Other African Curios.

Some metal curios were included in the trophies brought to this country at the time of the Ashanti Expedition, among the rare regal metal-work being an old brass vase, with repoussé decorations and a copper dragon handle. It was discovered behind the house of King Prempeh's aunt, who had been acting as Regent. Another curio discovered in the same district was a brass box containing gold dust. Bells, too, have been brought from Ashanti; one in the British Museum is the executioner's bell, which was rang prior to an execution.

There are many bronzes from Southern Nigeria, especially some curious ornaments worn by the women. Some of these are veritable antiques and were found buried; many are finely patinated and heavy. Some of the bangles are beautifully formed and highly decorated with inlaid enamels.

Some very interesting brass castings come from Lagos, not at all unlike the Benin modelling, except that they are in brass instead of pure copper. They include figures of natives, some on horseback, others in the act of shooting with guns. There are brass staves of office carried as symbols of authority by the messengers of the Oshogbo, a native secret society; and there are spoons, knives and other domestic sundries, as well as armlets and anklets of copper and brass.

From north-east Central Africa we get a little metal-work, some of the head-dress ornaments being enriched with circular brass plates, on which are repoussé decorations. Among the curios from this district in the British Museum are several exceptional pieces, one being a head-dress or helmet of brass with circular brass ornaments.

The knives used in ceremonials are often very handsome. There is a fine executioner's knife from north-east Central Africa, with brass studs all over the wood handle. Another chief's knife, which came from near the Stanley Falls, is decorated with strips of copper and brass.

The metal castings from Central Sudan, representing ostriches, giraffes, and camels, are cleverly done, and with bangles and anklets make up an interesting group.

It is curious how valuable finds are sometimes made many miles from the locality where the object was made. It is the same in our own country, for we dig and find a bronze from ancient Rome, brought over by the conquering armies of the Romans when Britain was brought under the Imperial sway. Our armies have probably left relics behind them in the past as in the present, for it is no uncommon thing for reminders of the Crusaders and others to be found even in Africa. One of the most remarkable finds was a large bronze jug and cover now in the British Museum; on it are the arms of Richard II of England, and two mottoes in Lombardic letters: "HE THAT WILL NOT SPARE WHEN HE MAY, HE SHALL NOT SPEND WHEN HE WOULD" is one; the other reads: "DEEM THE BEST IN EVERY DOUBT TILL THE TRUTH BE TRIED OUT." This splendid jug was found in Ashanti; the date of its manufacture was about A.D. 1400.

The South African curios in brass are very limited; they consist chiefly of collars and armlets worn by the women of Basutoland and Bechuanaland, and by the Kaffir women who have also girdles of brass cleverly formed.

Although by no means numerous and of limited variety, a few objects of native workmanship are worth securing if only to compare the way in which natural ingenuity has at different times helped the craftsman and enabled him to work even metals without any instructions from nations more advanced in their use.

XVI
CONTINENTAL
COPPER
AND BRASS

FIG. 78.—BRONZE OVIFORM EWER.

FIG. 79.—BRASS EWER WITH ARTISTIC HANDLE.

CHAPTER XVI
CONTINENTAL COPPER AND BRASS

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

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

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