to those dis- played on other stalls ; so that a shopkeeper might have purchased almost his entire stocks of trade from an individual maker. In Germany economies are effected by the formation of syndicates, in which each member specialises on some particular article ; this cheapens the cost of production and enables the same travellers to represent the whole syndicate. Though the disturbance of trade consequent on the war has prevented makers from bringing out their usual number of novelties, the general movement in the direc- tion of more artistic design still continues. This was equally exemplified in utilitarian pieces as well as those intended for purely ornamental purposes. Among the latter the Ruskin pottery of Mr. Howson Taylor (West Smethwick) took high rank, both on account of its beauty and its technical merits. This ware is worthy of com- parison with that produced in some of the best periods of Chinese ceramic art. The body is exceptionally light and possesses a fine surface quality, while the shapes of the pieces are beautifully proportioned. Its great dis- tinction, however, is in its exquisite colourings, which range from slightly broken tints to rich patternings rivalling cloisonné enamel and attaining a jewel-like lustre. The Lancastrian pottery of the Pilkington Tile Pottery Co., Ltd. (Clifton Junction, Manchester), also emulates the old Chinese wares with great success. In both these English productions the pieces are fired at an intense heat, as in Chinese faméé, and the glazes become thoroughly amalgamated with the bodies of the pieces, forming, as it were, one substance. How- ever brilliant and varied is the coloration resulting, it never becomes garish, for the potter uses the flame of his furnace to combine and arrange his pigments; in other words, he employs nature, and by doing so attains the same wonderful harmonies that are shown in precious stones like the opal, richly veined marbles and mother-of-pearl. A novel note was shown in the Upchurch salt-glaze pottery made by Mr. S. Wakeley (Rainham, Kent). The designer had taken classical models for the forms of his vases, and, using natural clays, had evolved some beau- tiful and delicate combinations of broken colour, in which greens and blues predominated, the salt-glaze giving a delightful texture to the ware. In the exhibit of Messrs. Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Ltd. (Etruria), old and modern designs were happily commingled. The Queen’s ware, which the founder of the firm invented nearly a century and a half ago, was exemplified in some plates modelled after the style of the old pewter platters, the ornament being based on what is known as the twisted- twig motive. Another novelty was a revival of the rare yellow jasper ware, in conjunction with black, which makes a more effective contrast than the original yellow and white. A further improvement of the powder-blue ware lately brought out by this firm was its decoration with designs of fishes in lustre, an innovation which enhances the richness of the colour-scheme. Messrs. Booths, Ltd. (Tunstall), had a fine display of their Silicon china, an admirable reproduction of old English and Oriental wares, in which the forms and coloration of the originals are closely repeated. This china attains great purity of tone, and presents a wide range of quaint and shapely pieces finely decorated. Another well-filled stall was that of Messrs. Keeling & Co. (Burslem), who are steadily raising the artistic standard of their work. Like most modern makers, their designs are generally based on Chinese and old English motives, and they showed great success in adapting these to pieces of an inexpensive character intended for household and table purposes. Tasteful use was made of many of the colours peculiarly associated with Chinese porcelain, such as celadon, while there were successful adaptations of Jacobean chintz patterns, the well-known exotic bird motive and other beautiful forms of decoration. Another firm whose pro- -ductions combine good design with utility is Messrs. Wedgwood & Co., Ltd. (Tunstall). In their maza- rine blue decorations they attained fine colour quality,

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Current Art Notes while some designs sug- gested by trel- lis-work were highly attrac- tive. One of the chief novel- ties shown by Messrs. A. E. Gray & Co., Ltd. (Hanley), was a range of electric light shades which can be orna- mented in keeping with the, style of decoration of any apartment in which they are hung. This is an excellent idea, for elec- tric light is now so univer- sally used that the necessity of harmonising its fittings with its environ-. ment is ob- vious. The same firm ex- hibited some tasteful and well executed adaptations from old Chel- sea, Swansea, and Bristol china. The display of the Crown Staffordshire Porcelain Co, (Fenton) included a number of pieces of their Grecian china, on which black was used in conjunc- tion with gold and white, to form telling and effective decoration. The Soho Pottery, Ltd. (Cobridge), were represented bya varied display, among which was a series of plates decorated with views of well-known castles, a similar motive to that which Josiah Wedgwood adopted for the famous dinner-set of Queen’s ware he supplied to the Empress Catherine of Russia. The designs, executed in blue on a white ground, were both interesting and attractive. Among other good displays of domestic pottery and porcelain were those of Messrs. Burgess and Leigh (Burslem), and John Aynsley & Sons (Longton), while the exhibit of glass-ware by Messrs. Thomas Webb & Sons, Ltd., was highly varied and showed a high quality of workmanship and design. Owing to pressure of space, the consideration of the other sections of the exhibition will have to be held over until next month. Pe he cat Oe | Sanat dinetin oliiede ccclineadiniamaes ccd, chain. adie adeatnd toca — " FS ro 4 Mes ads Price Se GM sae : » A LADY AND CHILD BY PERMISSION ss saareeaneiiaanaeepeneatontens iaeaninetammamineeriaiiemecn aetna hates eaten ea ee aS BY HENRY WILLIAM BUNBURY OF THE OWNER 237 The Red Cross Sale THOUGH the orthodox send- ing-in day for contributions to the forth- coming Red Cross sale, which is to be held at Messrs. Christie’s on an early date in this month, is long since past, arrange- ments maystill be made for the reception of works of art, the owners of which have not been able to send them earlier. Com- munications on the sub- ject should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Mr. Frank Gibson, Room 97, 83, Pall Mal], S.W. Alarge number of im- portant works have been given, and it is to be hoped that the amount realised by the great sale last year may be exceeded. The proceeds of the sale are to be given to the British Red Cross Society and the Order of the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem, both of which have rendered inestimable service to the sick and wounded among our naval and military forces during the war. Those of the well-to-do public who have not been able to contribute their gifts to the sale may equally help the work of these noble societies by purchasing the works of art which others have presented. 5 aon aca tes Se ee ee ne ee ee oe MR. JOSEPH PENNELL’S exhibition, entitled Germany at Work, at the Leicester Galleries (Leicester Square), contained fifty and odd industrial themes treated in his usual manner, the greatest originality shown by the artist being in his notes to the catalogue. Here were set forth some novel dictums, apparently designed to show, first, the great artistic acumen shown by Mr. Pen- nell in his choice of subjects ; secondly, the great technical An Admirer of Germany

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.. _ ton Chamberlain could say nicer The Connotsseur difficulties overcome by Mr. Pennell in his presentment of those subjects; and, thirdly, the general superiority of Germany in matters of architecture and industry over England and America. In the first twoof these matters the public will probably only take a languid interest. The exploitation of industry as a theme for art is nothing new; Mr. Brangwyn, with greater technical powers and a far wider range of imagination than Mr. Pennell, has long ago essayed it. But, then, Mr. Brangwyn’s sympa- thies are not so limited, and he can turn to the render- ing of the beauties of Gothic architecture with equal zest and success. Mr. Pennell found it necessary to explain his drawing entitled Within the Lace Work of Steel, Vulcan Shipyard, Hamburg, with the note, ‘‘As beauti- ful as the wooden roof of a cathedral, and quite as difficult to draw, and much more exciting.” The simile ‘might be passed if wooden roofs in cathedrals were not the exception rather than the rule, but the technical statement is misleading. Though all forms of archi- tecture may be presented by the competent artist with the same ease, the student will certainly find it more difficult to present the form of a many-arched cathedral aisle and its roof in perspective than an iron framework con- structed in series of parallel lines. In Mr. Pennell’s draw- ing he had given too great an emphasis to the horizontal roof girders, which appeared rather to hold up their structural supports than rest upon them. One, how- ever, may leave Mr. Pennell as an artist to devote a few words to Mr. Pennell as an apostle of German ‘* Kultur.” Not even Mr. Hous-— things about the country with whom we are at war, and whose atrocities have disgusted the civilised world. ‘‘ Nowhere,” so the artist declares, ‘‘was the wonder of work so wonderful as in Germany.” While ‘‘ we can never escape in this country (England) the cackle of the town planner and the landscape gar- dener, the best work they have ever attempted to do is, however, onlya bad shot at German accom- plishment.” Apropos of a draw- ing of the /zterior of a Station, Leipzig, the artist tells us: ‘‘ Ger- man buildings look like what they are. English architecture looks all alike. American buildings look like Greek temples, or are prigged from them by way of the neo-classic Paris Beaux-Arts clique.” He is, however, equally ready to praise German buildings RUSKIN POTTERY VASE when they do not ‘‘ look like what they are,” for of the Gas Works, Berlin, with their sham casteHated coverings, he writes: ‘‘ The gasometers are built inside the great castles, and so become picturesque instead of eyesores.” A drawing of Building the Station, Leipzig, is accom- panied by the note: ‘‘ There is no railroad station any- where so impressive, and, what is more, so well designed, as this at Leipzig, a small German city, yet I am told it will have the largest station in the world.””.» Why Mr. Pennell should describe Leipzig as a ‘‘small German city,” when it is the fourth largest in the empire, unless it is to exalt German achievement, no one knows, but everything German seems perfection in his eyes. Thus there is nothing to compare with the General Electric Company’s Works, Berlin, ‘‘anywhere else in the world.” The grain elevator, Hamburg, ‘‘ performs the same work that the American floating elevator tower does and the London freeman, who carries the commerce of the world on his head. The German machine does it quicker, cheaper, and better.” Mr. Pennell’s regret at the action of ‘‘ the brainless fools who brought on this woeful war ” seemed chiefly inspired by the interruption it caused to his study and work at ‘‘the Pan Press in Berlin.” If he chose to resume these labours, one feels that English art might possibly survive-his absence. spars. sa.tenenewemescersnnmtemsmterene ten neentn A BEAUTIFUL form of war memorial has been designed by A Medallion a eee by Alfred Seury, BA and is being ? . . issued by Messrs. Derry & Toms, of Ken- sington. It takes the form of a medallion. On the obverse is shown the figure of Britannia crowning with laurels a dying warrior gripping the national standard, while on the reverse are a soldier and sailor, with rifles reversed, by the side ofa memorial tablet, on which there is space to inscribe the name of one who has fallen on the field of duty.- This memorial should be wel- comed as one of the most beautiful examples of the art of the modern medallist that has yet been issued in England. The figures are finely modelled and grouped, and are treated with that breadth and sculpturesque feeling which, though finely exemplified in the work of the old medallists, has been somewhat wanting in per- haps the majority of present-day examples. The medallion is BY MR. HOWSON TAYLOR’ executed in three sizes. 228 Drury, R.A., |