With reference to the restoration of carvings which have not been painted, but only blackened by time, they must be scoured by the careful hand of an experienced man.
Mr. Penrose, the present architect to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s, a short time ago examined the beautiful carvings in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and he was able to state that they have not hitherto been attacked by worms. “Some portions had been broken by violence, but the state of preservation was marvellous.” Mr. Rogers also observed that “he was greatly and agreeably surprised—contrary to his expectations—to find the carvings in St. Paul’s in so good a state of preservation, and so free from the attacks of insects; but such was undoubtedly the fact. How it was so he was not able to say.” Why was this? Well, Sir Christopher Wren was a wise man, and when he erected St. Paul’s Cathedral, he engaged an experienced mason to remain at the Portland stone quarries, whose duty was to select every block of stone for the Cathedral, and when it arrived in London it was placed on its natural bed. The good results of this precaution can now be seen in the good preservation of the stone at the present time. If he was so careful of the stone for the walls, no doubt equal care was taken in the selection of the wood for carvings. Besides, the instructions[36] to the commissioners for rebuilding St. Paul’s were drawn up with a view of preventing decay. The following is an extract from these instructions:
“And to call to your Aid and Assistance such skilful Artists, Officers, and Workmen as ye shall think fit, and to appoint each of them his several Charge and Employment; to minister to such Artists and Officers, and to all and every other person and persons to be imployed in the said service, to whom you shall think meet, such Oath or Oatlis for the due performance of their several Duties, Employments, Offices, Charges and Trusts to them or any of them to be committed as shall by you be thought reasonable and convenient; and out of such Money as shall be received for this Work, to allow to them, and every of them, such Salaries, Wages, and Rewards respectively as to you shall seem fitting and proportionable to their Employment and the Service they shall do.”[37]
Sir Christopher Wren was descended from Dutch ancestors: he was building for a Dutch king, and we therefore perceive the reason why so much Dutch wainscot was introduced by him into England.
It seems a great pity that the beautiful carvings of Grinling Gibbons and others should be allowed to go to decay for want of proper attention. Why should this be? We are acquainted with some of Gibbons’ carvings, particularly those in St. James’s Church, Piccadilly, London; but whether they are in a state of decay unknown to any one, whether any one looks after them, or whether it is “nobody’s business” to do so, we cannot say. Every now and then the owner of some beautiful wooden carvings suddenly becomes acquainted with the fact that they are thoroughly riddled through by worms, and instead of having them looked after, they are pointed at as curiosities. Even the makers of “old furniture” take care that it shall be bored all over, to imitate the borings of worms.
But what can be the cause of this decay? It must arise from one of two causes; or, it may arise from both, viz. either the wood was not seasoned when fixed; or else the quality and description of the wood for carving purposes was not attended to. There cannot be smoke without cause, and worms cannot exist unless a suitable habitation is first provided for them. Hard white oak is close grained, and will scarcely admit moisture; whilst on the other hand the soft foxy-coloured oak from some parts of Lincolnshire, and other places, is so porous as to imbibe it easily and retain it; and consequently is liable to early decay: in fine, the heart of this is scarcely equal to the sap of hard white oak.
The English woods least liable to the worm for carvings are cedar, walnut, plane, and cypress; those most liable are beech, pear, alder, ash, birch, sycamore, and lime. All the fine carvings at Blenheim, Kidlington, and Wimpole are in yellow deal, while in the age just before nothing but lime-tree and soft wainscot were used. The beautiful carvings of Gibbons, in the chapel of Trinity College, Oxford, are wrought in costly scented cedar and rich dark oak; those in Trinity College, Cambridge, in white lime-tree wood.
There is no doubt that wood to be used for carving should be hot, pungent, and bitter: thoroughly obnoxious to wood-destroying insects. If we cannot obtain this wood in England, we certainly can abroad, and one shipload would last a long time for such purposes. Take, for instance, the Jarrah of Western Australia; the Determa, the Cabacalli, and Kakatilly, of British Guiana; and the Sepe, of Trinidad: these woods are much valued where they grow, and no insects ever attack them. We do not say that they are suitable for wood carvings, but they might be tried, and we certainly know they are not likely to be worm-eaten at the end of a few years. They need not be discarded on account of their hardness; boxwood is hard, but some good carvings have been executed with boxwood. We can relate an anecdote about this wood. On 3rd June, 1867, Mr. W. G. Rogers, the celebrated wood-carver (would that he were alive now to read these words), was asked, at the Royal Institute of British Architects, if boxwood is objectionable for wood carvings,[38] and he did not reply to the question; if he had given his opinion it would have been a valuable one, coming from such an authority. We must therefore get Mr. Rogers’ opinion of this wood in another way. If the reader will refer to the “Reports by the Juries,” English Exhibition, 1851, vol. ii., page 1555, he will find the following words:
“W. G. Rogers, of London.—A cradle executed in boxwood for Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and richly ornamented with carved reliefs; also, a group of musical instruments, among which may be especially noticed a violin. These works show an extraordinary dexterity in the treatment of the material, and the ornaments of the cradle are in excellent taste. Prize medal.”
We have already referred to the Report of the Commission on the Decay of Wood Carvings, and as this report is now rather difficult to be obtained, we propose condensing some extracts from it, which may prove of value to the reader.