Class XXVIF.] MARBLE COLUMNS, PEDESTALS, SLABS, TABLE TOTS, etc.
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by Messrs. Pouzelt and Harperath, of Cologne (Prus-sia, 317, p. 1U6S), which is mentioned as being the onlywork of the kind from North Germany . It should beremembered that this kind of house decoration is littleneeded in countries where close and ornamental stovestake the place of our open fire-place.
On the whole the Jury cannot highly praise the groupof objects now* under consideration : those of greatestpretension lack simplicity, and the rest are destitute ofany originality or elegance which cau entitle them torank above ordinary furniture and house decoration.
c. Columns , Pedestals, § c.
It is unnecessary to enumerate here all the exhibitorsof columns, pedestals, &c., and only a few will be men-tioned, which appear to require notice on account ofmaterial. Many of the others may have the same kindof merit of execution, which is, however, too simple toneed description.
From Tuscany are several fusts of columns, one ofwhich, sent by C. Nobili (91, p. 1292), is remarkable forthe extreme beauty of the material. It is a brecciatedmarble, of a remarkable soft brown colour, fine texture,and good polish, and is well adapted for house deco-ration. It has been selected for Honourable Mention.Other columns from Tuscany , by Giidotti (94, p. 1293,)and Maffei (95, p. 1293), are not without considerablebeauty, but they are not so new. They are for the mostpart of brecciated marbles.
The Belgian columns exhibited by the Viscount Des-manet de Biesme (Belgium , 10, p. 1151), and HonourablyMentioned by the Jury, are chiefly interesting as examplesof the black marble of the country. The French havecontributed few objects of this kind.
Of English columns there are some of considerableinterest. Two of large size and great beauty, adapted forchurch or palatial decoration, are sent by Mr. Ciiajiper-nowne (Main Avenue West, 158, p. 848), from a quarryin Devonshire, capable of yielding much excellent material,in slabs of large size. The marble is of the kind called4 * madrepore,” being almost entirely made up of coral-limestone, greatly altered, but retaining its organic tex-ture. The colour is good and richly varied, but it hasthe demerit of being cut the wrong way of the grain, andis built up as stone-work although polished as marble.The Jury make Honourable Mention of these columns.
The Koval Dublin Society - (71, p. 768) has sentbust-pedestals, one of a white marble, and the other of awell-known green colour, both from Connemara . Thelatter is remarkable for its rich green hue and greatbeauty; and the selection of material being important inornamental marble-work. The Jury have made Honour-able Mention of the Society for the success attained inthe present collection. There are two marked varietiesof colour of green Connemara marble, one being muchdarker than the rest. Mr. Franklin, of Galway (73,p. 768, and Class I., 144), has sent two black marblepedestals, one prepared for polishing and another finished.These show the quality of the material, which is unques-tionably good, and both are from his neighbourhood.
Messrs. Oldfield and Co. (p. 9G9), Messrs. Lomas andSons (81, p. 9G9), and some other exhibitors from Derby-shire, have supplied specimens of Derbyshire marblesof various kinds, which well illustrate the character ofthe stone and its uses. The so-called rosewood marble,which is one of them, has been already described. Itis very beautiful, but so much harder than the others,that the saw will cat the encrinital marble of the samedistrict three times as quickly.
Various pedestals of granite and porphyry are exhibitedfrom Cornwall , but these will be elsewhere described.
d. Slabs, Table-tops, and Tables.
These objects are chiefly interesting in reference to thematerial of which they are constructed. Some of themarbles are beautiful, and a few’ are remarkable forrarity.
The Connemara marble tables exhibited by Mr. Lam-bert (70, p. 70S) consist of two picked slabs from theBallinahinch quarry, considered to be remarkably fine,
and placed on pedestals of black Galway marble. Thereare flaws in the slabs, but they are Honourably Mcutii nedby the Jury as good samples of the material, which isworthy of more extensive use than it has hitherto ob-tained. The Galway marble is also exhibited by Mr.Hunter (Class XXVI., 202, p. 751). Mr. Champer-nowne (G, p. 7G4) exhibits a table of Devonshire marble,not very remarkable for beauty of material, but massive,well proportioned, and adapted for certain uses. Aninteresting and rather beautiful slab of the Plymouthlimestone, used in the construction of the breakwater,lias been formed into a table, and is sent by Mr. Stuart(55, p. 767). A magnificent slab of foreign marble isamongst the goods exhibited by the London MarbleWorking Company (17, p. 764), and is worthy of noticefor its excellent finish.
It is pleasing to observe amongst the goods sent fromCanada a table of polished limestone or marble, thematerial the same as serves for ordinary building purposesin that colony. It is remarkably fine-grained, but thecolour is not particularly ornamental. It is exhibited byMr. Hammond (1 IS, p. 965), and is Honourably Men-tioned.
A table is exhibited amongst the East Indian produc-tions, the top of w hich consists of a slice of a columnfrom Nineveh . It deserves attention from the conditionof the limestone, though the material takes only animperfect polish. It is the property of Colonel Sykes(p. 921).
r l lie slabs of marble exhibited by M. Guislain, ofBelgium (423, p. 1164), are good specimens of the ordinarymaterial used extensively in that country, not only forornamental, but for general domestic purposes. It is nodoubt owing, partly, to the low cost of the labour requiredfor preparing these slabs, and partly to the great abundanceand variety of the material, that marble is so much moreused on the Continent than with us; but it is worthy ofconsideration whether we might not introduce the cheaperkinds for many purposes of furniture, and in so doing,follow the example of our neighbours in France, Belgium ,and elsewhere. M. Guislain lias been deemed worthy ofHonourable Mention.
The Italian marbles used for tables and slabs are sentby several exhibitors. Of these the Count de Guido(Tuscany , 93, p. 1293) exhibits two of red colour andexcellent quality. The material is little known. TheMarquis Panciaticchi (Tuscany , 96, p. 1293) shows agood specimen of “ lum&chella,” or fire-marble, which isa dark-brown shell marble, having brilliant fire-reflectionsfrom within. He also has two smaller tables. M. Nanni(Tuscany , 29, p. 1293) has sent a circular table, of themarble called verde diprato, and M. Guidotti (Tuscany ,94, p. 1293) three tables, two round and one oblong, thelatter of good colour, but not very close texture.
The Koyal Technological Institute (p. 1290) hasalso forwarded a number of tables of various kinds ofmarble, sufficiently described in the Catalogue. To thesesome reference has already been made in speaking of theTuscan marbles generally.
There are but few proprietors of those numerous quar-ries in Germany which furnish the various marbles incommon use, who have thought it worth while to forwardfor exhibition fair samples of their produce. Amongstthese is, however, one, the Kukbkland Ducal Establish-ment of Brunswick (Prussia, 780, pp. 1093, 1094), whichdeserves notice for the beauty of the slabs and the goodcondition in which they are sent. M. Cantian, of Berlin (Prussia, 235, p. 1061), has sent a beautiful slab of Prus-sian marble, very admirably executed. Of the formerexhibitors, Honourable Mention is made for the group ofobjects they exhibit. The latter is rewarded with aPrize Medal, having sent several articles of considerableinterest.
The collection of marbles cut into slabs and table-tops,and sent by M. J. J. Figueiredo (Portugal , 248, 249,252 to 257, p. 1310), has been Honourably Mentioned bythe Jury. This series is exceedingly remarkable for thebeauty and great variety of many of the specimens, andillustrates the riches of Portugal in this respect. Someof the slabs, especially, must be very valuable if not too
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