Studio: international art (9.1897)

The Arts and Crafts

A striking instance of a
commonplace item of daily
life made artistic by virtue of
fine properties is the lamp-
post shown in a model (page
194), by Mr. Voysey. Unless
you regard the emblazoned
arms of the City of London
as decoration, it owes little
to ornament. But the square
lantern, and the harmonious
balance of the various com-
ponent parts, must not be
overlooked. A hundred men
could ornament a lamp-post,
but very few could design
one. This instance of an
artist's power to embody a
fresh idea without departing
unduly from an accepted
type, supplies as good a
moral as the show affords.
For the lesson it teaches is
that the artist should study
the essentials of the object

TILES, DESIGNED AND MODELLED
BY C. F. A. VOYSEY

EXECUTED BY MESSRS.
PILKINGTON AND CO.

these by perfectly arbitrary
symbols, without detriment
to the utility of the clock.
Another very novel piece of
furniture is a bedroom chair
(page 194) with a hammock-
seat. The object of its design
has been undoubtedly to
shield an invalid from
draught; hence the roof,
which would be intolerable
in an ordinary chair, plays a
genuine part in accomplish-
ing its hygienic purpose. The
woodwork is painted in a
tender, evasive green, which
perhaps might be called blue
with no less truth. Several
of the same artist's most
notable designs for wall-
paper reappear here in woven-
silk tapestry. One, The Bird
and Tulip, is even more de-
lightful in its new material.

192

WALL-PA PER, DESIGNED BY C. F. A. VOYSEY

EXECUTED

BY MESSRS, ESSEX AND CO.