ILLUSTRATIVE MUSIC AND POETRY 
Jn J~V EPOUSSE ^ßlLVEP v AND ^TEEL, 
DAMASCENED IN GOLD. 
HIS Centre Piece or Vase is wrought out of 
silver and Steel by the repousse process, and 
is further enriched with damascened tracery 
in gold. It is beyond all comparison the 
most important work of high art ever pro- 
duced by Elkington & Co., and has talcen six 
years in manufacture The followingremarks 
from the Birmingham Daily Post give a 
faithful description of the design:— 
We would eite especially the grand Centre 
Piece, in oxydized silver and damascened 
Steel, which ranks as the masterpiece of the 
eminent metal sculptor, M. Morel Ladeuil. Many and impor 
tant as are the works which have issued from the hands of this 
accomplished artist, from his “silver table” to the Milton 
Shield, he has never before achieved anything approaching 
in beauty of design, fulness of elaboration, and masteiy of 
technical execution, to this noble allegorical composition, in 
which are embodied, we understand, the fruits of nearly six 
years’ unbroken application. The general form of the design, 
which is in the style of the Italian Renaissance, and devoted 
to the apotheosis of Music and Poetry, may be described as 
an elongated plateau enriched with sculptured plaques or 
panels, and supporting in its centre, between two seated 
figures, a tall and stately Vase. The Vase, which is of ovoid 
form, with upraised handles gracefully continuing the curve 
of the sides, is surmounted by a charmingly posed group of 
two boyish genii, the upper one bearing aloft Apollo’s lyre, 
which forins the apex of the work, while the youth at his 
feet tests the purity of the strain with a tuning fork. A 
floral garland on either side connects this group with the 
handles of the Vase, and adds strength to the composition. 
On the body of the Vase, on either side, are large medallion 
reliefs in repousse, representing the Nine Muses, four on one 
side, and five on the other; and the bases of the handles are 
covered by scutcheons bearing the names of illustrious poets 
and composers—Homer, Shakespeare, Moliere, and Byron, 
on the one, and Handel, Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart on 
the other. Upon the pedestal on either side, facing the 
extremities of the plateau, are seated large semi-draped 
female figures, symbolizing Music and Poetry, and either 
nymph is attended by a youthful geni, whose action 
dramatically Supplements the indications afforded by the 
pose, expression, and accessories as to the character and 
pursuits of the principal figure. Upon the shelving base of 
the pedestal, on either side, is an oval bas-relief, occupied, 
the one by a spirited representation of Pegasus bearing a geni 
typifying inspiration, the other by a griffin or hippograph, 
carrying the geni of Imagination. Upon the sloping surface of 
the outer border of the plateau are a series of twelve bas-reliefs 
of various shapes, illustrative of the various descriptions of 
Music and Poetry, six of each kind; and the interstices of 
the design are filled up with masks, scrolls, and trophies 
of various kinds in beaten and oxydized silver, which is 
eveiywhere thrown up in admirable relief by the ebony 
black ground of the damascened Steel, which forms the 
framework and setting of the composition. No words can 
well convey the chaste and harmonious beauty of the work, 
the charms of which, unlike those of modern metal work 
in general, are essentially sculpturesque as opposed to 
chromatic, and derived from elegance of form rather than 
from surface decoration. The modelling of the detached 
figures throughout is simply superb, combining the rare 
proportions and matchless syihmetry of classical forms with 
French esprit and grace ; and the figure work in the bas- 
reliefs, in which nymphs, cupids, and satyrs seem to be 
invested by the artist with an individuality and expressive 
power rarely found in such conventional embodiments, is 
scarcely less meritorious. As examples of happy invention, 
seconded by rare technical skill, we would eite the two 
smaller plaques illustrative of elegiac and satirical poetry, 
and the oval bas-relief on the pedestal symbolical of 
Imagination. In the first, we have a veiled recumbent 
figure, attended by mourning genii, in a landscape saddened 
by willows and cypresses—the whole composition breathing 
a sense of refined and touching sorrow. Satirical poetiy is 
emblematized by a grinning satyr, who has just removed 
with one hand the comely mask, which lately hid his 
features, whilst scourging with the other a group of un- 
suspecting genii who had assembled to listen to him. The 
medallion symbolizing Imagination is exceedingly bold and 
spirited, and the care and finish with which every detail has 
been wrought out may be seen, with the aid of a magnifying 
glass, in the admirable rendering of the textures, and 
especially the fine gradations by which the feathers of the 
winged portion of the griffin pass into hair upon the body. 
Other examples of skilful tool work are to be found in the 
happy rendering of skin texture in the nude surfaces of the 
statuettes, and in the delicate chasing of the damascene 
work or inlaying of the black Steel ground work with fine 
lines of gold and silver. After a careful consideration of 
these elaborate excellences, which, like all true omament, it 
will be observed, serve to enrich and strengthen, not to 
enfeeble by overloading, the main design of the composition, 
the visitor will not be surprised to learn that the art labour 
alone bestowed upon this spirited and poetical masterpiece 
represents little short of ^6,000. 
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