246 



DECORATIVE ART IN AMERICA. 



are familiar with in Japanese work. These 

 waves, neutral tinted and very fine, have the 

 edges denned by a heavy line, which here is a 

 bronzed cord, and is consequently in relief. 

 The decoration proceeds to the top in irregular 

 concentric circles, where sharply edged gilded 

 dragons peer from behind toward the center, 

 with a life-likeness almost too startling for a 

 decorative effect. 



These are the most prominent instances of a 

 good deal of work of the kind. 



Terra-Cotta. The use of terra-cotta for deco- 

 rative purposes in this country is of recent 

 date ; but its increase has been so great that 

 its manufacture may be now considered one of 

 the chief art-industries. The principal manu- 

 factory is at Perth Amboy, N. J. The coun- 

 try within a ten-mile radius of that place sup- 

 plies the best clays for that purpose in the 

 United States. The first building in which 

 terra-cotta was made a marked feature was 

 that of the Brooklyn Historical Society. In 

 its service the well-known sculptors Olin 

 Warner and T. W. Bartlett were engaged. 

 The works have now a corps of men under Mr. 

 Mora, and the operations are on an extensive 

 scale. The most important work yet done, 

 with regard to size and the outlay of money, 

 has been the New York Produce Exchange 

 building, in which there are not only bands 

 of terra-cotta and spandrels filled with orna- 

 ment girdling the immense building, but spe- 

 cial designs, including the seals of the States, 

 appropriate allegorical representations, and 

 studies of the fauna and flora of our country, 

 making ornamental medallions. For the Van- 

 derbilt stables, Edward Kenneys has modeled 

 a spirited horse's head ; and one of the finest 

 works in character and texture has been the 

 head of an Alderney cow by Mora for a Phila- 

 delphia stable. Some interesting results in 

 texture are seen in the buff terra-cotta panels 

 intended for the new Cotton Exchange, in 

 which (.lie peculiar qualities of the cotton from 

 the bursting pod are finely felt. On the Law- 

 rence Building, in South Fifth Avenue, has been 

 made recently a new and successful experiment 

 in rendering the silky sheen of a ribbon, which 

 makes an ornament on the side of the house 

 and holds an inscription. The work on the 

 Broad Street station of the Pennsylvania Rail- 

 road, in Philadelphia, is worthy of comment ; 

 and in many respects the large arch intended 

 for the Adams Express Company stables at 

 Cincinnati best illustrates how far the work 

 has been carried. This is an allegorical repre- 

 sentation of Aurora in her chariot among the 

 clouds, preceded by Loves and attended by 

 Mercury chasing away the Night. The work 

 is in delicate relief, and includes modeling 

 widely varied and a number of textures, all 

 well given. The ornamentation of the char- 

 iot, a decorative arrangement of female fig- 

 ures representing the seven days of the week, 

 should be mentioned as nn original and beau- 

 tiful composition. Mr. Mora has undertaken 



more ambitious work than this for the State 

 House at Trenton, N. J., a decorative band 

 composed of panels illustrating the seven ages 

 of the world in groups of figures. These are 

 not equally successful. The first two, the 

 Stone Age and Architecture, are the best 

 throughout. The figure of the young man in 

 the second frame is almost classic in its breadth. 

 In "Printing," illustrated by Faust, Margue- 

 rite, and Mephistopheles, the textures are es- 

 pecially good. In Writing, Navigation, and 

 Modern Science, we have the portraits of 

 Dante, Columbus, and Watt. 



The work in terra-cotta has also extended 

 to interiors, in decorative plaques for mantel- 

 pieces, and jardinieres' for conservatories, in 

 which the ornament is wrought out with great 

 delicacy. An important adjunct has been the 

 manufacture of bricks with reference to color 

 for building purposes ; an instance is afforded 

 in the speckled brick used in the Tiffany houses 

 on Madison Avenue. These bricks 'are also 

 used for mantel-facings. 



Wood-Carving. It has been said that the dec- 

 orative movement received its impulse at the 

 Centennial Exposition of 1876. Previous to 

 that time, however, there had been considera- 

 ble interest in wood-carving in Cincinnati, and 

 many creditable specimens of work were there 

 exhibited. This was due primarily to William 

 and Henry Fry, father and son, Englishmen, 

 who had formerly been employed on the 

 Houses of Parliament. The work was popu- 

 larized, however, by Benn Pittman, the stenog- 

 rapher, and under him became a social move- 

 ment. Women of wealth and leisure undertook 

 it with enthusiasm, and the carving of the 

 frame of the great organ of the music-hall of 

 that city was a matter of local pride. Since 

 that time the work has gone steadily forward ; 

 and as much has been done by women, the 

 mistresses of homes, many private interiors 

 have been enriched. A singular example is 

 the introduction of wood-carving among the 

 nuns of St. Martin's Convent, Brown County, 

 Ohio, who have adorned their own private 

 chapel with their work. 



Accompanying this practical work and seri- 

 ous use of the tools, there has been a second 

 but even more important endeavor. This is 

 the effort to obtain new motives for ornament. 

 The Cincinnati School of Design turned its at- 

 tention to the flora of Ohio, and has success- 

 fully demonstrated the value to decoration of 

 the succory-leaf, of the wild-parsnip, of the 

 form and textures of the buckeye, and other 

 flowers and plants. 



Silks. The manufacture of artistic stuffs 1 ' 

 arose out of a pressing necessity. It is worth 

 noting that while American silks intended for 

 the commercial world by no means rival the 

 foreign silks, the artistic stuffs that are designed 

 by the Associated Artists, both in texture 

 and design, equal those produced in any coun- 

 try, and now find a limited sale abroad. For 

 greater convenience these silks have been 



