Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/251

 Marcu 22, 1872. THE BUILDING NEWS. 233 a the thought of this century? Much may be said in fayour of its rejection. Fancy a building neglected, as so many of the ancient buildings have been, and of which we are so proud ; andimagine it left untouched, as many of those buildings have been, for half a century, what state would our iron building present? Difficulty of individuality of design—No doubt that moulds and patterns made for one architect will be again used for other build- ings where no architect is employed. The same pattern of panel will be repeated again and again to save expense. All this tends to repress novelty and individuality of design. Expense—Is against its use except as before mentioned, where space and time are more important than outlay. With the glazed tiles and enamelled iron for internal work, it must, however, be remembered there is the Saving of plastering and papering. Contraction and Expansion.—Herein is a great difficulty, which is particularly exem- plified where a fire occurs. Treatment.—It should be borne in mind in the treatment of iron that the great—in fact, the only—method of itssuccessful use is light- ness. Some affirm that this is an ‘“‘ironage ;” Imuch doubt it. I do not believe there is any probability of iron superseding stone or brick ; but Ido think there are many oppor- tunities for the introduction, with great ad- vantages, of iron construction, especially in street architecture. If the reader will only reflect, I am certain he willbe entirely of my opinion, that here a great field is open for the use of this material. The tables so often alluded to by writers on this subject, and which show the great strength of cast and wrought iron, are of little value, because they ‘so scarcely affect the all-important question of cost—for example, take the table furnished by the writer of a paper read at the Institute in 1864, which is as follows:— CRUSHING WEIGHT. ‘Cast iron is 24 times as strong as wrought iron; AOD) a Portland stone ; ano RS Aberdeen granite ; sy 2? - brickwork in cement ay ed = fir; coe ube Ry oak. Surely it is most fallacious—the crushing weight seldom, if ever, coming into considera- tion. The real question being, how can I build iron economically and soundly? At present brickwork (considered on this basis) bears the palm. I have pointed out that the great objection to the use of wrought and cast iron is its rapid oxydation, which at pre- ‘Sent prevents it being classed among the en- during building materials. It, therefore, becomes the primary question with the architect to find some process of enamelling, that shall really render this material a lasting and enduring ene, equal to ‘brick and stone. There is no doubt that Willing or the De Layenant Iron Company will say, Yes, we can render iron more enduring than stone and brick. It is no doubt difficult to decide whether this be so, or not; because these processes are too recent to enable one to refer to ancient examples that have withstood the lapse of ages. Another difficulty I have already mentioned—namely, the contraction and expansion by the change of temperature. Where iron walls are employed—and I think from what I have already said, the conclusion will be drawn that the application of this material for such purposes is at present limited to street architecture—it will be wise to enamel the iron, to fill in the panels with enamelled iron plate in colour, or to fill in with the Pether brick or terra-cotta. The inner face having the hollow space of 2in., Zin., or 4in. between it, and the outer face forms the room wall, and may be either decorated with panels of ornamented enamel plates, or with glazed tiles or common bricks, and plastered in the ordinary way. The space of 2in, or din. between the outer and inner wall is considered sufficient. I have advocated the allowing the party wall to be expressed from ground to roof, instead of, as at present, showing above the parapet only, and its division to correspond with the height of the various floors. Further, I think the lines of the shop front may be carried up to the roof, and the ornamentation adopted I have pointed out under the head of ‘Special Adaptability of those Houses having Shops on the Lower Story or Stories.” One idea should be ever present, that con- trast must not be soughtin heavy projections and deep shadows, as it is customary in treating stone; but rather brightness and colour must be the aim of the architect; and though thus circumscribed, a clever designer no doubt might—indeed would—produce a bright and pleasing iron front. For one moment let us consider the internal decorations. We have shown how plastering may beavoided, and bright panelled walls— ever enduring—be substituted. We have also the power of introducing Wedgwood ware and terra-cotta and stone panels in endless variety in walls, and in ceilings. Conclusion.—From the foregoing observa- tions it may be inferred that iron as an artistic building material is at present limited to street architecture, and that in combination with other materials for panelling it may be made beautiful andeffective. Surely then there is great scope for its adaptation with new and good results. I shall be surprised if shortly some shops in London, or more probably in the great and energetic towns of the North, do not embody these views and show this sceptical age that there abounds much talent which only requires clients with money to give to such new ideas— “A local habitation and a place.” Bak. eg JAPANESE ART.* (Concluded from page 223.) ACQUER WORK.—The styles and modes of manufacturing and ornamenting the lacquer work of the Japanese are apparently countless. The author had endeavoured to classify the several de- scriptions which show some sign of resemblance, but had been compelled to give up the task as hopeless. There is no art manufacture which displays such a diversity of treatment as this. In a single cabinet, which formed one of the gems of the Japanese Court in the Paris Exhibition of 1867, and which now ornaments the collection of Mr. J. L. Bowes, there are no less than nine distinct species of lacquer, and twenty-four different modes of artistic treatment represented on the main divisions, such as drawers, doors, and the like. On a more minute inspection, we find on one drawer sixteen different modes of applying and decorating gold work, and on another seven ways of treating various metals; all the re- maining drawers, along with the doors, present numerous interesting methods of handling the coloured and avyenturine lacs, and the metal, shell, and other inlays. This work, taken altogether, is certainly an extreme illustration; it was made for the purpose of showing in a single article the most important modes of lacquer working followed by the Japanese of the present day, and, notwithstanding the great variety it displays, its general effect is superb. It is richly mounted with silver, and the key drawer is faced with an engraved plate of the metal, edged with gold, and barred with a broad line of some black metal, It is rarely that one meets with more than two kinds of lacquer on one article; but the artistic treatment of any one kind may vary considerably. It is a well-known fact that Japanese artists avoid, if not positively dislike, diametrical division. [This was most satisfactorily illustrated on the sides, ends, and top of a cabinet exhibited. ] On all these surfaces a piece of fret diaper is intro- duced, but nowhere dividing them diametrically or into regular forms. The diaper is not constructed, as we should certainly do it, at an angle of 45°, and, what may strike us as more peculiar, its margin lines are not at the same angles as the pattern, or even similar to each other, one being straight and the other zig-zag ; here, then, we have all our ideas of propriety in ornamentation broken through, yet who can deny that the result is satisfactory? The Friday, March 8, 1872, by Mr. G. A. AUDSLEY, architect, of Liverpool. Japanese frequently use diapers to cover surfaces en- tirely, in the manner common with us, but they never consider it necessary to border them round, but Jet them crop out just as they may. As to the Japanese method of introducing medallions in their art works, when two or more medallions are intro- duced, containing any kind of enrichment, they are almost always of different outlines, the love for variety preventing the artist repeating his forms. [In the cabinet exhibited there were twelve medal- lions, and six different outlines used ; and out of the totalnumber eight were complete, and four were broken medallions, the latter being cut into by the panels of the doors and main drawer. The back, ends, and top had two medallions each, of different forms, one being placed on the black ground, and the other breaking into the fret diaper-work in the most free and easy manner imaginable. The artist here con- trived, by coupling different shaped medallions, by disposing them in different positions, and by cutting the ground in a different way with the fret-diaper, to make every surface of the cabinet a distinct and independent design, yet, combined, they produced a most consistent whole.] The author said he had enlarged on this subject because it involves art prin- ciples which we should do well to carefully consider, and because, on the other hand, it supplies a key to much that may appear strange to the observer who examines works of Japanese art for the first time. Nothing can surpass the delicacy and beauty of finish observable in the old lacquer work, now, unfor- tunately, rarely to be met with, and one cannot but wonder at the loving care and marvellous skill dis- played in it. Some of the small articles, such as medicine boxes, come as near perfection as anything done by the hand of man, and larger works, though not demanding so much delicacy, are still remarkable for their manipulation. Of the mode of manufac- turing lacquer work, very little appears to be known in this part of the world. The lacquer or varnish in its original state is the produce of a shrub called by the natives oerosinoki—that is, varnish plant. The product of the shrub requires to be prepared with great care, and the colouring materials have to be incorporated with it by a tedious process of grinding. The colours most commonly used are black, scarlet, dark green, crimson-red, and brown. Black is more generally adopted for the ground-work of lacquered articles than any other colour ; scarlet is principally used for the interior of boxes, and sometimes as the ground-work of trays and similar things. Perhaps the most beautiful of all the lacquers used for grounds are those called by us aventurine, from their likeness to aventurine glass made in Venice; there are several kinds of these, some closely resembling the glass, and others of a more dispersed nature, with flakes more like coloured mother-of-pearl than metal. In laying on the varnish, five or six coatsare applied, one after the other, each coat having been allowed to dry before the next is laid on. When a sufficient time has passed to secure the perfect drying of the whole, the surface is ground down and polished. In many instances, squares of gold and silver, pieces of pearl, ivory, coral, and such-like, are inlaid, as it were, into the lac surface; this is done by fixing them with the first coat of varnish, and then filling up to their thickness with many successive layers, and ultimately grinding the whole to an even surface. The process, so far as described, is used in the pre- paration of grounds only ; when the beautiful relief ornamentation is to be applied, much more com- plicated and tedious manipulation has to be gone through. Many months, and even years, are re- quired to produce a highly-raised piece of lac. Lacquer work is prized, in the first place, in propor- tion to its delicate finish, and, in the second, in proportion to the degree of relief given to its orna- mentation. There can be no question that the pro- cess of raised lac-working is one of the most tedious nature, and it is evident that careful cutting and grinding is required to bring the rough masses of varnish into their proper forms before the final gild- ing is attempted. As regards the gilding, the author could get no correct information. It is on the sur- face of the lac, but whether laid on in leaf, or powder dusted on a wet coat of varnish, he was unable to decide. When a good quality, it stands rough usage, washing, and polishing. The practice of enriching lacquer by applying other materials, such as the various coloured metals, tortoiseshell, mother-of- pearl, coral, and precious stones, is very usually followed in good work. [A small vase was exhibited as a characteristic example of this practice. The general body was of raised gold lac; the flowers of the iris were in white and purple pearl; the chrysan- themum flowers in white pearl, with yellow centres and green calyxes; and the Owmai blossoms and buds were in white and red coral. All these flowers and buds were exquisitely carved and engraved. } Porcelain.—The Japanese artists have long
 * Paper read before the Architectural Association on