Studio: international art (32.1904)

Reviews

tions, with as full a belief in the finality of his own
judgment as is displayed by his successors in the
field of criticism. The exact date and the name of
the writer of the famous notes will probably never
now be known, in spite of all the eager attempts
that have been made to solve the mystery connected
with them ; yet the MS. might have been penned
by such modern exponents of analytical criticism
as Giovanni Morelli and Bernhard Berenson, when
engaged in the preparation of the books which
have made their reputations. Published in Italy
by its discoverer in 1800, the MS. has been again
and again reprinted, and has been constantly
quoted from by writers of every nationality, but it
has never before been rendered into English, the
fact that it is written in a little known Venetian
dialect making the task of translation one of peculiar
difficulty. It has, however, been most successfully
achieved by Signor Paolo Mussi, who has used the
latest edition of the original, with the valuable
notes of the well-known expert, Dr. Frizzoni,
published in 1884. These notes have been in-
cluded in an abbreviated form, and have been
supplemented by others from the pen of the English
editor, Dr. Williamson, who has given yet further
distinction to the publication by the introduction
of a number of excellent reproductions of works of
art discussed by the "Anonimo." In its present
form the work, which has already survived for so
long, seems likely to have a fresh career of use-
fulness, and may possibly be the means of solving
some of the many problems that still elude the
skill of the most accomplished critics. The section
of the book on the art treasures of Venice will be
found of exceptional interest, the copious notes of
the Italian and English editors bringing the text
very thoroughly up to date.

Old Clocks and Watches and their Makers.
By F. J. Britten. Second edition, enlarged.
(London : B. T. Batsford.) 15s. net.—Collectors,
connoisseurs, and students of the sidelights of his-
tory, as well as of the progress of mechanical
science, will give a cordial welcome to this new
edition of the one standard work on the subject,
which is far more than the mere description of
certain old clocks and watches that its title would
seem to imply. It is an exhaustive account of
horology, from the first attempts to mark the flight
of time by such simple contrivances as sundials,
water-clocks, wick and lamp timekeepers, hour-
glasses, etc., to the clocks and watches of mediaeval,
renaissance, and modern times, with their delicate
and complicated internal mechanism and richly
ornamented cases. Each section of the deeply

interesting record, that is a true reflection of the
progress of civilisation in Europe, is enriched with
a great variety of excellent illustrations, the number
having been increased by nearly two hundred in
the new edition. These include some Egyptian
water-clocks, the recently restored and most curious
meridian dial of St. Peter's Cathedral, Geneva, a
rare German wick-timekeeper, the famous weight-
clock, known as Jack the Smiter, in Southwell
Minster, the quaint Jacks of Rye, the Jacquemarts
of Rouen, and the ornate sixteenth-century clock
of Strasburg Cathedral; with an infinite variety of
portable timekeepers, watch-keys, etc., and several
portraits of notable makers from old engravings,
drawings, etc. All the best collections were, in
fact, placed at the disposal of Mr. Britten, whose
text, though free from the technicalities so irritating
to the uninitiated, makes every detail perfectly clear.
Full completeness is, moreover, given to what is
practically an encyclopaedia of horology by the
addition of a valuable alphabetical list of 10,000
clock and watch-makers of the past, the compila-
tion of which must have involved a vast amount of
toil and research. The work has, however, evi-
dently been from first to last a labour of love, and
Mr. Britten's name will ever be gratefully remem-
bered by all students of a subject he has made so
peculiarly his own.

Pewter Plate. By H. J. L. J. Masse. (London:
Bell.) 21s. net.—In this interesting and useful
monograph, the organizer of the recent Exhi-
bition of Pewter Plate at Clifford's Inn treats his
subject from the technical rather than the aesthetic
point of view, omitting nothing that can be of use
to the connoisseur and collector, but scarcely
touching on the romantic side of the history of the
humble alloy that, from being contemptuously
relegated to the back-kitchen, has, of late years,
been promoted to an honoured position on the
carved oak side-board or Welsh dresser of its
envied possessor. In spite of, or perhaps because
of, this reserve, the book is a thoroughly useful
one, an excellent supplement to the history
of the Pewterer's Company, of Mr. Charles
Welch, who has given Mr. Masse permission
to quote largely from the mere costly publica-
tion. The new study of Pewter is prefaced by
a useful descriptive list of the illustrations,
care being taken to give, in every case, the
distinctive marks that cannot always be brought
out clearly in the reproductions. This is suc-
ceeded by an enquiry into the causes of the
disappearance of so much pewter-ware, which,
had it survived, would now have been the

269