DOI Heft:
No. 4 (July, 1893)
DOI Artikel:New publications
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17188#0183
New Publications
-LOCK OF CHEST IN THE AUGSBURG MUSEUM
Ironwork. From the Earliest Times to the End of the microscopic dimensions of some of the factors
the Medieeval Period. By J. Starkie Gardner.— which control the behaviour of this big material
If it were not that mediaeval ironwork differs so with which we are so much concerned nowadays,
widely from that of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and
nineteenth centuries, it would seem hardly fair to
be discussing Mr. Starkie Gardner's first volume by
itself.
When reading this first instalment of the last
South Kensington Art Handbook, one can hardly
fail to reflect that, in spite of the unquestionable
interest of the metallurgical and primaeval aspects
and developments of the material, the pages devoted
to their consideration would assume a more appro-
priate relation to the rest of the treatise if it were
not cut short at the approach of the Renaissance.
As it is, the " Artful Craftsman " is a long while
in getting his innings, and, to be quite honest,
there is a temptation now and then just to hurry on
a little over the catalogue of facts which constitutes
the early history of ironwork.
Mr. Gardner, in his introduction, gives us some
figures which are instructive and amazing, and must
impress even the most indifferent reader with a When we come to consider, in chronological
proper sense of the dignity of his subject, and Oi order, the most notable examples of the ornamental
ironwork of the Middle Ages, it
is surprising to find what a large
share of our attention is absorbed
by hinges. The fact is, of course,
easily explained. In the first
place, the doors of churches and
other buildings depended very
much in the early days of iron-
work on the strength and elabo-
ration of the hinges, both for
resisting improper entry, and as
supplementing the joinery by
cramping the boards together.
Thus, elaborate hinges were not
only very extensively used, but,
from their actual construction
and position, have had a far
better chance of resisting the
attacks of time and other icono-
clasts, than more self-contained
articles, which would not partake
so much of the nature of fixtures.
These old examples of hinges
have no doubt in some cases been
re-fitted to new doors; but still,
on the whole, they probably re-
main to this day very much as the
smith left them, and are very in-
structive in many ways, showing,
for instance, that the smith was
his own designer, and that the
designs simply grew on very tra-
ditional lines out of the require-
ments of each case.
Many of these old doors show
that in earlier times, when it was
desired to protect the whole door
with ironwork, the smith simply
made up loose pieces similar to
parts of the hinges, and laid
fig i.—the st. swithin grille, Winchester cathedral them on to the rest of the surface
165
-LOCK OF CHEST IN THE AUGSBURG MUSEUM
Ironwork. From the Earliest Times to the End of the microscopic dimensions of some of the factors
the Medieeval Period. By J. Starkie Gardner.— which control the behaviour of this big material
If it were not that mediaeval ironwork differs so with which we are so much concerned nowadays,
widely from that of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and
nineteenth centuries, it would seem hardly fair to
be discussing Mr. Starkie Gardner's first volume by
itself.
When reading this first instalment of the last
South Kensington Art Handbook, one can hardly
fail to reflect that, in spite of the unquestionable
interest of the metallurgical and primaeval aspects
and developments of the material, the pages devoted
to their consideration would assume a more appro-
priate relation to the rest of the treatise if it were
not cut short at the approach of the Renaissance.
As it is, the " Artful Craftsman " is a long while
in getting his innings, and, to be quite honest,
there is a temptation now and then just to hurry on
a little over the catalogue of facts which constitutes
the early history of ironwork.
Mr. Gardner, in his introduction, gives us some
figures which are instructive and amazing, and must
impress even the most indifferent reader with a When we come to consider, in chronological
proper sense of the dignity of his subject, and Oi order, the most notable examples of the ornamental
ironwork of the Middle Ages, it
is surprising to find what a large
share of our attention is absorbed
by hinges. The fact is, of course,
easily explained. In the first
place, the doors of churches and
other buildings depended very
much in the early days of iron-
work on the strength and elabo-
ration of the hinges, both for
resisting improper entry, and as
supplementing the joinery by
cramping the boards together.
Thus, elaborate hinges were not
only very extensively used, but,
from their actual construction
and position, have had a far
better chance of resisting the
attacks of time and other icono-
clasts, than more self-contained
articles, which would not partake
so much of the nature of fixtures.
These old examples of hinges
have no doubt in some cases been
re-fitted to new doors; but still,
on the whole, they probably re-
main to this day very much as the
smith left them, and are very in-
structive in many ways, showing,
for instance, that the smith was
his own designer, and that the
designs simply grew on very tra-
ditional lines out of the require-
ments of each case.
Many of these old doors show
that in earlier times, when it was
desired to protect the whole door
with ironwork, the smith simply
made up loose pieces similar to
parts of the hinges, and laid
fig i.—the st. swithin grille, Winchester cathedral them on to the rest of the surface
165