The metal-workers from the sixth to the tenth centuries, when so many decorative bronzes were being made for St. Peter's and Italian churches, derived their inspirations from Byzantium, hence those early works were often inlaid with silver and gold, and were quite different from those of later date. Art developed, and gradually a more distinctive character was given to the bronze gates and candelabra which were made with such consummate skill. One of the greatest triumphs of that period was the great candelabrum in Milan Cathedral, wrought in the thirteenth century. Its height is 14 ft., and it has seven branches for candles, the stem being supported by four winged dragons. It is one mass of marvellous scrollwork, relieved by the introduction of figures, each one of which is perfect in itself—a study of expression and character. Casts of these remarkable pieces of metal-work may be seen at South Kensington.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the Florentine artists worked. It was then that statues in bronze were sculptured by Verrocchio, Donatello, and others. A century later the wonderful candlesticks in the Certosa, near Pavia, and in the cathedral at Padua, were made. It was about that time that Venetian metal-workers were fashioning so much that was beautiful in domestic utensils and the minor church ornaments.
From that time onward collectable brasses were made, and after long years of use they passed into the category of antiques, rendered beautiful by their artistic merits, and possibly by the touch of age. Even then there was an Oriental look about many of the designs, but it seldom intrudes, and does not spoil the effect of the forms and style so clearly Venetian. Such vessels were chiefly made for the then wealthy merchants of the city, and often their arms were incorporated into the design. Fig. 78 is a bronze oviform ewer made in Venice about 1530. Another beautiful vase is shown in Fig. 79. Other objects much favoured were candlesticks, hand-warmers, and perfume sprinklers, to which must be added the more strictly utilitarian.
The Spanish metal-workers do not appear to have developed a very well-defined school of metallic art of their own. They were especially noted for their highly ornamental jewellery; in the common metals they were influenced by Italy, and to some extent Germany. It is said that the finest piece of work accomplished in the country was the great sixteenth-century candelabrum or tenebrarium in Seville Cathedral, the work of Bart. Morel in 1562.
French Art.
Connoisseurs of the fine arts naturally regard enamels of Limoges as the greatest achievements of the country (see [Chapter XVIII]). There is, however, much to admire in the early unadorned metal-work, especially that made in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries—effigies in beaten copper, some portions of which were usually adorned by coloured "champlevé" enamel. They were afterwards desired by Englishmen, and some good examples of "imported" effigies are to be seen, a notable example being one on the tomb of William de Valence in Westminster Abbey, erected about 1296. Of domestic metal-work there are not many early pieces. In Fig. 82 is shown a cup or ewer of brass with artistic handle and spout ornamented with a grotesque mouth; the date assigned to it is 1570. It may be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, where also is deposited a fine seventeenth-century ewer or tankard with plain cylindrical body and a deep and long spout with fancy handle (see [Fig. 81]). There is also a trumpet of brass, dated 1738, in the same gallery; it has upon it the owner's monogram, "S.M.A.," ensigned with a count's coronet and crest.
Dutch Brasswork.
The brasswork from Holland, largely imported into this country at the commencement of the eighteenth century, although decorative, cannot be claimed as artistic. Most of the objects are strictly utilitarian, and the ornament stiff and formal; they were hammered by hand, an effective finish being made by small punches, repoussé work being occasionally added. Fig. 80, which represents one of the larger pieces, illustrates a highly ornamental cistern with cover and tap. Its shape is semicircular, a dome-shaped back acting as a hanger; that as well as the perforated grille under the cistern being ornamented. The chief ornament consists of star devices, the points of which are united together by curved lines composed of small straight indentations. In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a Dutch foot-warmer, the sides of which are ornamented with repoussé panels of flowers and circular bosses; in the centre of the top, which is slightly curved, is a medallion engraved "I.W.H.M. 1733," surrounded by open-work decoration and floral scrolls arranged in geometrical patterns, on either side of which are birds.
