The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-13 00:00:00

THE DUBLIN EXHIBITION.

The Dublin Industrial El was yesterday
inaugurated by his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland, and a banquet, at which many distinguished
guests were present, was given in the evening at the
Mansion-house.
This Exhibition presents certain remarkable features,
in addition to those which naturally characterise a
national collection of specimens of native and foreign in-
dustry. It is scarcely possible to over-estimate the im-
portance of such an undertaking to the welfare, social
and commercial, of Ireland, and it is most desirable that
its antecedents and its present condition should be under-
stood in England, to which Ireland looks, and will not,
we hope and believe, look in vain, for a cordial recogni-
tion of efforts to follow out the noble example so magni-
ficently set in London in 1851.
The effect of the building, as seen on entering, even
in the state of incompleteness in which it remained up
to a late hour on Wednesday, is very striking. The great
ball, which is 425 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 105 feet
high, is a noble apartment. The building is supported
by cast iron pillars, with wrought iron trellis girders,
sustaining the galleries, and these pillars, coloured blue,
with white moulded ornaments, as capitals, have an ex-
tremely light and graceful appearance. There is an entire
absence of glare. The painters had not, on Wednesday
afternoon, completed their labours, and were still swing-
ing on stages at various heights, or being gradually
raised high in air, theatrical wise while pots of paint
flitted across the scene, at the ends of ropes, or shot up
hastily into the roofs. It was, therefore, not easy to
form a final impression of a system of decoration de-
pending so much upon lines of colour, while the lines
were broken and interfered with in so many directions ;
but the general appearance of the hall gave good promise
of singular elegance. This hall would be the scene of
Thursday's ceremonial. It has an organ at each end,
that at the further extremity, and beneath which the
orchestra for the musical performances is raised, being a
contribution from St. Peter's College, Oxford—the work,
however, of an Irish builder. Of the contents of the
area it is as yet impossible to speak with certainty, for
the great hall is more backward than any part. In the
hall to the right of the spectator who enters from Mer-
rion-square is the machinery in motion, of which the dis-
play will be large. A new feature is introduced, the
motive power which will work all the machinery being
given from a bar, or rod, running nearly the whole length
of the hall. In the ball to the left, which is devoted to
the Fine Arts, is the portion of the Exhibition which is
most complete, and which is a most interesting and valu-
able one. The fine apartment is filled with pictures kindly
lent for the occasion by their owners ; and such a collection
as is now brought together can hardly be seen again.
These works have been gathered by the unremitting
assiduity of Mr. John Deane. The present notice not
proposing to deal with detail, but only to furnish a gene-
ral idea of the building, it need merely be said that her
Majesty, and a great number of distinguished possessors
of paintings, ancient and modern, have contributed, and
that among the works are some of the very finest of
Danby, Etty, Cooper, Creswick, Grant, Sir Edwin
Landseer' Sir Thomas Lawrence, Charles Landseer,
Herbert, Wilkie, Turner, Calcott, Collins, Chalon, and
Winterhalter, among painters of the present century ;
and there are also pictures by Claude, Cuyp, Vandyk,
Titian, Canaletti, Domenichino, Hogarth, and other
masters. The French and German schools are also
represented. This hall is divided at its farther end by a
screen, upon which the Winterhalters—full length por-
traits of the Queen and Prince Albert—are hung ; and
behind this is the medimval court, decorated with
great beauty, with stained glass and a ceiling of
blue and gold stars, and with a number of those
remarkable features which excited so much atten-
tion in the similar department at the Crystal Palace.
The two halls are 355 feet by 50, and 65 feet in
height. The fine arts hall will, from the .brilliant cha-
racter of its contents, and from its completeness, be the
feature of the Exhibition until the other arrangements
are finished, and, probably, throughout the whole period
it remains open. The hanging the pictures has been
confided to the care of Mr. Grieve, the ' artist, whose
name is a guarantee for the skill with which every duty
he undertakes will be performed. In the compartments
are the textile fabrics, the greater portion of the foreign
goods, the sculpture depaitment, which contains many
fine works, and among its curiosities a statue, supposed
to be by Raphael, and one of the only two assigned to
him. A full-length statue] of Mr. Dargan, by J. E.
Jones, is one of the most appropriate ornaments of
the Exhibition. There is also an admirable East
Indian collection, contributed by her Majesty, the
East India Company, the Asiatic Society, and Lord
Gough, and there is a Japanese show; of exceeding
interest. There is als6 large provision for furniture and
for carriages. The galleries contain miscellaneous ar-
ticles, and the view from them, looking down into the
side halls and compartments, strangely recals the diver-
sified perspective of the Great Exhibition. From the
galleries banners are hung forth, and their colours and
heraldic blazonry materially aided in the coup d'ceil
on Wednesday.
The inauguration of the Exhibition went off bril-
liantly ; about ten thousand persons were present. The
weather was lovely. The honour of knighthood was
conferred upon the architect, now Sir John Benson ;
and the Lard-Lieutenant expressed his regmt that Mr.
Dargan had declined the highest honour it was in his
Excellency's power to bestow.