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Relief Ornament: Bronze can be cast with great ease and in the most delicate patterns, and may be finished in a great variety of styles and colors. For these reasons it is more largely used in the manufacture of metal ornaments, statues, and finished hardware than any other material. The surface finishes are obtained by dipping the object in baths of various acids, but these finishes are only light veneers, and disappear if the object is exposed to the weather or frequently handled.Both brass and bronze may be rolled into very thin sheets, after which spun, hammered, or repousse forms and surfaces may be produced.Objects that are cast in bronze and treated with ornament in relief ornament may have the ornament sharpened or undercut by hand chiselling or chasing. The ormolu used on French 17th and 18th century furniture was finished in this way, the bronze finally being coated with gold by a mercury process that was very dangerous to the workmen. The ornament on fine bronze hardware is always hand-chiselled, which is responsible for its high cost. The finish of hardware that has not been touched by handwork is called "commercial."
Objects that are cast in bronze and treated with ornament in relief ornament may have the ornament sharpened or undercut by hand chiselling or chasing. The ormolu used on French 17th and 18th century furniture was finished in this way, the bronze finally being coated with gold by a mercury process that was very dangerous to the workmen. The ornament on fine bronze hardware is always hand-chiselled, which is responsible for its high cost. The finish of hardware that has not been touched by handwork is called "commercial."Brass and bronze are both used as base materials for decorative and useful objects that are coated in gold or silver.Tin and lead are metals used in alloys, and are too soft for practical purposes when used alone. They are nonrusting. Lead is often used for garden statues and Ornaments and occasionally for appliques on woodwork.Miscellaneous decorative metal objects. There are many kinds of metal objects valued for their design and workmanship even though the material from which they are made may not be "precious." Many of these objects have great decorative value, while others must be placed in the "collector's*5 class. There are many books concerning every type of metalwork, and those interested should obtain those upon the particular subject in which they may be interested, as space does not permit a full description here.See Also Scratch-carved Ornament:The earliest pottery of interest was produced in Pennsylvania by Germans about the middle of the 18th century. This was a slip decorated with crude scratch carving, and was known as sgraffito ware. The body colors were red, brown, and cream. The slip was green, pink, and blue. The color of the body showed through the scratch-carved ornament on the slip covering. The subjects of the ornamental motifs consisted of strange humans and animals and flowers, with dates, names, and inscriptions. The Pennsylvanians also produced a ware with a marbleized finish. The forms produced were all for useful purposes. Connecticut and Massachusetts also produced pottery, beginning with the middle of the 18th century, when the Decoration as well as the practical value of an object began to be considered.The developments in America in fine pottery and porcelain making were greatly handicapped by English importations, both before and after the Revolution, and the popularity of the imported types often obliged the American craftsmen to imitate them, and to disguise their origin by omitting the stamp of their own names or factory marks. The popularity of the Oriental and French productions also increased the financial difficulties of the American producers. Vast quantities of English transfer-printed wares flooded the American market after the American Revolution.
Under the Adam, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton influence, the Lighting fixtures of the room became more closely allied to the general scheme of decoration, and the gilded bronze, carved wood, and glass or composition ornament were often combined with the cameo forms of Wedgwoodjasper ware. Silver continued to be dominant as a material for Table lights. The swags, garlands, scrolls, festoons, paterae, Vase forms, and floral sprays that were executed as architectural and furniture ornament were used in lighting-fixture design. Plain and convex Wall mirrors were often combined with candle brackets.
On The Other Hand See Forms And Ornament:All period rooms that have been based on Renaissance design have used some or all of the above details. The differences have been in the local interpretations of the classical detail, the materials used, and the finish given to them. Variations between the Italian, English, French, Hispanic, and American uses of these forms have also been in their proportions, the frequency of use, and particularly in the sections and shapes of the moldings, and the general character of the ornament.Door and window trim.
In practically all countries since the time of the Renaissance, candles have been held by hanging candelabra, Floor standards, Table candlesticks, hanging lanterns, or Wall brackets; or illumination has been produced by the oil lamp. The materials used for the making of these objects have differed somewhat in each style, but the forms and ornamental detail used in the design of many of the light holders and lamps have been borrowed from, and correspond in character to, the typical motifs used in the painted and carved ornamental forms of the architecture, furniture, and other arts of each period.Italy and Spain. The Lighting fixtures of the early Renaissance in these countries were inspired from the superb torches and lamps that were constantly being discovered in the excavations of the ruins of antiquity in Rome. Architectural forms and ornamental details were the basis of the design of the most elaborate light holders. Scrolls, brackets, amorini, and the acanthus leaf enriched the structural forms. Plain and poly-chromed wrought iron, cast brass and bronze, silver and gilded wood, and colored Venetian glass and Byzantine enamels were the principal materials used for structure and ornament. The bent and twisted wrought iron, hammered into graceful curves, was enriched with exquisitely modelled rosettes and foliage.
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