The Press.
London, England, 1853-06-11 00:00:00

THE PRESS•

moni••••"'"""_
dimensions, adorned perhaps with needlework, and
ranged along the walls, completed the furniture of
the "withdrawing-room."
In the dining hall an enormous chimneypiece and
massive tables, the buttery-hatch separated by a
richly-carved screen, large carved chairs for honoured
guests, and long benches for the inferior members
of the family, comprised the sum total of the do-

mestic arrangements.
The bedchamber, now the chosen seat of luxuryd
and comfort, was nearly as simple. A bed arrange
beneath a canopy, a piece of Persian carpet or of
tapestry-work beside it, a chest serving also as a day-
bed, upon which a confidential attendant slept, and a
silver ewer and basin flanked by a fringed napkin,
were the accommodations provided for a guest of
even royal rank. Nothing is so rare as genuine spe-
cimens of the domestic furniture of this early period ;
and those professing to he such which this collection
contains are either of a later date, or have since been
fabricated so as to imitate the ancient style. All the
articles of furniture referred to this era are placed in
the entrance-hall.
To Nos. I. and :1, "carved oak buffets or armoires,"
the dates 14m0 and MU are attributed, but erro-
neously. The style of carving, though coarse, is
more modern than that belonging to the dates re-
spectively assigned; and the different parts of each
have been put together, probably, at some reeedt
period, with the intention of imitating an ancient

design.
The "carved oak buffet or cabinet," No. 10, and
dated 1530, is also, we think, antedated. At the pe-
riod and in the country ( Flanders) to which this
piece of furniture is assigned the style was still de-
cidedly Gothic, and, though the form is so poor and
inelegant that it could not be attributed to Italy, the
ornamental figures are in the Italian taste, and could
not have been produced in Flanders till nearly half
a century later. We regret that the gilding has been

renewed,
The Italian carved chests or, offers of the sixteenth
century, in wine,' wearing apparel and table linen
were kept, and to which we have alluded as serving
for the couches of pages and attendants, were objects
on which usually much care was bestowed. They
were frequently painted by the best artists, sometimes
gilt, and generally carved in a rich and elaborate
manner. It was in such a chest that lachimo con-
cealed himself in haogra's bedchamber: the neces-
sary ironwork and the key itself were frequently of
beautiful workmanship. This specimen, belonging
to the rich collection of Mr. Magnac, is in very high
relief, and in good preservation, but we have seen
others of a purer and happier design. No. 14, a
" carved frieze," or rather the panel removed front
the front of a similar chest, the property of Mr.
Cooke, is of far titter design and bolder execution.
A "carved cabinet in walnut-tree," No. *2O, the
property of Baron L. Rothschild, and assigned to the
end of the sixteenth century, is an interesting speci-
men of French ingenuity. The body of the cabinet
is undoubtedly old, and some of the figures may pro-
bably be referred to the date affixed in the catalogue,
but the whole has been so entirely restored as to
have lost all claim'to antiquity. The gilt. pattern
and the monograms (amongst them the letter 1), the
initial of the name of Diane de Poictiers, is fre-
quently repeated) tire wholly modern ; nor can we
assert whether or not there may have existed any
trace of them on the original panels. The style
which it is intended to imitate is that usually termed
in France the " Renaissance."
A "carved ebony cabinet," No. 15, the property
of Mr. Holford, is too important and prominent
um object to be overlooked. We could not, how-
ever, recommend either the form or style for imi-
tation. It is attributed to Flemish. artists and to the
middle of the seventeenth century. The panels con-
tain bas-reliefs, of which the execution is good ; but
ebony is too dark a material for sculpture—it cannot
produce the desired effect. When dark woods are
used we should advise the introduction of metal en-
richments; these, with bold projections, elegant
form, and just proportion, are the only embellish-
ments.which ought to be attempted.
Au "ebony cabinet, enriched with ormolu mount-
ings-1t130" (39), from Windsor Castle, escapes
the censure of monotony by its gilt decorations,
but it, is defective in design, the proportions are toe
flat, and there is consequently a want of relief and
shadow. On the whole we are disappointed that the
collection should contain so few tine specimens of
carving ; there are none that we can quote as belong •
ing to the department of higher art.
Among the most beautiful objects which the
exhibition contains we should cite the "
Italian
cabinet," the property of the Duke of Hamilton,
in Damascus work, and belonging to the six-
teenth century. The enrichments are all in the
best taste, and the panels contain well-designed
figures in relief on steel plates, richly inlaid with
gold. This style, practised particularly at Flo-
rence and Milan, was suggested probably by the rich
armour ut that time in fashion (and of which several
entire shits of most exquisite workmanship are pre-