Meyer Franz. A Handbook of Ornament

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IHETAL OBJECTS.

401

Meyer, Handbook

of Ornament.

The Knife,

and

the Fork.

Plate

232.

402

The

Knife, and the Fork.

—

The Paper-Knife.

—

The

Scissors.

—

4. Gothic,

14th

century,

the prongs of alloy, the

handle of

ivory

mounted with

silver,

'/a

i^is. long, Garneray

collection.

5. Mediaeval,

copper

gilt,

4^/4 ins. long, Garneray

collection.

Renascence, ivory,

Leon

Bach collection, (L'art

pour tous).

Renascence,

South Kensington

Museum, London.

Renascence,

Bach

collection, (L'art pour

tous).

Renascence, Bach collection, (L'art pour tous).

10.

Barocco period, South Kensington Museum,

London.

—

12.

Renascence, Dresden, (Musterornamente).

13—14.

Ditto.

—16. Modern, silver gilt and enamelled,

0. Schulze,

(Ge-

werbehalle).

17.

Modern, silver

gilt and enamelled; by F. 0, Schulze,

(Ge-

werbehalle).

The Paper-Knife. (Plate

233.)

Paper-knives are an invention of Modern

times.

As the name

implies,

they are used for

cutting

paper, the

edges of

books,

news-

papers,

and letters; and they

find a place

on every desk.

The form

usually that

of a one or

two-edged Knife.

As the

blade

does

not require

be very sharp, it

is generally made

of the

same

material as the handle, and in most

cases of

ivory, wood,

or brass.

The decoration is generally confined to

the handle; the blade

at most

decorated with flat enrichment.

Plate 233. The Paper- Knife.

Modern,

brass.

2—3.

Modern,

ivory

or wood, by

Dir.

Kachel,

(Gewerbehalle).

—6.

Modern,

wood

carving,

by J.

Eberhardt,

Heilbronn.

7. Modern, pierced

metal.

The Scissors. (Plate

234.)

Scissors, intended

pnraarily for use in

ladies' work, and after-

wards

applied

to a

variety

of other purposes,

are mostly met-with in

two

different fundamental forms.

The

earlier form (French:

forces),

which

held its ground up to

the end of

the Middle Ages, has a

spring hoop

which

unites

the two blades

(fig.

1).

The

later

form

(French:

ciseanx),

which

begins

appear sporadically as

early

the

10th century, has two separate

blades moveable

round a central

METAL OBJECTS.

403

The

Paper

Knife

Plate 233.

26*

404 The

Scissors.

—

The Hand-Bell.

pivot, and terminating

one

end in the

blades and at the other in

handles with ring-shaped eyelets to

receive the fingers

(figs.

6).

The shape is usually

symmetrical.

Variations, like fig.

are

rare.

Not

infrequently, the scissors

are provided

with

chain by

means

which they may be

suspended,

either alone or

with other

articles, from

Chatelaine. The

points

are sometimes protected by a

guard (fig.

10).

The decoration

generally confined

the

handles,

and

frequently consists of

pierced

work; the

blades

are

plain, or

decorated by

inlaying,

&c.

Where

handle and

blades

are not of

the

same metal, which in

this case can

only

steel,

the handles

are

often of

brass or silver.

Between

these two extremes are

gilt, silvered,

and nickel led handles. The Renascence

gratified

its luxurious

taste

to the full, in the matter of Scissors;

in Modern

times, the

plainer

and simpler

forms

are preferred.

The

length

the blades varies,

according

the purpose; but

the size

the

handles remains the

same, being governed by

that of the

human

hand;

hence the pro-

portions between the two

are very various.

Among Scissors which

are intended for

special purposes,

and depai^ from the usual form:

may be mentioned

Snuffers, and "Lazy-tongs"

(fig.

9).

Plate 234. The Scissors.

Renascence,

Sonth Kensington Museum, London.

2. Renascence,

blades etched,

handles

gilt, August I of Saxony,

Royal

Historical Museum, Dresden, (Kunsthandwerk).

—

4. Persian, 17th century,

T'/g

ins. and

6'/4

ins. long, Duhousset

collection, (L'art

po^

tous).

Renascence, South

Kensington Museum, London.

Renascence, German,

Dresden, (Musterornamente).

Renascence, handles silver

gilt, German (Kunsthandwerk).

Snufi"ers,

bird form.

9. Lazy-tongs,

United collections,

Carlsruhe.

The Hand-Bell.

(Plate

235.)

those utensils of which it may

said that as a rule they

are artistically

decorated beyond what is

wanted

for

practical

purposes,

may reckon

the Hand- bell. During the

Middle

Ages and the

Renascence:

the

Hand-bell

seems

have been

chiefly used

official

capacity in

Council-

chambers

and

for ecclesiastical pui^poses;

and

its

introduction into ordinary households, to summon

the

atten-

dants did

not

take

place till later.

our own times, so

prolific

Parliamentary

and

other Meetings:

the

Hand-bell is

indispensable. The

necessary

parts are: the

resonant

Cup*

the Clapper

suspended in

the

METAL

OBJECTS.

405

The

Scissors.

Plate 234.

406

The

Hand-BelL

interior

of the cnp,

and the

Handle. The two former are

always

metal; the cup

of an alloy, or

sometimes of silver; and

the

clapper

iron.

The

handle may be of the same

material as the cup,

may be made

of wood, ivory,

&c.

The form of

the cup is

general]}'

the same as that

the

large Church-bells, which is

based on practical

experience (figs.

2, 3).

Forms

like figs.

and

are

rarer.

Hand-bells

for

domestic u^e are

small (about

ins.

high); those for

official purposes are

larger (up to 12

ins). The latter class

often

have a non-essential

adjunct in the shape of a

Pedestal (figs.

and

8).

1'he handle takes the form of a

long extended

knob (figs.

2, 3, 7,

8),

of a

hoop (figs.

and

6).

The decoration extends to

the

handle

and the

cup of

the bell, which is

frequently adorned

with heraldic

bearings, and zones

of inscriptions. Sometimes we

find

Hand-bells in

the form of ladies, in which case

the wide skirt

of the dress is

the

cup (fig.

4).

Cups

of open-work

are

also

occasionaUy

met-with. Of

late years

the traditional Hand-bell has

yielded place to

another

form

which

the

sound is caused

pressure on a

knob by means

of a

spring

(figs.

9 and

10).

Plate

235.

The

Hand-Bell.

1. Modem,

brass,

from an old

model.

—3. Renascence,

bronze,

4:^|^

ins. high,

Wiesbaden Museum.

Modem,

brass,

after an old model.

5. Modem, brass.

6. Modern, French, by D.

Renard,

4^4

ins.

high,

(L'art pour

tous).

Modem, silver, mth ivory liandle, by

the architect

Schulz,

with foot

ins.

(Gewerbehalle).

8. Modern President's

bell, Tovra-Hall,

Milan,

by the architect

Angelo CoUa,

(Gewerbehalle).

—

10. Modem,

of the

latest systems.

Various

Domestic and Toilet Utensils,

The promise,

which

was

made in the

introduction

to the -group

utensils, to devote

some plates to

Domestic

and Toilet utensils

must

not

construed as an

undertaking

exhaust

the whole field. Very

much has

already come

under discussion:

the

utensils of Illumination,

for instance,

are

also for the most

part, domestic

utensils. The following

five

plates

will therefore, to a

certain

extent, bring-together from the

remaining

domestic

utensils those

which in the first

place deserve

consideration

from the

point of

view of decoration,

including Door-

knockers, Keys,

Min-ors,

Fans,

Tools, and

Instruments.

regards

METAL

OBJECTB.

407

The

Hand-Bell. Plate 236.

408

The

Door-Knocker.

these latter objects

particular,

much

extensive

collection

might have been

made

if the

allotted

space

had

permitted.

There is

scarcely a Tool or

Instrument

which did

not

occasionally

receive

artistic finish

during

the

Renascence.

The

introduction

the so-

called "master-pieces"

into the

Guilds,

naturally

led

the

result

that

unnecessary labour

was

sometimes

expended

the most

ordinary

things.

But

still

shall offer

sufficient

give

the

reader

the

necessary view of

the

entire

section.

The

Door-Knoceer.

(Plate

236.)

Although

the

Door-knocker

was in use

Antiquity,

as proved

example (the

head

of Medusa

with

ring)

found in

Capua:

still the strict

period of the

Door-knocker

in the

Romanesque,

Gothic, and

Renascence epochs.

Modern

times:

it has

already

become a

historical object,

having been

ousted by

Bellpulls, &c.

It is

made almost exclusively of

bronze,

and cast

vrrought

iron.

Its dimensions

are variable,

those of

the doors

and

gates

them-

selves,

to which it must

bear some

proportion.

may

d'istinguish

three principal classes. The first

has

the

form

of a

Ring, usually

suspended from

lion's jaws; in

which case it

at the

same time a

Door-handle (figs.

—

7).

The

second has

the

form of a

Hammer

moveable

primitive hinge.

The third class,

which arose

in Italy

the best

days of the Renascence,

shows

Figures,

Animals,

&c.

(figs.

and

11).

In all three classes

the

requisite

noise is

produced

by the moveable

part falling on a

metal stud.

In the

third class

the

plate by

which the knocker is

affixed to

the door is

of subsidiary

importance, while in the two

former classes it

is often

the

principal

feature of the design. The

Gothic period

devised

richly

decorated

plates of pierced

work.

This motive

was often

retained by

the

Re-

nascence (fig.

4),

replaced by

double-headed

eagles and

the like

(fig.

5).

The Plate gives 11 different

examples, selected

from the

copious

material.

Plate 236. The Door-Ivnocker.

Romanesque,

bronze, North

portal of the cathedral

of Puy-en-Velay,

11th century.

Mediaeval,

7^8

ins. square, Soyter collection,

Augsburg.

3. Renascence,

2**/^ ins. square. Museum,

Berlin.

Transition

from

Gothic to Renascence,

5^/^

ins.

square,

Peter's,

Strassburg.

5. Renascence, wrought-iron, German, National

Museum,

Munich.

Renascence,

(Guichard).

METAL

OBJECTS.

409

The

Door-Knocker,

Plate

236.

410

The Dooi-Knockor.

—

The

Key.

Mediaeval, bronze, 15th century,

S'/j

ins. high, East portal of

the cathedral

Noyon.

8. Renascence, vn:ought-iron, Dutch,

14^/$

ins. high,

Vermerch

col-

lection.

Renascence,

bronze,

Italian,

.1372

^^^*

^^S^i

David

with

the

head

of Goliath, house in

Ferrara,

(Yorbilder fiir

Fabrikanten

und

Handworker).

10. Renascence, bronze, Italian,

1560,

South Kensington

Museum,

London.

11.

Renascence, bronze, Italian, Austrian Museum,

Vienna, (Gewerbe-

halle).

The

Key.

(Plate

237.)

is not the

task of this Handbook

follow the

developement

the Lock through its

various stages from the Antique

up to

the

present

day. It

would also carry

us too

far

we were to

attempt

to go

into

the decorative

details of

the case of

the lock;

one

plate,

however

shall

devoted to the Key;

while the escutcheon

will

find

its place

in the group of Frames. Apart

from such

special

designs

as that

shown

fig,

the

Key usually consists

of' three

parts:

the

Bow, the

Stem, and the Bit. Keys may be

divided

into two

classes,

according as the

stem

tubular,

is solid.

The stem is

generally

cylindrical,

profiled; more rarely angular, or

prismatic.

The bit,

which

projects as a

rectangular plate at the

end

of the key,

divided by

notches

into wards. The decoration

applied to

the

bow.

The Pompeian key,

shown in fig.

is an

exception,

the bow

being

smooth and the bit

and stem prettily

ornamented.

Keys

are

made of

iron and bronze, the

stem being frequently

of iron,

and the

bow

of some

other metal; the bow,

and indeed the

whole key,

often

gilt. The

palmy days of Keys

were the Middle Ages

and the Re-

nascence;

compared with these, our

Modem keys

are

on the

whole

smaller,

simpler, and, if less

beautiful, are

certainly

practical.

Finally

we may mention those

colossal

examples

which were

formerly

made

serve as Signs; and are

even now met-

with.

Plate

237. The

Key.

Antique, Pompeii,

(Bliimner: Das

Kunstgewerbe

im Alterthum).

Roman, bronze, found on the

Hohenkrahen,

United collections,

Carlsruhe.

Romanesque,

bronze. United

collections,

Carlsruhe.

—

Renascence, (Kunst

und Gewerbe).

t) —

8. Renascence, Museo

Medio Evo

Rinascimento,

Rome,

(Ge-

werbehalle).