VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1880.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 62, 13 November 1880, Page 4 (Supplement)

VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1880.

ART IN GLASS AUD CLAY. (By our tptdal JSeporter.J

A OASUAXi glanoe &ree the Exhibition must convince the inoßt nnobservani 1 that British and Foreign oountries nave' come here to trade, and not' from, any desire to please onrtastea. The Australian colonies exhibit trophies of natural product* or mineralogical specimen*, but the nations, though in some instances showing snob, materials as leather, go in for manufactured artioles, and in particular suoh artioles as they fancy we do not make "ourselves," or, at least, those in whioh . ire do not exosl. OnrvMtors have reasoned, and reasoned well* that we have not yet reached any high development in art, though we mutt, in consequence of our nationality, have taste) and-Ttney have poured into the Exhibition stores oi art treasures, particularly those in which the useful is allied to the Ornamental. They have oome here to sell, and they havethown fairly.shrewd judgment, considering they hardly know whether Melbourne is id New Zealand or in New Guifiea.

They know Austraua is new, and, therefore, they have sent what they think the people wHlbuf. It waa, therefore, -to be eipeoted that one of tbe^i eatnres of the Exhibition ahould be a dispby of glass and day artioles, . from the humblest d«lf and glass to the highest forms ; for there is no household bnt

must possess tumblers, and teapots, and looking-glasses. Of all useful articles, too, these admit more of art treatment than any other. The consequence is, that the feature of the Exhibition is the exhibits ofceramio art in all its forms, and manufactures of glass. Austria, by virtue of now including ■he ancient Kingdom ot 2k>hemia,.'to whioh the vivid imagination of- our fihakspeaie oava a Beaahoxe, leads in glass,, olWy followed by Italy ; while England, mainly through Staffordshire, takes the palm in the manufacture of clay into all kinds of beautiful and useful wares, diatanoed in apeoialties only by Iranoe. . , . The sun-drying or the baking of clay for tassel*, -was probably one of the first arts learned by mankind, and was, most likely, suggested by observing the effect of the sun on* day which had been puddied ay-auimaia; bob woat a • cUsCan.ce divides the rude clay utensils found in <• ancient mounds and excavations, and the finished and lovely .articles in the Melbourne Exhibition. Egyptian pottery was very artistic in its peculiar way, and was probably the parent of the Etruscan, which, however, had a peculiar oharaoter, so, good . that it is now reproduced ; bat the great era oi tße oeramio art was the Grecian, probably never equalled from the pure point .of art. After the Greeks and Somana— the latter < in tile*— had seen the zenith of their great civilisation, the dark ages destroyed or . btrbariaed the art, as they did every art, and it was not until mediaeval times, when the Iranian intellect threw oft the burden, that a xevival. occurred,! the centres being France (Sevres), Saxony (Dresden), and Italy. The introduction .of tea gave a powerful impetus io Mxiinei&y; ani China, whicth ab fchafc time had. held the palm, 1 hod to,girQ .way bo fievres and Dresden. In later times, England haroome to the. front, ( and now holds her own, as is shown here. The Orient has her own form of oeramio art, the grotesque, of various forms in India, China and Japan, and her peculiar colouring ; . but Europe deals with art copied from nature. . As for glass manufacture, whioh is akin to the ceramic art, it is far less, .ancient, though it was liraotiaed in Egypt ages ago ; kufc was lost until . a later period, when it took hold in Italy, Sfurano being ifc home, where an - exhibition iras held in 1268. The Duke of Buckingham introduced the besir 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, wnamko an nooidental diaooyery, caused by the melting oi the Band in seaside fixes. It may naturally be expected that Australasia has made hut little advance in these arts, although the exhibits from the different colonies show dearly , that the materials are here ; all that is required is the demand, and the workmenwill come. At present manufacture! in day and glass are limited to cheap artidea for whioh there is a demand, and our population must grow in wealth and luxury oeiozo we CMn. compete tri&t Bohemia ani BtmfforcLahixe, In the ceramic department In .its humblest step, earthenware, nearly all the ' colonies show articles, but, as a matter ot' bourse, as -ware of that kind is tender of transport, Victoria 'is far ahead. Victoria has fine deposits of day of all kinds ; and kj|olin of the, best kind— that used in China, etb,— ii found dose - to ' Melbourne., The Brunftwldt potteries make afine show of teapots, jugs, garden yaaea, stoneware, etc., and some really gox>d l oroo^ry and china is fihown by, a' Richmond firm. r) Qlaz«d pipes ' aeem to be the article* moat manufactured. New South Wales exhiUtasoinegobdarticles. Baldook Bros, wdl-lnishe^ pottery ware ; and A. J. Davis really'gbod terra cotta. Cromwell, of Tasmania; exhibits pottery of good artistic design^and , finish. New Zealand oomet out very siarongly, there being eleven exhib^rs, and the articles of excellent qualify.. The Milton Boyal PptUry, I>unedin, ia specially noticeable, the designs 'bebg of an advanced type. From Queensland., anotiber 'progreiaiv^ colony, there are tax "exhibitors, tniostly via fireclay goods, orudbles, but (South Brisbane) are very erodiUble spodmens-i.of I ooloniol pottery.' £tro«(av.sQems«'Qnjeens* I land speciality, eipeoially in\')the JDarUhg Downs 'diftrioti- South' Auatralia> .is jiot represented. All these manufaotnrss aijeof the essentially 'wejfol ahanoter, .but I must mention.thafe Booke.and.Qo, exhibit, in their j furniture suites, some.], beantifuV^ Victorian fmitatlona of GreaVyajjes, creditable to the Ammignß!* *nA malrp , rngl»88, Victoria takes the palm, there being sixteen exhibitors, some showing great advance. Bottles seem ' to be the principal support of the Melbourne ' ■ ghus^orkers; but|drinking glasses andmirrors are induded, and even out glass of artistic exoellenoo if. shown, but this appears to be the highest aoHievment, if I except stained glass window*, which Mr. J. Bell, of Sandhurst, shows, The art of stained glass for church decoration, etc., is well' advanced in Viotoria, though not displayed in the Exhibition. There^are two exhibits from New South TTales, <me r^Btem^glasß,yuido>:by Aahwiu and Falconer, Sydney, tae other "bent glass, 4c, by J. Davis, of , .Camperdown. Both show care and intelligence. ' So far in either arts we have' hot got Beyond the useful., I should /notice that in the Victorian earthenware exhibits, filters fill a prominent parition. showing thejbeouliaritids of the water and tne climate. These artioles are capable of bdng artistio inf orm imd Mghly^ 'ornamented, and, ' no' doubt, they wul, in years to' come,' give our rising oeramio geniosos^lentyolwork. Terracotta appears neglected, , considering how well it 'supplies the<plaoe of^the^more. costly marble, being perhaps the oheapest .material wUch allows ox expression being;.displayedi The tadrof describing tfieioreign exhibits is much harder than notWng theAustraUanf for to^ do it properly requires thorough knowledge of intricate, subjects. I wall take up the art inglass section first, because 2b Qu Attakrian Ooori hbhaa*aaoh vzoatiu* \ «aoet2urt it i« tha feature <d $v) Exhibition, i Before taking it up vx detail, however, it would be as well to Mye some idea of the seal, novelties in thb/diviiian and the progress made. With ordinary glass we'are all. aoquaintod, and exoept in ito clearness, glitter, form, or mannflr of cutting, there is little to,jßay of ft But the exhibits show that,, art in its purest form. r ia now being

applied to the cutting of glass, and i the value of the article does not depend so 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 production, not only of glass, but of all kinds of ceramic ware, has been -displaced by a resort to the human hand, which alone can, give expression, and to 11 which the; fame of the'iWares of 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 cut, the figures appearing in relief , frosted, outside or from within, both , having 1 different effects. The appearance of this description of glass is very ' ohaste, and articles designed' by great artists, and out by artizans who are artists 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 Biteen hours in She iarnace before they unite and are annealed. -The artist then draws his design on' the white glass, and proceeds to, out 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. Oi this Mnd is the Axirora vase, by Goodall, a. copy of Guido's famous pioture, and worth £750. The celebrated Portland, vase was made by tbe 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 process that produces glass of value. Figures of fttiimnlH, 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 f oar hands at the same i time, but the effect is very fine. I notice > that in the various courts, iiogs and lizards are favourite figures ; and very grotesque and humorous are. There are 'two' other effects whioh are new, and enhance the value of the glass. Everywhere one Bees, what is called, crackled glass, whioh looks as if it were broken into fragments, and* would fall into pieces. . The process is simple, but requires care and skill. When hot, the article is plunged into cold water, and then 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 effeot 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, an art medium, I will give a brief notice of the various courts in whioh it is noticeable. Austria, ijhough to my mind the artiaka are not equal to those employed on the English exhibits, makes the greatest ahow 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 nthe whole front of the court being ted to the display. Our conceptions of a fairy palace pale before this marvellous rainbow ocnsit. The eye is first struck mtb. the beautiful tints of the Bohemian glass, which 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, but 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 use 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 amusing 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 perfect imitations of the ceramic art, and unless you struck the articles you 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 wishes to see what can be made out of silex, he will find out without leaving this court. The different varieties are called the granulated gold, amber, iridescent, iD6 cmp frosted, malachite (rich dark 'green), hyalith (the purple glass I mentioned in connection with the Aurora vase process) and crackled. - Count Harrach, of the Neuveit works, is the largest exhibitor, and his glass risea to a high standard. The count is a 1 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 pick up new designs. There are. a number of other exhibitors, but they do not come up to the | count, though they approach T"m 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. You could not mistake a German, English, or French vase. In a large number of instances,- however, the forms and figures of Egyptian, Etruscan, and Grecian vases, etc., such as were lately found, at Mycenae, are adopted, and theße are the most pleasing. It j really seems as if we never could improve | upon Greek art., - 1 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 honed' they will all 'remain in Australia to guide and stimulate our young ' glass- workers. Next to Austria, Great Britain seems to »e> 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|Sonß, worthy rivals to Count Harraoh., Their exhibit is in the main ha|l. 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 lasts ior a long time, i 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 Murano manufacture so recently revived. Very v lovely and fragile it is, and beautiful in colour ; while the. figures, as everything. Italian is, are beauty itself.- The features of tie Italian glass are fragility- (ethereality ii might be catted), 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 glass- working in Italy is of recent date, about, 1855, 1 think, .and it bids fair to rival thework of those whom the Duke of BuGkingh&m imported. Art, however, tenok eogreab'jnlialynow as it was then, and so ,*He designs, save where they are. copies, are not so good. ,The candelabra, mostly coloured so as to represent agate, are 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' glass exhibits, the principal of which ia in the front building, contributed

byanAixlaChapellefirm. Thoughnotequal 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, but of the useful Mnd, though there .are some very artistic designs. The Netherlands and the United State's aXio exhibit ; the former resembles the Belgian, the latter need not xhave been brought here, for we can equal it ourselves — our 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. {To be continued.)