New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-15

Drcop.r1ONs FOR ST. PAULS CATHE-
ORAL MADE ON THE SfOl
THE OLD WAY.


THE OLD WAY.
From The Contemporary Review. -u,,,d.
An experiment in decoration when ,I his Country
and interest has been equalieu W LII Nv pro,
Is being gradually and quietly worked out W .tbe
fessor Richmond in the choir S St seafod and can
vas and consequently UNDECIDED, a u Richmonds
and lads trained under ,r,aces prepared by
Sir Christopher Wren for dec9ra al 10, has been
moaS on The w M0rs Su, sgh and at
Easter 1896 the decoration OF the ctI r nnally re-
meaS e aw he possoe to weigh the claims OF the
exotic craft Of mosaic for stng from fear
u mar Erens intentions have been disregarded may
be dismissed for the nature "i 'ns With mosaic
moves that they we're intended for chrond'' ,brea
Grafton The semi-dome OF me aie instructed of
yaS bricks were merely covered with rougn vsr,
ing sticco and the vertical s'on i',ceo has been
removed from the bricks that they may siS 10 enc
arm for the cement IN a %nen has been clipped
hack from the vertical stone surfaces ~ aha oroi
surface of the mosaic to no,per proof Of wrens
intention Is shown by the fact tnat AT LOU domes
IN ,me were left concealed by carved sLoae
bosses through which ropes couid pe bv the
for the support OF the scano-u 'e''"''
In England mosaic is an exotic cI h srqfS and
taue pavements scattered through the tn a." a.
breadth OF the country are essenta.y ho, ,Ir, Of
though In many instances sn,h century mosaic
local YER sbr,ne Of Edward the Confessor ana IN
the tomb OF Henry ILL., at Wes. dihhahv ~ members
os tbe cosmati family 1t is ony In recent y ,a,,s
that Engsh n "nd hat English crafts
nen have used it for the DECORATION OF o The
compntsnce of English master craftsmen 10 adap =,
mosaic TO our atmosphere, TO our buioihsS anu "
our 5ecitv Of the material used in the mosacs OF
Rome Ravenna and Venice Is que n W bv the
ticles Of oxide OF tin. held IN SUSPENSION rH and
glass and the texture Of the g:ass Is uua' , az" e.,
sranilar The material now beng I use ar an ss
senai ingredient Of sanIe and Itself Of thia ma
but very nfusoe gas and is consequently
less reentve OF dirt and more easily & yarin,s
the glass containing the S1ae m 1l oxides with
the ordinary ingredients OF glass TO "h'ch inc P'"
dersd espar 1T in the state Of powder shoyeed
INTO crucibcs standing round the grat' OF iua a..
and when fusion Is sompe erd IN, %, an iron rod and
removed for use. very much In me way ma snnon
ond ~ removed from the Jar TO the plate mass Oh
ni,an glass thus collected. is allowed to ran upon
fla, iron snnsre a." and half an inch thick The
slabs are removed TO an oven "heTc Va, Groien Inv
hammer OF chopped by miniature su'i. s ner
into small cubes. or tesserae =. 49, M, s,g
a, ,hat eeomerica accuracy Of form which IS nm
pjled by the word cube Inc uneven aot ds,aus
Of some Importance IN the craft Of mosa asb fro
apparently to the gradual cooling OF enS r. ar
runxe themselves in layers of gradated shades ana
the OF these layers ny,ns,c beauty
As the angle OF fracture varies so me eeS IN .Se
varies ard hence as Mr. are exactly SINH
lar and masses of apparently the same eo'o'ed
tesserae are nevertheless full OF variety. Ia, b,o,
The tesserae containing gold and silver iea With
play go important part in most mosa,'sb sod
noors The use OF gold in mosaic was suggestei Dy
The introduction into Rome. probably from 1880 H.
~ '' bases Of which gold leaf. scratched win IN
scrptons emb.ems and portraits was empedJeH. 90, me
nrocess OF manufacturing gold ana SILVER snios .ol
pse in mosaic which adopted at the eld OF ,ne
third or early in the fourth century ana wnrn s s
chains Is 10 spread the metallic eal on VIZ mn I'M
aim Of transparent glass and to press upon the iear
Of molten op@G Ue s" glass SO and the aim Of
glass through the pores OF the metane 9ai. me
thus formed t Wo layers Of glass
are broken up into tesserae but the tssserae oniy
the he ssserae OF the slabs of cooed glass
are used edgewlse and present the uneven su,raue
prouutfFr Se Thin glass films which form the sur
face Of the gold and silver slabs. variety OF uheu
mr,aic ent ~ mosaic so entirely depends the
r,ehr eettIng of the tesserae with regard 10 the
sn nd Istcrmned that instead OF the mosacs FOR
| 81 Paurs being executed In studio and nxea IN
sS ind7v,dual tesserae should be imbedded directly
by the craftsmen on the surfaces 10 DC uecorate u
| Nv ravivinv the original method OF Work MT Hich-
mond has revolutionized the modern art OF mosaic.
and has given to 1t new lease or ne. NO one VINO no
om,f erected with the Nat inspidity OF the mo-
sales In the pendenives OF the central dome. wnen
were executed In Venice ana nxed IN sscuons. can
! fail to appreciate the Importance OF the new de-
| parture. =, .,,.,,, r,os,,cs a.,
the studio In the tesserae are fixed upon slabs
| ~ slate or stone and the panels thus formed are
| treated as pictures This applies TO comparatively
| small mosaics for vertical surfaces The second
method is more elaborate The design IS IN. avias ~
into sections and the tesserae OF each section are
| arranged In a temporary matrlx. by attaching the
| surfaces OF the tesserae 10 sheet or linen or
"a will 1tr
can he lifted from ts temporary bed and removed
| and fxed in cement the surface 10 be decorated
| involved In this method of procedure Is the risk
| between the sections will assert themselves. In
| both methods the tesserae are merely used as
phaslz their intrinsic qualities; they are perfectly
| level perfectly fiat and perfectly uninteresting
| The studio methods OF manipulation originated In
| the surrender OF the mosaic craftsman to the
| painter.
| have been adopted. the actual life OF mosaic de-
pends upon the stability OF the cement which unites
the tesserae the structure. Christian mosaicists
from the fourth the middle OF the sixteenth cen.
tury followed the tradition of their predecessors
| the Roman pavement builders and covered the sur.
| faces to be incrusted with mosaic with two layers
OF cement Both layers consisted Of mixture OF
lime, pounded brick powdered pozzoana and water
but the upper layer In which the tesserae were
set, was finer in grain than the one beneath.
double risk lurked In the double thickness OF ce-
ment; the risk OF non-cohesion between the layers
and the risk OF excessive weight. These two causes
aided by the insane for so-called restoration
and from which other nations are not altogether ex
empt. have worked irreparable injury to many oil
the most precious OF the early mosaics. In tho
| middle OF the fifteenth century the OF an OF
cement was introduced A mixture OF boiled and
| raw oil was substituted for water. with the result
that the setting OF the cement was considerably
tesserae, which with the old water cement required
! the strenuous application OF hammer ana chisel