Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/88

Rh 78 METAL-WORK In wrought iron the German smiths, especially during the 15th century, greatly excelled. Almost peculiar to Germany is the use of wrought iron for grave-crosses and sepulchral monuments, of which the Nuremberg and other cemeteries contain fine examples. Many elaborate well- canopies were made in wrought iron, and gave full play to Part of Henry VII. s Bronze Screen. the fancy and invention of the smith. The celebrated 15th-century example over the well at Antwerp, attributed to Quintin Massys, is the finest of these. France. From the time of the Romans the city of Limoges has been celebrated for all sorts of metal-work, and especially for brass enriched with enamel. In the 13th and 14th centuries many life-size sepulchral effigies were made of beaten copper or bronze, and ornamented by various-coloured &quot; champleve &quot; enamels. The beauty of these effigies led to their being imported into England ; most are now destroyed, but a fine specimen still exists at Westminster on the tomb of William de Valence (1296). In ornamental iron-work for doors the French smiths were pre-eminent for the richness of design and skilful treatment of their metal. No examples probably surpass those on the west doors of Notre Dame in Paris now unhappily much falsified by restoration. The crockets and finials on the fleches of Amiens and Rheims are beautiful speci mens of a highly ornamental treatment of cast lead, for which France was especially celebrated. In most respects, however, the development of the various kinds of metal- working went through much the same stages as in England. Persia and Damascus. The metal-workers of the East, especially in brass and steel, were renowned for their skill FIQ. 9. Brass Vase, pierced and gilt ; 17th century Persian work. even in the time of Theophilus, the monkish writer on the subject in the 13th century. But it was during the reign of Shah Abbas I. (d. 1628) that the greatest amount of skill both in design and execution was reached by the Persian workmen. Delicate pierced vessels of gilt brass, enriched by tooling and inlay of gold and silver, were among the chief specialties of the Persians (see fig. 9). A process called by Europeans &quot;damascening&quot; (from Damascus, the chief seat of the export) was used to produce very delicate and rich surface ornament. A pattern was incised with a graver in iron or steel, and then gold wire was beaten into the sunk lines, the whole surface being then smoothed and polished. In the time of Cellini this process was copied in Italy, and largely used, especially for the decoration of weapons and armour. The repousse^ process both for brass and silver was much used by Oriental workers, and even now fine works of this class are pro duced in the East, old designs still being adhered to.