DOI Heft:
No. 126 (September, 1903)
DOI Artikel:Studio-talk
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19879#0307
Studio- Talk
PORTRAIT OF MARK TWAIN
FROM THE MINIATURE BY UGO CATANI
it is possible to get a much more satisfactory
likeness than in the smaller ones.
We give an illustration on page 292 of a statuette
of Pope Leo XIII., which has recently been
executed by Messrs. Elkington & Co. The
statuette is the work of Mr. Sidney March.
BIRMINGHAM.—Wehave been privileged
to see one of the finest pieces of silver-
smith's work ever made in Birmingham.
This is the official Mace (see page 293),
now in the possession of the Birmingham
University, and recently presented to the faculty
by Mrs. C. G. Beale, the wife of the Vice-Chancellor.
Designed by Mr. Philip Webb, it has been
executed by Messrs. W. H. Haseler, Ltd., of this
city, under the personal supervision, at the request
of the designer, of Mr. R. Catterson Smith, who
has put some of his own work into it.
The design is Gothic in spirit, though modern in
its conception. The mace is of silver sheathed on
wood, is 4 ft. 6 ins. in length, and of substantial
and imposing proportions. The tapering stem is
sexagonal in form, dovetailed and riveted on to
the wood; a spiral band in relief runs round
it, decorated where it passes in front with
diamond-shaped medallions enclosing low reliefs
emblematical of the University and City. Above
the richly-ornamented boss and finely wrought
handles, the head is in the form of an inverted
pallium, slightly domed, and enclosed in a hex-
agonal frame. The arms of the University are
blazoned in enamel on the pallium, and the
border is richly decorated and relieved with
stones and translucent enamels. The reverse
bears an inscription in raised lettering, sur-
rounded by a repousse wreath of conventional
roses and thistles.
The greatest pains were bestowed upon its
production in order that, when finished, it should
be as perfect a piece of wrought silverwork as
possible. Every detail is hand made; the
tapering of the stem being a specially notable
example of the exquisite skill and care employed
in the interpretation of the design. Each rivet-
head tells of a rivet serving its definite legitimate
purpose in the construction of the whole, and
the perfect finish and proportion of the jewel,
for such it is, adds to its dignity and effect.
As a specimen of heraldic work it deserves to
rank very highly.
The association ot Mr. Catterson Smith with its
PORTRAIT OF MISS SULLIVAN
FROM THE MINIATURE BY UGO CATANI
29I
PORTRAIT OF MARK TWAIN
FROM THE MINIATURE BY UGO CATANI
it is possible to get a much more satisfactory
likeness than in the smaller ones.
We give an illustration on page 292 of a statuette
of Pope Leo XIII., which has recently been
executed by Messrs. Elkington & Co. The
statuette is the work of Mr. Sidney March.
BIRMINGHAM.—Wehave been privileged
to see one of the finest pieces of silver-
smith's work ever made in Birmingham.
This is the official Mace (see page 293),
now in the possession of the Birmingham
University, and recently presented to the faculty
by Mrs. C. G. Beale, the wife of the Vice-Chancellor.
Designed by Mr. Philip Webb, it has been
executed by Messrs. W. H. Haseler, Ltd., of this
city, under the personal supervision, at the request
of the designer, of Mr. R. Catterson Smith, who
has put some of his own work into it.
The design is Gothic in spirit, though modern in
its conception. The mace is of silver sheathed on
wood, is 4 ft. 6 ins. in length, and of substantial
and imposing proportions. The tapering stem is
sexagonal in form, dovetailed and riveted on to
the wood; a spiral band in relief runs round
it, decorated where it passes in front with
diamond-shaped medallions enclosing low reliefs
emblematical of the University and City. Above
the richly-ornamented boss and finely wrought
handles, the head is in the form of an inverted
pallium, slightly domed, and enclosed in a hex-
agonal frame. The arms of the University are
blazoned in enamel on the pallium, and the
border is richly decorated and relieved with
stones and translucent enamels. The reverse
bears an inscription in raised lettering, sur-
rounded by a repousse wreath of conventional
roses and thistles.
The greatest pains were bestowed upon its
production in order that, when finished, it should
be as perfect a piece of wrought silverwork as
possible. Every detail is hand made; the
tapering of the stem being a specially notable
example of the exquisite skill and care employed
in the interpretation of the design. Each rivet-
head tells of a rivet serving its definite legitimate
purpose in the construction of the whole, and
the perfect finish and proportion of the jewel,
for such it is, adds to its dignity and effect.
As a specimen of heraldic work it deserves to
rank very highly.
The association ot Mr. Catterson Smith with its
PORTRAIT OF MISS SULLIVAN
FROM THE MINIATURE BY UGO CATANI
29I