International studio (59.1916)

Arts and Crafts in Church Ornamentation

be separate stalls for each with intricately carved
canopies and misericords, or the lower rows may
be continuous benches with carved ends. The
old custom of having the clergy sit in returned
stalls facing the altar has happily been revived.
Not only is it better liturgically and acoustically
but much more pleasing artistically. Another
heritage of the early church which we are seeing
more often is the screen separating the chancel
from the body of the church. It is usually sur-
mounted by a crucifix with attendant figures of
Saint Mary and Saint John,
and is frequently carved
and decorated in poly-
chrome. In the decoration
of the pulpit and lectern,
usually placed on opposite
sides of the nave—are great
possibilities for imaginative
treatment. In the stone
support for the lectern in
a New York church are
carved two figures—one
with eyes bound and hands
tied representing the Old
Testament—while the other,
the New Testament, holds' a
shepherd’s crook and a new-
born lamb. The casing for
the organ is another inter-
esting problem for the de¬
signer. Many of the medie¬
val ones were both carved
and painted, and a distinc¬
tive feature of the Spanish
cases that has recently been
effectively used is the mass¬
ing of clusters of small
trumpet-like pipes.
The font, together with
rich in symbolic ornament.
ing illustration of the font in Saint Thomas’
Church, New York, many of the crafts combine
to produce a remarkably handsome effect. The
font itself is of stone, the actual bowl of beaten
copper overlaid with gold and out of wood is
carved the cover with its elaborate canopy and
eight doors folding around the octagonal font.
The outside of these paneled doors is carved in
varying forms of the linen fold motif, the inside
being encrusted with gold and painted with rep-
resentations of the Virtues, each with its symbolic

colour and appropriate emblem. These doors
swing out on either side, thus forming an effective
and beautiful background for the minister offi-
ciating in the baptismal service.
Though hardly under the classification of orna-
ments, a word might well be said on the subject of
church hardware. In the church of the Middle
Ages these necessities—the door hinges, locks and
keys, were frequently among the most interesting
features of the church fabric, rich in symbolic de-
sign and masterpieces of craftwork. An interest-
ing modern example is found
in the hand-wrought lock for
the Pittsburgh First Baptist
Church, shown in the illus-
tration.
In the working of the
vestments of the church
ministers, the three prin-
ciples of decoration guided
by church tradition again
assert themselves. Through
form and design fullness of
material and long lines give
dignity to the wearer, and
by the symbolic use of col-
our, the festivals, fasts, and
seasons of the church year
are emphasized. While ex-
quisite embroidery on beau-
tiful fabrics doubtless repre-
sents the ideal, very beauti-
ful and satisfactory results
can be obtained with inex-
pensive materials. The cope
shown in the photograph,
one of a set of vestments
made for use in Saint John’s
Church, Roxbury, Mass., is
of light green poplin stencilled in golden yellow.
The orphreys and hood are of blue velvet and
the blocked fringe is golden yellow and blue. The
lining is of linen a tone lighter than the velvet.
Though the individual artist and workman
must be given freedom in the treatment of his
work, it must not be forgotten that they must be
subject to the architect, the master mind who is
responsible for the unity of the whole. By the
recognition of these facts such churches as the
new Chapel of the Intercession are built, complex
in detail but so balanced that the essential one-
ness of the fabric attains almost to perfection.

A COPE DESIGNED AND EXECUTED BY
THOMAS RAYMOND BALL


its cover, should be

In the accompany-

LXIX