88 COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 



too simple in style, and accordingly they have been painted with flowing scrolls in 

 gold, which gives them rather a tawdry appearance. 



Of Spanish wares the only collections of any note are those of the Conde de Valen 

 cia de Don Juan, Sefior Don Guillermo de Osnia, and of the Archaeological Museum 

 of Madrid. Unfortunately, the latter collection must be dismissed with but little 

 notice, for the objects were arranged in panels upon the walls of the room, reaching 

 to the ceiling, and it was therefore barely possible to see them, and quite out of the 

 question to examine any of them at all closely. One of the plates is said to have 

 an Arabic word written upon it, a most unusual thing, bat as it was at least twelve 

 feet from the floor it was not possible to verify this statement, which has already 

 been doubted. Among the objects nearer at hand was, however, one of the famous 

 Alhambra vases, a fine specimen, standing more than 4 feet high, but, unfortu 

 nately, wanting one of its handles. It is decorated in yellow, or pale luster, and 

 blue, with a profusion of arabesque designs and inscriptions, one of the latter refer 

 ring to its use as a water jar. This vase came from the parish church of Hernos 

 (Jaeu), where it was used as a holy-water vessel. A similar story is told of an 

 equally fine vase, now in the museum at Palermo. Another jar of Toledan make is 

 interesting as bearing the name of the maker. It is an oviform vessel of common 

 clay, nearly three feet in height, unglazed, and with two projecting ears, or handles, 

 on the shoulders. The ornament consists of impressions from oblong stamps, with 

 animals, monsters, etc. Near the neck are impressed three stamps, inscribed in black 

 letter &quot;En toled&quot; me feci dj perez.&quot; This dates probably from the sixteenth century 



The collections of the Coude de Valencia and Senor de- Osnia are shown together, 

 and comprise a superb series of the lustered wares of the various Spanish factories, a 

 number of tiles, interesting for their devices as well as for the-technical processes of 

 their manufacture, and a large and unique series of a curious ware believed to have 

 been made in Andalusia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but of which the 

 history is at present somewhat uncertain. Among the lustered wares the most remark 

 able pieces are two dishes painted in blue and luster, with figures in fantastic cos 

 tumes of the fifteenth century, one of the dishes representing a fishing scene, carried 

 round the dish in a quaint fashion. Two covered bowls are also worthy of remark, 

 both from their rarity and the originality of their design, the covers being of the 

 same- shape as the bowls, but somewhat larger in the mouth, and when placed 

 together the form is that of a barrel with narrow ends. Many other pieces of this 

 beautiful series deserve mention, if space permitted. Tho Aiidalusian ware, how 

 ever, is less known, and therefore deserves more particular notice. Though it can 

 scarcely be said to possess so great a charm as the lustered wares, yet it has an origi 

 nality and vigor which is rarely found in any but the earliest productions of Valencia 

 and. Malaga. It recalls in appearance the Italian sgramato wares, though the proc 

 ess of manufacture is of quite a different character. The method employed is, 

 however, not quite clear, but seems to have been to draw the outlines of the design 

 in some substance which was thrown off in the furnace, leaving little or no trace of 

 its presence, but which, before the firing, possessed an antipathy to the colored 

 glaze used to fill up the design, so that these glazes could be applied close up to the 

 edge of the outlines without in any instance impinging upon them. In no case is 

 the clearness of the outline interfered with, though it is rare to find an instance of 

 the glaze being otherwise than close to its edge. The glazes are thick and heavy, 

 probably with a base of tin, and the colors used are rich and full, amber, green, 

 slaty blue, yellow, and manganese. The collection comprises five large dishes, 

 twenty-four small, an oviform vase, two large panels with the arms of Castile-Leon 

 and Aragon-Sicily, as well as tiles. The designs of the dishes are vigorously, if some 

 what coarsely, drawn, and include a head of a young man in the costume of the late 

 fifteenth century, a deer and other animals, heraldic lions, and motives derived from 

 plants and trees. Some of the tiles have inscriptions in black letter, and the ovi 

 form vase bears the legend, &quot;Mjel rosado coad, 7 honey of roses. It may be of inter- 



