Exhibition Of Medlæval Art At The South Kensington Museum.

form and the details of the pictorial decoration with which the effect of the various undulations of form is heightened . It is perhaps in hold and intricate varieties of form that this remarkable ware exhibits its highest degree of excellence ; and in that respect , with the sole exception of the figure work of the Delia Robhia ware , it surpasses ail other kinds of mediawal work of its class .

The enamel ware of Limoges is splendidly represented by a number of examples , all of them of the first class . Among them I may mention the strikingly elegant ewer and plateau , with dove grey figures and ornaments upon a black ground . Uoth figures and ornaments are slightly heightened in their effect by fche introduction of transparent tints of one of two other colours , the flesh of the figures having a glow of a delicate salmon tint , and some of the draperies being almost

imperceptibly toned ivith a film of azure , while the whole is delicately and sparingly pencilled , in suitable places , with gold , or a golden brown , which gives the requisite warmth to the grey tones , that . might otherwise have an over-cool effect that Avould detract from their beauty . These objects are really exquisite works and should he seriously studied by the members of the well-appointed ateliers of ourMintons and Oopelands . . There is also a elegant tablet in this warenumbered

very , 2 . 3 D , the subject of which is the Virgin and Child , forming an enamel picture that occupies the whole of the surface , without any extraneous ornamentation . The pictoral effects are produced by the usual shadowings of delicate grey , heightened slightly with tints of other subdued colours . Tiie drapery of the child , for instance , is slightly flushed with violet ; the dress of the Virgin is tinted with a inkish lilacwhile the hair has

p , a slight tone of brown ; the picture being relieved , in the borders of the draperies and other suitable places , Avith sparkling touches of gold . One can imagine panelling of this kind , on a large scale , used very effectively in the internal lining of great halls , & c .

Ihe candlesticks , exhibited by the Rothschild family , in the beautiful Limoges enamel , are extremely fine , and perhaps even more attractive than those in fche Henri Deux ware , though less elaboraae in form . Another example of Limoges ware , seemingly the cover , of a dyptich , exhibits , striking effects of ornament , Avhich , on a larger scale , —iu pilasters , for instance , —in either external or internal architecture , would produce a very exquisite effect of subdued colour . There is no doubt thafc the

introduction of colour to architecture must be , afc first , gentle ; and the employment of masses of glazed ware appears likely to form the first serious step towards polychrome building . If , in these first attempts , the subdued effects of Limoges ware be employed , there can be but little doubt of its success . One can ¦ easil y imagine the soft and exquisite effect which might he produced by pilasters enriched with ornament , of a cinque cento

character , in such colours as those exquisitely soft greys and purples , heightened with gold , there is a large Limoges tazza , the sole ornament of which is a figure of L-. iocoon , shaded in pearl greys on a black ground , the effect of which is very striking ; and one may easily conceive that a series of medallions of similar character , and on a sufficient scale , might be made to form very noble features of architectural ornament . The Majorlica works of the Urbino school , exhibit decidely

more variety and brilliancy of colour than any other glazed ware . The bold Raffiiellesque pictures , produced simply by a strong outline , enriched with washes of the most brilliant primitive colours , softened and blended by more subdued tones , produce a most lively and sunny effect , while the effective pencilling of the subjects and their subservient ornaments impart a freedom and boldness not reached by any other kind of mediawal ceramic artThe specimens in the present display are numerous

. and splendid ; among them must be noticed ( though perhaps finer works are passed over ) , a rich plateau , the centre of which instead of consisting of a spirited figure subject , as is the more usual fashion , is formed by an efegant arabesque design , composed partly of pure ornament , and partly of figures terminating in foliage , the entire design being white , upon a blue ground . The border is very rich , and of the more usual style . This handsome

example is one of several remarkably fine specimens lent by the Queen , the royal collection of mediaeval art being extremely rich in remarkable specimens of Majolica . There are two large vases of the beautiful ware which are of singularly ornamental and picturesque character . The handles , formed of twisted snakes , are equal in truthful modelling and colouring to the best Palissy Avare , and the pictorial decoration with which the rest of the vase is entirely covered , is rich , light , and sweetly

Exhibition Of Medlæval Art At The South Kensington Museum.

harmonious in the colouring , the yellow and tho blue tones slightly predominating , as in most of the best Avorks of the chief factories of this ware . This remarkable pair of vases is of the very highest class of true Urbino ware , and is , indeed , thought to be the work either of Orazio , or Guido Fontana , o 1 Urbino , who rank among the greatest masters of their art . Other works of this class in the present collection exhibit the iridiscent glazes said to have been the invention of the Maestro

Giorgio . These works are much prized by collectors , but the true artist will come to tho conclusion that fine designs are often vulgarised by the addition of the meretricious glare of this nacreous varnish . Of the large plateau class , such as the immense salvers of this ware intended fco supersede those of gold or silver , and supposed to be made more precious than works in either of those metals by their exquisite workmanship , there are none , of the very largest dimensions , in this collection ; bufc of

secondary size there are many exquisite specimens . It was in the large plateau or salver , termed by the Italians the piallo di pompa , or dish of state , that the greatest degree of ingenuity and artistic labour was lavished hy the principal artists oi Urbino , some examples being truly magnificent specimens of arfc manufacture . The Delia Robhia ware is perhaps more splendidly represented than either the Palissythe Henri Deuxor the Limoges ware .

, , Some of the specimens may , indeed , he ranked among the masterpieces of that really great master of artistic design , Luca della Kobbia . It is not only in excellence of workmanship , or in the technical success of his processes , complete as they are , that Delia I ' obbia proves himself ; in his works , a really great master of his beautiful arfc ; his success being still more remarkable in the high artistic merit of his modelling . His figures areindeedsuperior in design and execution to those of any

, , sculptors of his day , except those occupying the very highest rank ; their grace and their excellence of general handling are , indeed , so great , that it has been thought he was indebted to his friend Raffael for the designs of some of his most exquisite Madonnas . There cannot , however , he much ground for this surmise , seeing that tho peculiar grace , and general style , winch characterise the modelling of his best figures are stamped with an individuality that marks them fairly as his own . With the

pencil be was as great an adept as with the modelling tool ; and unless the works passing under his name , which are decorated with paintings , instead of the raised sculpture-like work of the modelling tool , be all assigned to the hand of a brother , who worked with him ( for which attribution there is no good ground ) he must be assigned the rank of one of the greatest of porcelain painters , in addition to his unrivalled position as the only trulygreat master of glazed terra cotta , for such is the actual

nature of the works upon which his lame is based . He , himself , called them terra invitriatn , or vitrified earthenware , which is , in fact , no other than glazed terra cotta . I have been led to remark , especially , upon his skill as a painter on glazed earthenware or porcelain , by a careful examination of the noble series of painted medallions from the Cainpana Collection , which aro nearly the only specimens from that wonderful aggregation of art treasures that this country

has managed to secure ; and if the whole of the collection was equal to its specimens of Della Robhia ware , the lost opportunity must ever remain a national regret . These medallions are large plateaux of rich blue , with a broad white border . On the central mass of blue , the design is boldly painted in dark purple The subjects are the occupations of the months , as we see them represented in the illuminated , calendars of the richly decorated missals ofthe middle ages ; onlythere is more of reallhih art

, y g about them than in the illuminated calendar of any missal I could point out , not even excepting the celebrated one of Anne of Britany , in the Imperial Library of Paris . The designs of Della Robhia are , however , far more simple than those of the best illuminated missals , and are deprived of that charm of richly varied colour which we generally meet with in illuminated MSS . Nevertheless , though these designs are only in two shades of blue , heightened ivith a few touches of gold , their treatment

is so bold and masterly , combining , at the same time , that indescribable Italian grace of the period , that one does not perceive the absence of varied colour ; and the works appear complete , as they are . The principal touches of gold consist in a symbol of the sun , in the form of a face , from which golden rays are emanating ; the face being placed in the zodiacal sign of the respective months , which are very artistically treated . The chief attraction consists , however , in the design of the large single figure nearly filling the entire central space , just as a high