Certain marbles are used for their decorative effect, and the natural colour and figuring developed by polish. Statuary marble that is sometimes employed, is more suitable for carved details, and appears at its best when unpolished, though in this state it is extremely subject to discolouration owing to its absorbent nature.
Granite, so popular in our cemeteries, is often polished, when the natural figuring is unpleasantly aggressive. An extremely hard stone and laborious to work, it is not suitable for carving, and is best left roughly tooled or frosted, when the natural chrystaline formation appears to the best advantage.
Justification of Treatment
The softer woods used in interior structural work are generally painted, partly as a preservative and largely because they do not possess any figuring of particular interest.
Graining in imitation of more precious woods is often condemned as inartistic, but it may be urged in extenuation that it is the most economic treatment, as it helps to minimise the effect of wear and incidental damage.
The use of pattern wall-papers and floor coverings can be justified on the same grounds, as in those with plain surfaces any disfigurement is readily seen. Wallpaper, however, is quite a legitimate form of decoration and not necessarily imitative, though to some extent it is reminiscent of the early custom of employing tapestries as wall coverings. A more durable and artistic treatment of interiors is that of the wainscotting of the Georgian period, but the initial cost is proportionately great, though probably when maintenance is taken into consideration it would be cheaper in the long run. Apart from the question of cost, the modern tendency is favourable to change of effect and environment, due partly to the facility afforded by the comparative cheapness of wall-paper, but even more to the prevalent short tenancies.
Undesirable Imitation
Many excellent designs are produced in wall-papers, though there is a tendency at times to reproduce textural effects which can only be justified on æsthetic grounds. Those of the frankly imitative kind cannot be condoned. It is still possible to have the hall and stairs papered and varnished to resemble slabs of precious marble, or patterns in mosaic, which were undreamt of in Byzantine times; and the orthodox design for the bathroom is still that of tiles with the joints neatly printed. Similar imitation is also apparent in linoleum, when the pattern simulates the appearance of either wood parquet or mosaic, or even worse—that of a Turkey or Axminster carpet.
There is an element of priggishness in such cheap art in which, as though ashamed of poverty of material, there is an assumption of something better; and it is lamentable that there is not merely a market for these shams and imitations but curiously enough they also find appreciation.
There are phases of work where simulation may to some extent be justified, for instance, silver is sometimes gilt. For this there is the excuse that silver, although a beautiful metal, is subject to oxidation and requires constant attention to keep bright. Gilding acts as a preservative, and is therefore justified in certain forms of silver work, which it is not convenient to clean in the ordinary way.