The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-06-27

0FSCULPTUREBY MACHINERY.
A very ingenious machine for the execution of
sculpture has recently been intro duced in i'm
proved form from the Continent by Mr.. w. Barnes,
of Euston road, London. 1t Consists of large
frame, which, though trayersed in several direc-~
ions by lathe bands to give motion to the TOOLS is
perfectly balanced ball and socket joint
that it can be moved in any direction with the
slightest touch. The modus operandi of working
it consists in placing the block of marble stone
to be operated on and the model to be copied side
by side. a certain distance apart, opposite the
frame, from which project two arms, one of which
is surmounted by circular steel drill, and the
other by simple stump of wood. When the ma
chine is set in motion the arm which rests upon the
model in passing the inequalities of its surface
regulates the position of the steel drill, which,
though attached to the francis trayersing the
block of marble. As the drill clears away the
marble with great rapidity, and it is raised and
depressed exactly its fellow arm is raised and de-
pressed, by traversing the Irregularities of the
statue, it follows that in incredibly short
space of time an exact fac-simile of it must
be produced There is no art which entails upon
its professors so great amount of manual labor
and toll sculpture does More than half the time
occupied by an artist in the execution of
a bust or group is taken up either in directing or
executing the reduction of the block of marble
into the rough figure, and yet the real work of
the artist only commences after the labor has been
gone through. Thus to the present imperfect meth
cd of performing the rough part of the sculpture
may be attributed in great measure the enormous
prices obtained for good statuary. The invention
has been looked upon rather coldy by sculptors in
England, who regard it as an instrument calculated
to lower the character and reduce the emoluments
of the profession. But it should be remembered
that artists flourish till art becomes pop
ular. The great cost of producing statuary at the
present day entirely prevents there being popu-
lar for it. But doubt, if small sized
marble statuettes from the first models could be
produced at little greater cost than the Parian fig
ures now much in vogue, that the public patro-
mage of sculpture would be found such to be more
profitable than the sca1ty encouragement now &C
corded to the profession by few private indvid-
uas The machine must be looked upon rather as
aid to the sculptor, than superseding his Ia
bors. Machinery assist the manual labor of the
artist, but no combination of mechanism initiate
his imagination to design his skill to model statu
airy. Neither is it proposed that finished statues
should be produced by the drill alone. The groups
will be roughly though truthfully produced by the
machine leaving the artist to execute the finishing
touches company has been formed to work the
invention in England. Inasmuch as the machine
will tend very much to facilitate the production
and lessen the cost of high class works in sculpture
its introduction into this country cannot but be
garded with satisfaction by all who interested in
the spread of artistic taste.