558
VASES IX MALTESE STOXE—MANUFACTURES IX SLATE. [Class XXV U.
Tonnerre stone, of 'which there appear to be distinctvarieties, and of which the specimens sent are of fair ap-pearance and good quality (obtained near the town ofTonnerre, Department of the Yonne , Central Trance).One of these objects is a pavement, and the oilier a chim-ney-piece, the latter showing much labour of execution,and a complicated but poor design. In the architravethere is inserted a small tablet, in cement, representingthe zodiac. At the top of the architrave, ana at the cor-ners, are groups of animals laboriously carved. At oneside is a tall figure in relief. The whole is somewhatin the style of the sixteenth century. The stone in thiscomposition is hard, and the colour not unpleasing, andit seems well adapted for some purposes of internal deco-ration.
Mr. Joostens, of Belgium (457, p. 1165), has exhibiteda pinnacle made of Ordain stone, which the Jury con-sider worthy of Honourable Mention, as well for thenature of the material, which is hard, even-grained, andwell selected, as for the execution, which is neat and wellfinished: the design is good and pure.
Several artists have sent vases and other objects sculp-tured in the soft stone of Malta , a material ottering greatfacilities for working, but not remarkable for beauty ofappearance, having a peculiar dead-white colour resem-bling plaster of Paris. The delicacy of workmanship inthese sculptures is very surprising, and, in some cases,also, there is much ingenuity shown, and much talent indesigning. The Jury have awarded Prize Medals to Mr.Decesare (27, p. 945) and Mr. F. Testa (33, p. 94G);and consider that the works of Messrs. Dimkcii (28,p. 945', S. Testa (30, p. 946), and Soler (29, p. 945),are worthy of Honourable Mention. There are alsosome similar objects sent by Mr. Foster, an English ex-hibitor (Class XXX., 3U3, p. 840). The stone, of whichthese vases, See., are carved, is a yellowish-white calca-reous freestone, from forty to fifty feet thick, belong-ing to the tertiary period, and immediately overlying asemi-crystalline limestone, forming the base of the depo-sits in Malta and the neighbouring island. Very largequantities of the softer freestone are used in the islandfor building and other purposes, and are exported to allparts of the Mediterranean.
From Tuscany (97, p. 1293) a few articles are sent,sculptured iu a kind of lithographic stone, found nearFlorence , and exhibited by Mr. S. Giovannini, the pro-prietor of the quarry. The material is fine-grained.
Several models of temples and other edifices are sentfrom India , constructed of a peculiarly tough but notvery hard stone, of which there appear to be differentvarieties. A few of these are extremely well carved, andshow great neatness and finish in execution. Some ofthem have been coloured artificially. There are also twosmall latticed windows of delicate open stone-work, show-ing remarkable skill in cutting stone, besides extremeelegance of design. The material is of pleasing colourand appearance, and is, in these respects, superior to theGya stone, which is of grey colour, and of which thereare several manufactured objects, chiefly small idols.
In concluding this account of the articles in sculp-tured stone, the Jury make Honourable Mention of asomewhat remarkable pair of vases, cut with a penknifeout of sandstone from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem ,and the work of an Israelite living in that city. Thesevases, executed by Mr. Schnitzer. and exhibited by SirMoses B. Montefiore (Class XXX., 161, p. 830), showmuch ingenuity and patient labour. The material isworthy of notice, as a rare instance of stone of the kindbeing capable of such treatment.
C. Manufactures in Slate.
The collection of split, sawn, and other manufacturedslates exhibited by Mr. Thomas Stirling, jun., of theBelvidere Road, Lambeth (Class I-, 209, p. 141), exhi-bits such care in collection and arrangement, and somuch novelty of application, excellence of material,variety, and usefulness, as to claim a Prize Medal.Almost all the really important uses to which slate isapplied may here be seen; and many new arrangementsare shown, some of which at least will be generally
adopted. Mr. Stirling exhibits a construction, consist-ing of an open cabinet of five sides, made entirely oflarge slate slabs from different quarries and districts, amiillustrating the use of slate in the construction of strong-rooms, powder-magazines, Sec. On the top of tins cabi-net is a cistern, composed of slabs of slate, secured inpanels by a method discovered by the exhibitor, and ad-mitting of almost indefinite extension. The exhibitorhas selected roofing-slates and slabs of the best quality,from the principal quarries in the United Kingdom , asillustrations of the material and of the qualities of slateprepared for the London market. These either composethe cabinet, or are exhibited within or near it.*
Besides the application of slates and slate slabs in theordinary way, and as already mentioned, Mr. Stirlingexhibits illustrations or specimens, showing its use forsteps, balconies, larders, wine-cellars, dairies, skirtings,linings for damp walls, wine-coolers, bread, pickling,and pig-feeding troughs, urinals, head and foot-stonesfor graves, tombs, and monuments, clocks and sun-dials,sinks (cut out of a solid block ', floors of conservatories,warehouse-floors, railway-station paving, stables, andmany other purposes.
To these various miscellaneous articles there is addeda set of models of roofs, covered with different descrip-tions of roofing-slate, in ten different colours. One ofthese roofs is covered with slab-slates, with a solid slateroll to cover the joint, as arranged and proposed by theexhibitor. The slate recommended for such purposesis that from Cornwall , as it costs less for repairs thanthe Welsh, and the colour more nearly resembles that oflead.
In addition to these interesting and useful specimensof manufactured slate, there are exhibited several objectsin enamelled aud varnished slate, now coining into usefor various decorative purposes, which will be noticedelsewhere. Some specimens of filters are shown, andmany applications of slate, to which it is ^not necessaryhere to allude. To these is added a model of a new ma-chine for splitting and cutting slate, evincing consider-able ingenuity.
To Bewicke Blackburn, Esq. (21, p. 765), of theisland of Valentia, County Kerry, Ireland , the Jury havealso awarded a Prize Medal, ibr his manufactures inValentia slate, aud for the excellence of the materialexhibited. The slate from the south-west of Ireland ,and especially from the Island of Valentia, is not socapable of being split into fine roofing material as thatof Killaloe, County Clare; hut its remarkable strength,and the evenness of its texture, render it extremelyuseful for various purposes, both in building and forflags.
Slabs of Valentia slate are easily obtainable 30 feetlong, four or five feet wide, and from six to twelve inchesthick; and the quality, as seen by the specimens sent bythe exhibitor, is, in every respect, excellent. The slabs,sash-bars, and roof-ridges are all good examples of thequality of the material, and the garden-seat and table areexcellent, both in themselves, and for the uses for whichthey are intended. The quarries of Valentia have em-ployed as many as 200 persons at a time.
The Old Delabole Slate Company (Outside, 8,p. 114) have exhibited, besides some unmanufacturedslates, a very large and well-constructed cistern of Dela-bole slate, capable of containing 2,000 gallons, and pro-vided with a filter. The Jury consider that this deservesHonourable Mention, as a fit and useful application ofa material of good quality at a moderate cost.
Several exhibitors have sent slate cisterns, furnishedwith filters, the mechanical arrangements of which be-long to another Class. As far as relates to the material,and its application, the Jury consider that slate is ad-
* The slates are from the following localitiesPenrynquarries, near Bangor ; Llanberis quarries ; quarries of theDorothea Slate Company, near Caernarvon; various quar-ries at Festiniog and Machynlleth , all these being inXorth Wales; and from the Delabole quarries in Cornwall ,and various quarries at Coniston, in Lancashire ; andLangdale, in Westmoreland.