The masterpieces of the Centennial international exhibition of 1876 (1876) (14595522389)

Identifier: masterpiecesofce02shin (find matches)
Title: The masterpieces of the Centennial international exhibition of 1876 ..
Year: 1876 (1870s)
Authors: Shinn, Earl, 1838-1886 Smith, Walter Wilson, Joseph M. (Joseph Miller), 1838-1902
Subjects: Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publisher: Philadelphia, Gebbie & Barrie
Contributing Library: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation



Text Appearing Before Image:
n era, was shown, but this set is a uniqueexample of that time. In the Necklace and Ear-rings which we illustrate onpage 123, small g^Id coins form a principal feature of the design. Th.-y aresuspended, singly and in groups, from figures of fine gold filagree work ofelaborate oriental pattern. The Brooches wliich illustrate the same page are made by E^^LE Philippe,of Paris, and though they are equally Egyptian in style, we have in them a classof work of a very much more modern character. Here the precious metal, gold,takes a secondary place, being used simply as a setting for more preciousstones, and a fictitious value is given to the metal by the use of enamels.The first brooch consists of a crystal scarab, or sacred beetle, the spots on the INDUSTRIAL ART. 125 body being marked widi colored stones, inlaid. On eidier side are kneelingfigures of a type purely Egyptian, human in all but the face, which is that ofa bird. These figures are of silver, enamelled in red and green, and deco-
Text Appearing After Image:
Pompeian Toilette—PUque: Messrs. Elkington fr Co., Birmingham. rated with gold. These are supported on the outstretched wings of a bird, theplumage of which is also brilliandy enamelled. The second brooch is even richer in color than the former, and is a 126 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, iSj6. remarkable piece of design. It contains numerous symbolical figures, such asthe crouching sphynx, the winged beetle, the female head with the duckemerging from the forehead, the sphere, and the sacred flower, the lotus.Emeralds and other precious stones are introduced into the design. The only examples of silverware manufacture in England, shown in theBritish section, are to be seen in the Court of the Messrs. Elkington & Co.,and if we could regard their display as representative of the craft to whichthey belong, other nations would be put far in the back-ground. But theMessrs. Elkington in the vastness of their business, in the number and talentof the artisans whom they employ, occupy a p