VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1880.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 62, 13 November 1880, Page 2 (Supplement)

VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1880.

AET IN GLASS AND CLAY.

(By ollr $peeial Reporter.) A OAflUii glance over the Exhibition most convince the most unobservant that British and Foreign countries have come heret o trade, and not from any desire to please onr bastes. The Australian colonies exhibit;

trophies of natural products or mineralogical specimens, bat the nations, though in some instances showing such materials as leather, go in for manufactured articles, and in particular such artioles as ihev fancy we do not make 'ourselves, or, at least, those in whioh we do not excel. Our visitors have reasoned, and reasoned well, that we have not yet reached any nigh development in'art, though we must, in ooußequenoo ot our "nationality, have taste', and they have poured into the. Exhibition stores of art treasures, particularly those in which' the useful is allied to the ornamental. They have come here to sell,' and they have shown fairly shrewd judgment, considering they hardly know whether Melbourne is in New Zealand or in New Guinea. They know Australia is new, and, therefore, . they Have sent what they think the people will bay. It was, therefore, to be expected that one of the features of the Exhibition should be a display of glass and clay articles, from the humblest delf and glass to the highest forms ; for there is no household but most possess tumblers, and teapots-, and . looking-glasses. Of all useful artioles, too, these admit more of art treatment than any other. The consequenoe is, that the feature of the' Exhibition is the exhibits of coramio art in all its forms, and manufactures of glass. AustriA> by virtue of now 'including ttie ancient Kingdom of Bohemia, to whioh the vivid imagination of our Shakspeare gave a seashore, leads in glass, closely followed by Italy ; while England, mainly through Staff ordshire, takes the palm in the manufacture of clay into all kinds of beautiful and useful wares, distanoed'in specialties only by France. The sun-drying or the baking of day for vessels, was probably one of the first arts learned by mankind, and was, most likely, jmggsaieh -Tby observing £ie eSeob oi the mm- oh- day whioL Lad been puddled by animals ; but what a distance ' divides the rude day utensils found in ancient mounds and excavations, and the finished and lovely artioles in the Melbourne Exhibition. Egyptian pottery was ' very artistio in its peculiar way, and was probably the parent of the Etruscan, which, however, had a peculiar' character, so good that it ia now reproduced ; but the great era of tae ceramic tat w«8 tae'Grwwn, probably < never equalled from the pure point of art. After tile Greeks and Eomans— the latter excelled iff tiles— -had seen the zenith of their great civilisation, the dark ages destroyed or bar barised the art, as they did every art, and it was not nntil mediawal times, when the human intellect threw off the burden, that a revival ooourred, the centres being France ' {Sevres), Saxony (Dresden), and Italy. The introduction ot -tea gave a powerful impetus to art in-day ; and China, whioh at that time had held the palm, had to give way to Sevres and Dresden. .Jtn later times, England has come to the front, and now holds her own; as is shown here. The .Orient has her own form of-ceramio art, the grotesque, of various forms in India, China and Japan, and her peculiar colouring; but Europe deals irlkh art copied from nature. As iot glass manufacture, whioh, is akin to the ceramic art, it is far less ancient, though it was practised in Egypt ages ago ; but was lost until a later period, when it took hold in Italy, Murano being its home, where an exhibition was held in 1268. The Duke of Buckingham introduced the best artists in glass from Murano .in 1670, and the art has made such progress, that some British exhibitors rival their Bohemian neighbours who, at an 'early period, began to run the Venetians hard. Glass, according to tradition, was also an accidental discovery, caused by tie molting of the oand in seaside fires. It may. naturally be expected that Australasia has made but little advance in these 1 arts, although the exhibits from the different colonies show dearly that the materials are here ; all that is required is the demand, and the workmen will come., .At present manufactures in day and. glass are limited to cheap artides for whioh there is a demand, and our population.must grow in wealth and luxury Before we oan compete with Bohemia and Staffordshire. In the ceramic department in its humblest step, earthenware, nearly all , the> colonies show articles,' but, as a matter of course, "as ware of that; kind is , tender oi brnoaporb, VioboAa is far ahead. Victoria has fine deposits of clay of all kinds; j and kaolin of the best kind—that used in China, etc. — is found dose- to Melbourne.

The Brunflwickpotterieß make a fine show of teapots, jugs,- garuen vases, stoneware, etc., and some really good crockery and china" is shown by a ljuonmond firm. Glazed pipes seem to be the articles most manufactured.

New South Wales exhibits some goodartioles. Baldook* Tiroa. weH-Baia^ei. pottery ware; " and A. J. Davis really good terra cotta. I Cromwell, of Tasmania, exhibits pottery 1 of good artistic design and finish. New Zealand oomes outvery strongly, .there being eleven exhibitor^, and the articles of excellent quality. The Milton Boyal Pottery, Dunedin, ia specially noticeable, the designs .being of an advanced type. From Queensland, another progressive colony, there are six exhibitors, mostly in fireclay goods, crucibles, - but Fensome's (South Brisbane) ore very creditable specimens of colonial pottery. Fireolay seems a Queens* land speciality, especially in the Darling Downs district. South Australia is not represented. All these manufactures are of the essentially weful character, but I must mention.that Booke and_Co. exhibit, in their furniture suites, some beautiful Victorian imitations of Greek vases, creditable to the designer and maker. In glass, Victoria takes the palm, there being sixteen exhibitors, some showing great advanoe. Bottles seem to be tb^e principal support of the Melbourne glassworkers; butldnnMg glasses aMmirrors are included, and even out glass of artietio excellence is shown, bat this appears to be < the highest achievment, if I except stained glass windows, whioh Mr. J. Bell, of Sandhurst, shows. The art of stained glass for ohuroh decoration, etc., is well advanced in Victoria, though not displayed in 'the Exhibition. There are two exhibits from New South Wales, one, a stained glass window by Ashwin and Falconer, Sydney, the other bent glass, &c, by J. Davis, of Camperdown. Both show care and' intelligence. So fax in either arts we have hot got beyond the useful. I should notice that in the 'Victorian earthenware exhibit*, filters fill a prominent position, showing thepeouliarities of the water and the climate. .These articles are capable of being .artistic in form ttnd highly ornamented, ' and, no doubt, they will, in yean to come, give oar rising - oeranuo geniuses plenty of work. T?erraootta - ' appears ' neglected, considering how -? well It supplies the place of the more costly marble, being perhaps the 'cheapest material whioh allows of expreanon being displayed, The task of describing the foreign exhibits is maoh harder than noticing the Australian, for to do it properly requires* thorough knowledge of intricate, auhiecta. I will take *p tna art inglaaa section, first, beoause in the. Austrian Court $has Buoh prominence that it is the feature of the Exhibition. Before taking it up in detail, however, it would be as well to give some idea of the seal novelties in, this division and the progress made. , With ordinary glass we are all aeqtuunied, and except in its clearness, glitter, form, or manner of cutting, there is little to Bay of it. But toe exhibits «how< that art In its purest form iff sow being

applied to the cutting of glass, and the value of the article does not depend sq much upon the material as upon the art expended in its production. Varieties, too, have been invented that are costly from beauty or difficulty of treatment. ; It seems that, of late years, the mechanical mode of not only of glass, but "of all kinds .of ceramic ware, .has been displaced Vf a resort ttfthe human hand, ■ -widen alone Dan jgive expression, and. to ■ which lihe fame of the waxes oi old -were owing. Machinery is only used for the commoner description. The art of cutting on glass seems to have greatly advanced. There are two processes ; in one' the clear glass is out, the figures appearing in relief, frosted, outside or from- within, both' having different effects. The appearance of this description of glass is very chaste, and articles designed by great artists, -fend enfc by artisans -who are artists 1 equally command high values. The work is done variously, by tools or acids. This may be termed the crystal. The figures are generally classic, one of these crystal vases in the British Court (Webb's) is worth £500. But there is a still more costly and lovely glass, what I would call the cameo. These vases are really two, a vase of opaque white glass 'is first made, and into it is poured a lovely dark purple glass. This process is | very diffioult and tedious, the two having to be left twelve or fifteen hours in the furnace bafore they unite and are annealed. ' The artist then draws his design on the white glass, and proceeds to cut it out, using acid only where large spaces have to be removed. When finished, the figures appear like a cameo, and the most . delicate shading is obtained by making the white glass thinner or thicker. Of -this kind'is the Aurora vase, by Gtoodall, a copy of "G-uido's famous picture, and worth £750. The celebrated Portland vase was made by the same process by the old Greek artist, and Wedgwood took a oast of' it and reproduced the gem in clay by a similar process. - There is another pro-, cess that produces glass of value. Figures of atiimaiw, etc., particularly lizards, are added by taking melted glass out of the furnace and fixing- it to a. goblet and shaping it as it cools ; this requires great expedition and as many as four hands at the same time, but the effect is very fine. I notice that in the various courts, frogs and lizards are favourite figures ; and very grotesque and humorous' they are. There are two other effects which are new, and enhance the value of the glass. Everywhere one sees, what is called, crackled glass, which looks as if it were broken into fragments, jand would fall into pieces. The process is* simple, but requires care and skill. When hot, the article is jjlnzigeik into cold water, &n& i&en returned to the furnace so that the fractures will join but still be perceptible. This alters the refrangibility of the glass, and gives it a bizarre appearance. Lastly, new and beautiful colours add to the effect of the transparent glass and the loveliest hues are imparted.

Having thus endeavoured to give some idea of the treatment by which glass is raised to 8U ari'jne3}azn, J. wall (pre a, \>net notice oi t the various courts in which it is noticeable. Austria, though to my. mind the artists are not equal to those employed'on the English exhibits, , ( makes the greatest show of all. When the visitor reaches the end of the central avenue, he is amazed and delighted by the many-coloured glitter that meets his eye, the whole front of the court' being devoted to the display. Oar conceptions of a. fairy palace pale befoiß this marvellous rainbow court. The . eye is first struck with ,the beautiful tints of the Bohemian glass, whioh is arranged with an eye to correct contrasts. Tables covered' with opal, iridescent (ruby and blue) amber, ultramarine blue, green, golden yellow, glasses of all shapes, and of the most elegant form, please, bat do not' dazzle the eye. But on examination there is still more to please, owing to the variety of forms, colours, and usage. Almost every ornament and article of .nse that can be moulded, or rather blown, is here, from the tiny wineglass to the imposing vase, and animals and plants are imitated to the life, humour predominating ; frogs, owls, and lizards being used in the most amttsing manner. There are also degrees of substantiality, from the piece that seems too fragile to touch, to the rough crusted goblet that appears strong enough to throw against the walls. The power to make glass opaque or transparent at will, enables the workers to produce pexteob imitations oi fche ceramic arb, and unless you struck the articles yon would not know whether they were of. glass or clay. All the processes I have 'mentioned are employed by the Bohemians, as well as enamelling and painting' on glass,, and if any person wjshes to see what can be made out of silei, he will find out without leaving this court. The* different varieties are called the granulated gold, amber, iridescent, ice or frosted, malachite (rich dark green), hyalith (the purple glass I mentioned in connection with the Aurora vase process) and crackled.' Count Harrach, of the Nmvelt works, ia the largest exhibitor, and his glass riseß to a high standard. The count is a wealthy nobleman who started the work to bring back the higher Bohemian art, and thus to benefit his country. His workmen travel, before they take their places, to see art of all kinds and to piok up new designs. There are a number of other exhibitors, but they dd not come 1 np to the count, though they approach hi™ closely. The mass of exhibits are made by the processes I have endeavoured to explain, and there are also specimens painted by hand, but there are plenty of the commoner kinds, and very cheap. I may, at thin stage, mention that where native geniuses have been employed, it is remarkable to see how the native faces and forms are reproduced. Yon could not mistake a German, English, or' French vase. In a huge number of instances, however, the forms and figures of Egyptian, Etruscan, and Grecian vases, etc., such as were lately found at Mycenee, are adopted, and Ohese am Hhemosb pleading. 1b really seems as if we never could improve upon Greek art; I make no attempt here to particularise or describe so vast a collection, for twenty columns would not suffice for that, and there are so many lovely objects that any attempt, except to give a general idea, would be absurd. It is to be hoped they will all remain in Australia to guide and stimulate our young glass-workers. Next io Austria, Great Britain seems to ne to take the palm. Her glass is more solid, and the hands that have, turned it from a maiden state to a work of art, more gifted. The great exhibiting firm is Webb and Sons, worthy rivals to Count Harraoh. Their' exhibit is in the main hall. Two. specialties with them are coloured enamelled glass, or ceramic, to represent plants, generally ornamenting glass vases, mirrors, etc. ' But the French Court carries off the palm for mirrors, made of what is called silver glass, which huts for a long time, encased in purple velvet. Very lovely are these objects, and no woman who looks at herself in them but will harass her husband to buy one. As they cost sometimes £50 or £60, he is not to be envied. - Italy has beautiful Venetian glass, the Mnrano manufacture so recently revived. Very lovely and 'fragile it is, and. beautiful in colour; while' the' figures, as everything Italian. is, are beauty itself. The- features of the Italian glass are fragility (ethereality, it might' be called) and lightness ; it might well be called gossamer glass. The Venetian glass is shown in a kind of sacristy, but there are many beautiful specimens in the main .court. Straw and , ruby are , the favourite colours in Italian glass.- The revival of artistic'glasa-working in Italy is" of recent date, about 1855, 1 think, and it bida fair to rival the work of those whom the Duke of BacMagaam imported. Art, how- , ever, ianot aogwatinltalynaw as it was then, and so the designs, save where they are copies, are not so. good. , The' candelabra, mostly coloured so as to represent agate, are 1 truly most noteworthy exhibits, and must be' lovely when illuminated. It should never be forgotten that to M. Sarfetti we owe the fact of Italy being represented. Germany has several gloss exhibits, ihe principal oi -which is ia the front bailding,-contributed

by an Aix la Chapelle firm. Though not equal to the Austrian or Webb's artistic ware, it is very close to them, and of the same character. The humour is thoroughly German, and this is the distinguishing trait. Belgium has also a fair exhibit, bat of the useful kind, though there are some very artistic designs. ' The Netherlands and the United States ' also exhibit ; the former •resembles the Belgian, the latter need not (have'beeh brought here, for we can equal it ourselves — out lustres and. chandeliers are equally, good. I close the description of art and manufacture by this synopsis: — Austria, good in 'every department ; England, solid, and excelling artistically ; Italy, of fairy form and classic design; France, brilliant, of the Jardin Mabille sort; ; Germany, solid, persevering, humorous; the others, nowhere. f (To be continued.)