246
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
with the accuracy of detail characterizing the ornamental objects, they must” be extremely costly. They are very different from the bolder and rougher work on terra-cotta, designed chiefly for exteriors. One of the chief works, by the celebrated Luca della Robbia,—reputed to be the discoverer of stanniferous enamels in Europe,—was the decoration, in enamelled terra-cotta, of a room—a writing-cabinet—for Piero di Cosimo Medici, about the year 1464. It was lined throughout, walls, ceiling, and pavement, and the parts were so perfectly fitted together that it appeared to be all in one piece. It has been suggested that the remarkable medallions illustrating the seasons, now in the South Kensington Museum, originally formed a part of the decoration of this cabinet, which, unfortunately, no longer exists, and is known only through tradition and the writings of Vasari.*
Ciioisy-le-Roi, II. Boulenger : Dépôt in Paris , Bue de Paradis Poissonnière 4 .—Objects of utility and ornament, in faience, " granite,” and " half-porcelain.” A great variety of objects are made at this establishment, aud were on exhibition, such as articles for the toilet, for perfumers, pharmacists, plumbers, and decorators ; dessert sets, candlesticks, flower-pots, tiles for jardinieres, clock-stands, match-boxes, vases, etc., etc. They also imitate the faience of Rouen, Italy, Nevers, the enamelled plaques of Persia, and the porcelain of China and old Sevres.
A round plaque, in Persian style, is remarkable for the relief of the enamel and the distinctness and brilliancy of the colors. It is ten “and a half inches in diameter, mid has a projecting annular support below, giving greater strength to the piece without adding much to the weight* The basis or ground-work is ordinary earthenware, of white body, glazed in white, like stone-china. The upp er surface is highly decorated, with opaque colored enamels laid upon the white enamel covering the whole. There
* Luca della Robbia was bom in the year 1400, and is distinguished for his meritorious artistic productions in marble, terra-cotta, and bronze. The frieze of the singing boys, in the Museum of the Uffizii at Florence, and the bronze gates of the sacristy of the Dnomo in Florence, are examples of his labors in these materials. H e is supposed to have introduced the use of stanniferous enamels in Italy in the y e£U 1438, with a view to the execution of indestructible paintings.