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Ewer and Basin. Pewter. "The Arts." Composition and execution by J. Brateau, 1889. Musee du Luxembourg, Paris. Diameter 0.43 centimetres. 
ART IN PEWTER 
/. Brateau 
(continued.) 
A new style, the Louis XVI., succeeded the rococo, 
having nothing in common with it, either in form, or dec- 
oration; consequently everything in the pewter industry 
had to be created again. It was impossible to follow the 
new style, without employing entirely different molds, 
and there was then a dearth of good engravers and die 
cutters. Pewterers appeared not to know how to inter- 
pret in their medium the delicate ornament of the Louis 
XVI. style, and the industry rapidly declined to the point 
of disappearance, not to revive until a century later; this 
revival being due to a timid attempt of the writer of this 
article, who exhibited at a special competition for metal 
work,* two plates in pewter, one of which symbolizes the 
Zodiac, and is reproduced in our illustration No. 43. The 
results there attained appeared to surprise the most com- 
petent experts in artistic metal work, for the technique 
of pewter had been completely forgotten. 
When in 1889 the writer produced the ewer and basin 
"The Arts," as well as other subjects, and a Louis XV. 
plate, the interest became general. Sculptors remarked 
at once the soft qualities of the metal and the artistic 
coloring which made it well adapted to statuary. The 
remarkable works in pewter by such artists as MM. Alex- 
andre Charpentier, J. Desbois, Ledru, Jean Boffier, and 
others, show conclusively that such employment of the 
metal is justified, when subjects are broadly treated by 
master hands. We take pleasure in here illustrating 
several subjects treated by these sculptors, who have 
kindly authorized us to reproduce them in the Keramic 
Studio. 
A number of manufacturers, always seeking new 
ideas, seized their opportunity, and pewter pottery has 
been revived. We may add that at present, in many in- 
dustrial centres, articles of this substance are manufac 
tured in great quantity, and with varied ornamentation. 
But, as is often the case in industrial work, the canons 
of good taste are not always observed. Art suffers from 
the production of articles of cheap and easy manufacture, 
while cheapness and easy production are naturally the 
main preoccupations of industrial manufacturers. We 
earnestly hope that those interested in the decorative, 
or applied arts, will react against these commercial tend- 
encies, and strive for artistic and technical value, which 
are too often forgotten. Commerce has abused the ad- 
mirable qualities of pewter, in order to make it yield a 
maximum, considered from the commercial point of view. 
We have a right to demand from artists the production of 
works similar to some of the beautiful decorative objects 
which formerly made pewter the equal of the more precious 
metals. 
(To be continued.) 
♦Organized by the Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs, in Paris, 1880. 
