Miniature Relief Portraits in Stone

 

QUESTION: When I was very young, my mother would take me to visit my great grandmother. The first time I saw her she was wearing a beautiful pin with the picture of a lady carved on it. She later told me it was a cameo, given to her by her mother. She also had several others in different colors and designs. Needless to say, she has since passed, leaving her cameos to me. They are so beautiful but seem outdated by today’s standards. I may begin adding to the ones she gave me and would like to know more about their history and how I can tell how old they are. 

ANSWER: While cameos may not be in style today, they are nevertheless a great thing to collect. They span all periods from ancient to the early 20th century.

Cameos have been around since 15,000 B.C.E, appearing first as carvings on rocks to record significant events in ancient Egypt. 

During the reign of Alexander the Great in the 3rd century B.C.E., Greek and Roman cameos featured religious figures and mythological images. During the Greek Hellenistic era, women wore cameos to display their willingness to engage in intercourse. Quattrocento collectors, those from the 15th century Italian cultural and arts period, began distinguishing among the ancient cameos. 

Upper class women began wearing carved gemstones as a sign of wealth and prestige in the 18th century. Carvers soon realized they could use Plaster of Paris molds to recreate such gemstones as records of notable cameo collections. Scottish gem engraver and modeler James Tassie began using these molds recreate glass pastes that could pass as authentic, carved jewels.

Carvers realized just how easily they could replicate expensive jewels. They discovered Cornelian shells, which were soft, durable, and easy to carve. In the 19th century, England’s Queen Victoria popularized shelled cameos. As interest grew, Napoleon took a particular interest in them. He brought carvers to France from all over Europe to create cameo jewelry for both men and women. 

The Industrial Revolution produced an affluent middle class with plenty of money, and leisure time in which to spend it. Scores of Victorians broadened their horizons with travel, taking the Grand Tour of the European continent, and acquiring mementos and small gifts along the way to bring home for friends and loved ones. An essential stop on every Grand Tour was Italy.

A new type of cameo, made of petrified lava, also appeared in the 19th century. Colored lava extracted from an archaeological dig at Pompeii proved useful for highly detailed carvings. Women during this time were embarking on their Grand Tours, which were traditional trips were taken by wealthy young European men and women serving as an educational rite of passage. Women often purchased lava cameos as souvenirs of their travels, which established them as symbols of status and wealth.

But what exactly is a cameo? A cameo is a small piece of sculpture, often a profiled head in relief, on a stone or shell cut in one layer with another contrasting layer serving as the background. They could be made of any layered material capable of being carved so that the layers underneath were exposed. Over the centuries, cameos have been made of shell, stone, lava, gemstones, plastic and glass.

Cameos most commonly appear as portraits of women, although other popular subjects are men, groups, scenery, animals and flowers. Classic cameos, such as the ones Victorian women brought back to England, were made of shell and often depicted Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, recognizable by the various symbols placed in their hair or else-where in the portrait. An example of this was Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt, always depicted with a crescent moon in her hair, and sometimes carrying a quiver of arrows and a bow.

There are several ways to date a cameo. The first is its construction. A Victorian brooch. made before the invention of the locking pin clasp, has a simple "C" clasp, indicating it was made before 1900. Also, the pin shaft in a Victorian brooch extended out past the rim of the brooch and was visible when a woman wore one. 

The hair, clothing, and even the nose of the subject can also identify an older cameo. A Greco-Victorian cameo, while a short bob will appear on a cameo made during the early 20th century. Clothing styles change too, so looking at the subject's style of dress can help one date a cameo. And then there's the nose. During the Victorian era, the "Roman" or aquiline nose, a long nose with a straight bridge, was a sign of classic beauty. Later, society came to view a smaller, upturned nose as most attractive. 

The finest, most expensive cameos are those made from semi-precious stones. Agate is one of the most popular since it’s difficult to carve and requires significantly more skill to produce. 

The rareness of a cameo is a stronger determinant of its value than its age. For example, though the Roman Empire predated the Renaissance era, Collectors consider Renaissance cameos more valuable because there are fewer of them. The metal used can also give an indication of the age of a cameo. If the mounting is a pinchbeck—an alloy of copper and zinc resembling gold—it was likely made between the early 18th century and mid-19th century. Gold electroplating wasn’t patented until 1840, so all cameos that are plated were carved after this date.

The setting, or framing, is one of the most important determinants of age and value. Those that are remounted are considerably less valuable. The setting will be different depending on the era from which it was produced. For example, Victorian cameos often feature confined, simple frames as opposed to the jeweled, pearled versions that followed decades later.

Collectors today look for skillful hand-carving, exquisite detail and interesting subjects. Also, a cameo should be judged on the content and quality of the setting, its size and, most importantly, its condition. It's a good idea to hold a cameo up to the light to look for stress lines and cracks, before purchasing. Details such as the creative use of the coloring of the shell or stone, and the adornment of the subject with jewels or other accessories will also increase the desirability, and therefore the price, of a cameo.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The  Vernacular Style" in the 2024 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Unlucky Pottery

 

QUESTION: While out antiquing recently, I came across a beautiful hand-painted porcelain water pitcher decorated with bright red cherries at the back of a shelf. The price was $25, so I figured for that I could afford to buy it. It stands about 11 inches tall and has “BBC/CHINA” stamped on the bottom in black. I’ve never saw a mark like this before and the pitcher like a copy of more expensive Haviland china.

ANSWER: It seems that you’ve stumbled upon a rare piece of china made by the Bell Pottery Company of Findlay, Ohio. Due to a string of unlucky occurrences, the company  only produced fine china rivaling French Haviland and Limoges porcelain for five years, from 1901 to 1906, making pieces scarce. 

Located in northwestern Ohio, Findlay was better known for its glass. But at the end of the 19th century, the city basked in the glow of a natural gas boom. City fathers used the seemingly endless supply of natural gas to entice factory owners to build there. In 1888, they advertised for a high quality pottery factory to locate there. They offered free land, free natural gas and a$10,000 bonus as incentives.

Although he had no experience making pottery, William Bell, a glass jobber from  East Liverpool, Ohio, accepted the offer. He teamed up with his brother, Edwin Bell, and  Henry Flentke to build a pottery factory which they called Bell Brothers and Company Pottery. They had high hopes for their business, but problems plagued them from the beginning.

Even before they built their factory, the Bells had trouble convincing reluctant railroad officials to build a side track to the new facility. Once the track was approved, workers faced the difficult task of clearing land for the factory and constructing its four brick  buildings and six kilns. Finally, in August of 1889, all was ready and production began with 150 employees, including hand-decorators.

Bell Pottery fired its first wares in July 1889, and by the following month 150 workers kept the dinnerware, toilet ware and hotel china rolling out. By March 1890, the pottery was running night and day and unable to keep up with orders. The partners added three new kilns to increase production.

The first problem occurred in January, 1891, when all the employees went on strike when the owners tried to reduce wages. The city's rapid industrial growth had created a shortage of adult workers. In desperation, the pottery company's owners turned to orphanages, hiring girls as young as 14. By July, the Bells and Flentke settled the labor dispute and most of the old hands went back to work. 

By the following years, troubles of a different sort had begun to brew when the city's gas supply dwindled, forcing the Bells to pay $100 a month for gas. They also sued the city's gas trustees for not paying the promised $10,000 bonus. Because of the unreliable supply of gas, the company had to convert to coal in 1893 to keep the factory operating. Unfortunately, just when things seemed to be looking up, a severe storm ripped the roof off the decorating room and damaged six kilns, causing over $8,000 damage. In August 1893, the plant announced a partial shutdown due to a lack of orders.

In April 1894, the partners began to disagree and with the dissolution of the partnership, the court ordered the property to be sold. Flentke, then living in Evansville, Indiana, stopped the sale of the pottery. He resolved the differences between himself and the Bell brothers before the sale date, enabling the pottery to resume operations in August 1894, after a year of standing idle. But the peace lasted only two years, and in January of 1896, the court once again ordered the property sold for no less than $30,000. The  Bell brothers purchased the pottery for 36,450 and paid Flentke $7,295 for his share. 

In 1898, the Bell brothers incorporated the firm as the Bell Pottery Company.

In August 1899, Bell Pottery announced that it would begin producing hand-decorated white china, employing about 25 decorators. Common decorative motifs included currants, roses, blackberries, chestnuts and hops. Decorators painted portraits of people and still life pictures of flowers and fruit on pottery vases, tankards and other pieces. 

By December, they had spent $40,000 on repairs to three kilns and improvements including the installation of an oval dish jigger to enable the production of footed dishes for use as nut bowls or candy dishes. They also installed electricity for the first time. But the good times didn't last long. In April of 1900, fire destroyed the factory's south wing including the packing room, decorating room and offices. Two months later, lightning struck the factory, toppling both smokestacks for the decorating kilns.

Although insurance only partially covered their loss, the Bell brothers didn't give up. The following year, the Bells issued additional stock, intending double the pottery’s capacity, employing 400. Their intention was to produce fine china that rivaled Haviland.

They rebuilt the factory and revived their business again. In addition to their regular pottery products, they diversified into the manufacture of tubes used to run electrical wiring through brick walls. Things were going so well, they built another factory in Columbus. Tragically, about the same time the new plant opened in 1902, William Bell died unexpectedly following surgery. Edwin continued to run both factories.

Edward had grand plans for the Columbus operation. He planned on 17 buildings with 12 kilns, to be doubled as the need arose. Lack of equipment caused more delays. By November 1904, he announced that he would move the Findlay operation to Columbus. The new pottery produced wares for about a year but by September of 1906, it was in the hands of a receiver and closed for good.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The  Vernacular Style" in the 2024 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Rock Around the Jukebox

QUESTION: My husband recently purchased an old jukebox for a game room we created in our basement.  It’s a Wurlitzer 1015, and considering it’s 68 years old, it still plays pretty well. He paid $3,500 for it. Can you tell me more about this machine and others like it? Did my husband get taken on this deal?

ANSWER: While the jukebox is more or less a thing of the past, a few still exist in arcades and road houses off the beaten path and in the private collections of people who yearn for a return to those happy days. The one your husband purchased is the most popular of the oldies but goodies and normally sells for twice that amount.  

A jukebox, for those of you who may not know, is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays selections from self-contained media, at first records, then CDs.. The classic jukebox has buttons with letters and numbers that restaurant, diner, and bar patrons pushed  in combination to choose and play a specific selection at first for a 10 cents, then later 25 cents, 50 cents, and upwards.

The earliest jukebox was called a  a "nickel-in-the-slot phonograph," and it came about in the late 1880s. The state-of-the-art invention, engineered by Louis Glass and William S. Arnold of San Francisco, was a coin-operated machine that was a modification of the phonograph, invented by Thomas Edison. Upon receiving a coin, unlocked the mechanism, allowing the listener to turn a crank which simultaneously wound the spring motor and placed the reproducer's stylus in the starting groove. Frequently exhibitors would equip many of these machines with listening tubes, similar to acoustic headphones, and array them in "phonograph parlors" allowing the patron to select between multiple records, each played on its own machine. Some machines even contained carousels and other mechanisms for playing multiple records. Most machines were capable of holding only one musical selection, the automation coming from the ability to play that one selection at will. The first of these music players was put at the Palais Royal Saloon in San Francisco on November 23, 1889. 

The jukebox continued to evolve. Hobart C. Niblack invented a way for the machine to automatically change records in 1918. This led the Automated Musical Instrument Company (AMI) to produce an innovative type of jukebox. Initially playing music recorded on wax cylinders, the shellac 78 rpm record dominated jukeboxes in the early part of the 20th century. 

In 1928, Justus P. Seeburg, who manufactured player pianos, combined an electrostatic loudspeaker with a coin-operated record player and gave the listener a choice of eight records. This Audiophone machine was wide and bulky and had eight separate turntables mounted on a rotating Ferris wheel-like device, allowing patrons to select from eight different records. Later versions of the jukebox included Seeburg's Selectophone, with 10 turntables mounted vertically on a spindle. By maneuvering the tone arm up and down, the customer could select from 10 different records.

Song-popularity counters told the owner of the machine the number of times each record had been played, which allowed the owner to replace less-played songs with more popular ones.

 

The term "jukebox" came into use in the United States around 1940, apparently derived from the familiar usage "juke joint", derived from the word "juke" meaning disorderly, rowdy, or wicked.

Jukeboxes had once been enclosed in wooden cabinets, but by 1937 manufacturers had begun to make them of gaudy plastic, frosted glass, jeweled mirrors, and chrome ornaments. Many of those Art Deco creations were self-contained light shows with polarized revolving disks, bubble tubes, and flashing pilasters. 

In the 1940s, the jukebox started evolving into the version we know today with colorful designs. Manufacturing stopped during World War II, however, as the materials were needed for the war effort. After the war, jukebox manufacturing continued, with the Seeburg Corporation introducing the vinyl record jukebox that used 45 rpm records. 

During those golden years, the Leonardo da Vinci of jukebox design was Wurlitzer's Paul Fuller, who was responsible for 13 full-size machines, five table models, and numerous speakers. The Golden Age of jukebox design ended when he suffered a heart attack in 1944 and died the next year. By then a new generation of larger jukeboxes had appeared, and the classic machines from the golden years—1937 to 1949—were, for the most part, relegated to the junk heap and forgotten. 

 became an important, and profitable, part of any jukebox installation. They enabled restaurant patrons to select tunes from their table or booth. One example is the Seeburg 3W1, introduced in 1949 as companion to the 100-selection Model M100A jukebox. Stereo sound became popular in the early 1960s, and wallboxes of the era came with built-in speakers, enabling patrons to sample this latest technology.

The popularity of jukeboxes extended from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, but they were particularly fashionable in the 1950s. By the middle of the 1940s, three-quarters of the records produced in America went into jukeboxes.

And even with all of today’s high-tech music devices, the sound from one of those old machines was fabulous. Nothing beats hearing an old 78 on a machine created just to play it. Those were the days.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The  Vernacular Style" in the 2024 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Who's for a Game of Cards?

 

QUESTION: Recently, while browsing though an antique shop, I came across two tables. Both had fold-over tops. One seemed like it was from the 18th century, the other from the Empire period of the 19th. The dealer unfolded the top of the older table to reveal a green felt cloth inlaid into it. He said that this was a card table. When he unfolded the top of the second table, it had no felt inlay and was plainly finished. He told me the second table was a tea table. I always thought they were both card tables. Can you tell me the difference and when card tables started to be used?

ANSWER: There’s a difference between the two tables, although subtle. Back in the 18th century, furniture was expensive as each piece was handcrafted to suit the customer. People woud have used their card tables as tea tables by just putting a tablescloth over it. But by the 1840s, furniture had begun to be at least partially machine-made, and manufacturers kept the cost down by making card tables plainer. 

Playing cards were probably invented during the Chinese Tang Dynasty around the 9th century as a result of the usage of woodblock printing. Playing cards became a diversion both in public houses and private homes. Early playing cards had neither suits nor numbers. Instead, they had instructions or forfeits for whoever drew them. Usually, playing cards revolved around drinking alcohol, especially in the public houses.

The earliest game involving cards occurred on July 17,1294 when the Ming Department of Punishments caught two gamblers, Yan Sengzhu and Zheng Pig-Dog, playing with paper cards. The Department confiscated the wood blocks used for printing the cards together with nine of the actual cards. By the 11th century, playing cards had spread throughout Asia and eventually made their way to Egypt. Playing cards probably came to Europe from the East, arriving first in either Italy or Spain.

By the early 18th century, specially made tables for playing cards began to appear all over England. The first card tables first appeared in the American Colonies around 1710. Card tables became symbols of wealth and the consequent expansion of leisure time and soon became a social necessity in every fashionable home. Without modern entertainment devices, about the only forms of evening entertainment was playing music, dancing, and of course, playing cards. 

Cabinetmakers constructed most of these imported English card tables of mahogany or walnut. Each had a hinged two-leaf top that, when open and supported on a swing leg, revealed an inner surface lined with leather, felt, or the coarse woolen cloth called baize. Since household lighting was usually inadequate for evening play, most of the tables had four turrets projecting from the corners to accommodate candlesticks. In addition, there were often “guinea pools” or “fishponds”—shallow dishlike depressions to hold money, dice, or counters—and, in Chippendale styles, a single drawer in which to keep the cards. The tables stood on graceful cabriole legs, meant to resemble a woman’s shapely calves, but their backs, unseen against the wall, remained unfinished.

Since so many of these tables were highly decorative and also bore their makers’ marks, they provide valuable evidence of the varieties of carving, inlay, veneer, and other detail used by the cabinetmakers, as well as of regional characteristics. Tables with bowed fronts were popular in Boston and Salem, and five- and six-legged examples appeared in New York.

Some people used card tables for purposes other than for playing cards. Unfortunately, tablecloths only covered over the fishponds, often causing accidents and breakage.

In Puritan New England and Quaker Philadelphia, as well as in the South, people bet huge sums on cockfights and horse races, on bull and bearbaiting. Doctors and lawyers would wager their fees at the card table, and the “devil’s prayer book”—a deck of playing cards—could be found everywhere.

From the beginning of the United States, gambling overpowered every effort to restrain it. By the late 18th century every fashionable home had a card table. Still, most households reserved the card table for recreational use.

In the upper-class 18th-century American home, ladies played cards at afternoon tea parties where guests might win or lose hundreds of dollars. In the evening, families would summon servants to bring the card table into the center of the drawing room after dinner, as card playing was a primary form of evening entertainment. Players became embroiled in spirited games of whist, a simpler foreunner of bridge, pokerlike brag, quadrille, or any of the several other games while spectators observed the action. 

When not in use, card tables in most households remained folded away to become consoles or side tables. Servants set card tables against the wall when not in use, sometimes with the upper half raised as a kind of ornamental backsplash.

After about 1840, card tables began to lose the felt inlaid on their surface. People still played cards but now these tables came into popular use as tea tables. With a smooth top, minus the fishponds and candlestick rests—indoor lighting had been much improved—it was now possible to place a tablecloth over the table without the fear of anything toppling due to the former depressions. In many cases, these table featured graceful rounded corners and were still being made of mahogany or walnut.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Age of Photography" in the 2023 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Art Deco vs. Art Moderne

 

QUESTION: I’m a great lover of all things Art Deco, although I don’t know much about it. I’ve heard some people refer to this style as Streamlined Modern while other call it Art Moderne. Can you please tell me a little about this style? And what about Streamlined Modern? Is it related to Art Deco?

ANSWER: Art Deco and Art Moderne overlap, both stylistically and chronologically. Both were in vogue in the first half of the 20th century. But it's more a question of style than dates. While Art Deco emphasized verticality and stylized, geometric ornamentation, Art Moderne was a horizontal design, emphasizing movement and sleekness;.

The Art Deco style made its debut at the 1925 World's Fair in Paris—the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes or the International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts—but the term Art Deco wasn’t used until 1966. A group of French architects and interior designers, who banded together to form the Societe des Artistes Decorateurs, developed the style to incorporate elements of style from diverse modern artworks and current fashion trends. Influence from Cubism and Surrealism, Egyptian and African folk art can be seen in the lines and embellishments, and Asian influences contribute symbolism, grace and detail.

Art Deco was already an internationally mature style by 1925—one that had flourished in the years following World War I and peaked at the time of the fair. The enormous commercial success of Art Deco ensured that designers and manufacturers throughout Europe continued to promote this style until well into the 1930s. 

Sometimes Deco designers applied ornamentation to the surface of an object, like a decorative skin, but at other times the utilitarian designs of bowls, plates, vases, and furniture were themselves purely ornamental. These objects weren’t intended for practical use but rather created for their decorative value alone, exploiting the beauty of form or material. Among the most popular and recurring motifs were the human figure, animals, flowers, and plants. Abstract geometric decoration was also common. 

Victorians loved to apply ornamentation onto furniture, to embellish basic frames and shapes. With Art Deco, the texture and embellishment came from contrasts in a variety of colored woods and inlays or in the material itself. Designers often used burled or birds-eye or visibly grained woods, tortoise shell, ivory, tooled leathers. Lacquered glosses accentuated color differences. Animal skins and patterned fabrics in bright colors were also popular as upholstery.

Though it spread to other countries, Art Deco was a distinctively French response to the postwar demand for luxurious objects and fine craftsmanship. French designers utilized lavish materials and such rich, traditional decorative techniques as inlay and veneer on streamlined geometric forms.

Art Deco reflected the general optimism and carefree mood that swept Europe and the United States following World War I. Hope and prosperity are represented in sunburst designs, chevrons and references to the good life in the elegant figures depicted in casual, sensual poses, often dancing or sipping cocktails. The modern influences heralded a bright and shining future outlook that found its way to architecture, jewelry, automobile design and even extended to ordinary things such as refrigerators and trash cans.

Exoticism also played a role in Art Deco. During the 1920s and 1930s, the French government encouraged designers to take advantage of resources—like raw materials and a skilled workforce—that could be imported from the nation's colonies in Asia and Africa. The resulting growth of interest in the arts of colonial countries in Asia and Africa led French designers to explore new materials, such as ivory, sharkskin, and exotic woods, techniques such as lacquering and ceramic glazes, and forms that evoked faraway places and cultures. 

Art Moderne
 Moderne, also called Streamlined Modern, was an American invention that first appeared in the 1930s and lasted into the 1940s. Although taking its design concepts from Art Deco, it was a completely different style It was bigger and bolder. While Art Deco placed an emphasis on shape, Art Moderne was streamlined. Unfortunately, this is the style most Americans confuse with Art Deco.

Think of Art Moderne as Art Deco on steroids. Moderne was positively streamlined—at the time a new scientific theory that shaping objects along curving lines to cut wind resistance would make them move more efficiently. The furniture in this style was much more pared down, making its outline more geometric in sleek curves like a tear drop or torpedo. Moderne designers often conceived pieces as a series of escalating levels- similar to a staircase or the setback effect of skyscrapers that were rising in every city.

While rich colors, bold geometry, and decadent detail work characterized Art Deco, evoking glamour, luxury, and order with symmetrical designs in exuberant shapes, Art Moderne was essentially a machine-made style focused on mass production, functional efficiency, and a more abstract look coming from the Bauhaus in Germany.

Much of it was designed to be mass-produced, but even if it wasn't, it looked as if it could be: Art Deco's balance and proportion extended to regularity and repetition. Much of the decorative interest in a Moderne piece comes from the precision of line and duplication of functional features. Art Moderne designs often conveyed a sense of motion.

Art Moderne designers favored simpler, aerodynamic lines and forms in the modeling of ships, airplanes, and automobiles. In the modern machine age smooth surfaces, curved corners, and an emphasis on horizontal lines came into fashion. Streamlining appeared on everyday objects and buildings such as roadside diners, motor hotels, movie theaters, early strip malls and shopping centers, seaside marinas, and air and bus terminals. Trains, ocean liners, airplane fuselages, as well as luxury automobiles all sported the Moderne look.

People often refer to furnishings and buildings from the 1920s through the 1940s as Art Deco. Understanding the difference between Art Deco and Art Moderne isn't always easy, especially since Art Deco was originally called Moderne.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Age of Photography" in the 2023 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Inside Out

 

QUESTION: While browsing a recent antique show, I discovered a delightful little copper box with what looked like an embossed design. The dealer told me it was probably made around the turn of the 20th century or at least before World War I. She said the design was repoussé on copper. I’d like to know more about this repousse technique. Can you give me a bit of history and an explanation of how it’s done?

ANSWER: There are two techniques for hammering copper—chasing and repousse. The difference between the two is that chasing pushes the metal in from the front side while repousse pushes the metal out from the backside.  Both techniques frequently employ a backing to support the work material and confine the movement of the metal to the immediate area around the tool.

While the word repoussé comes from the French word repoussage, meaning "pushed up," the word chasing, which also derives from the French word chasser, meaning ”to drive out.” Repousse is a metalworking technique in which an artisan shaped a malleable metal by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the front side, sinking the metal. The two techniques are often used in conjunction. Many metals can be used for chasing and repoussé work, including gold, silver, copper, and alloys such as steel, bronze, and pewter. Tool marks are often intentionally left visible.

With the simplest technique, sheet gold could be pressed into designs carved in intaglio in stone, bone, metal or even materials such as jet. The gold could be worked into the designs with wood tools or, more commonly, by hammering a wax or lead "force" over it.

Both techniques date from antiquity and have been used widely with gold and silver for fine detailed work, such as the burial mask of King Tutankhamun, and copper, tin, and bronze for larger sculptures, such as the Statue of Liberty. Both methods require only the simplest tools and materials, and yet allow great diversity of expression. They’re also more affordable, since there’s no loss or waste of metal, which mostly retains its original size and thickness.

Before the use of repousse, ancient artisans pressed gold sheet into a die to work it over a design in cameo relief. Here the detail would be greater on the back of the final design, so some final chasing from the front was often carried out to sharpen the detail.

In 1400 BCE, ancient Egyptians used resin and mud as a softer backing for repoussé. The use of patterned punches dates back to the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE  Craftsman made the simplest patterned punches using loops or scrolls of wire.

By 400 BCE., the ancient Greeks had begun using a combination of punches and dies on a beeswax backing to produce repousse on their bronze armor plates.

The resurgence of repousse and chasing first occurred in England during the late 19th century as part of the British Arts & Crafts Movement. Most notably was the work produced at the Keswick School of Industrial Arts, founded in 1884 by Canon Hardwicke and his wife, Edith Rawnsley, as an evening class in woodwork and repoussé metalwork at the Crosthwaite Parish Rooms, in Keswick, Cumbria. Hardwicke designed the curriculum to alleviate unemployment. The school  prospered, and within 10 years more than 100 men had attended classes. 

The school prospered and swiftly developed a reputation for high quality copper and silver decorative metalwork. By 1888 nearly 70 men were attending the classes. By 1890 the school was exhibiting nationally and winning prizes; Its students numbering over 100,  it had outgrown its cramped home in the parish rooms, forcing Rawnsley to raise funds for a purpose-built school nearby.

The Newlyn Industrial Class, later renamed the Newlyn Art Metal Industry, established in 1890 by John D. Mackensie, was similar to Keswick and shared a common purpose with it. Inspired by the teachings of John Ruskin, they aimed to provide a source of employment in small communities where work came and went with the seasons. At the Newlyn classes, held in a net loft above a fish-curing yard, the pupils were mainly fishermen, while at Keswick students were pencil makers, laborers, gardeners, shepherds, and tailors.

Both metal workshops specialized in the production of repoussé copper work, This technique and material was popular with amateur craftsmen and women across the country because it was easy to learn. A student placed a flat piece of copper face down on a bed of pitch, or, as in the Newlyn workshops, lead. These materials were chosen because they would yield to the force of the blows of the punch but would still support the metal. Once a student had punched the design out from the reverse, he or she turned the metal over and chased finer details on the front.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Age of Photography" in the 2023 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.