DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20000#0088
58
are charmingly posed. No. 4, from Penshurst, came originally from old Leicester House, London.
On Plate 109 are shown two examples of leaden vases from Wilton House, of rather an unusual
type, and two from Chiswick House, Middlesex, of pleasing form.
The leaden cisterns, of which many good examples exist, show a particularly appropriate use of this
metal. These cisterns were used to catch water for use in the garden, and were so ornamented as to
form pleasant features, whether in large grounds or the smallest of gardens. The octagonal cistern from
Charlton in Kent has nicely modelled shields, heads of angels, and other devices within ribbed borders.
The examples from Enfield shown on Plate 112 are in very good preservation; one dated 1791 has
ribbed patterns and small figures emblematical of the seasons ; another is adorned with wreaths, and has
ribbed panels formed of interlacing squares and semicircles ; a third, dated 1769, with the initials F. S.
has quaint floral decorations, with a fish and a crown, set within a ribbed panel.
Mr. Lethaby, in his interesting book on leadwork, speaking of these cisterns, says: "The ribs, with
the stock enrichments in new combinations, the date and initials, were attached to a wood panel the size
of the cistern front; this was moulded in the sand, and the casting made of good substance ; stout strips
were soldered across the inside as ties."
STONE VASES.
PLATES . 113 and 114.
N almost every formal garden stone vases are to be found, and it would not be
difficult to make a large collection of examples, differing in design, from all parts of
the country. On Plates 113 and 114 several suggestive types are shown. The
four handsome examples from Sion House, Isleworth, the seat of the Duke of
Northumberland, are part of a series of ten vases arranged in front of the large
conservatory, on a raised terrace overlooking the beautiful flower garden. They are
of Portland stone, very richly undercut, and surmounted by bouquet of flowers.
They are said to have been the work of Grinling Gibbons, and although direct evidence of this is not
forthcoming, it is certain they must have been executed by a master possessing no less skill than
that great carver.
The four subjects illustrated on Plate 114 show different types of pedestal vases. No. 1 is from
Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, and stands amidst the stately gardens laid out in 1720, overlooking
a classic terrace on the banks of the River Avon. It stands on a square pedestal about three feet in
height. The second example is from the garden at Drummond Castle, more fully illustrated on Plates
88 and 89 ; the square form is very unusual and the top is supported by caryatid figures at either angle,
between which are oval spaces ; the square base is perhaps hardly satisfactory, and apparently does not
form part of the original composition.
The vase from Wrest Park stands alone, in a grassy glade, among the French groves laid out about
the middle of the eighteenth century. It is a well proportioned example about eight feet in height,
including the pedestal, and is ornamented with swags of fruit and flowers and with two masks. The
remaining example from Melbourne Hall dates from the middle of the eighteenth century. In this case
the vase is somewhat simpler in form, and the circular pedestal which supports it has received more
attention than the vase itself, being richly ornamented with amorini and garlands of flowers.
are charmingly posed. No. 4, from Penshurst, came originally from old Leicester House, London.
On Plate 109 are shown two examples of leaden vases from Wilton House, of rather an unusual
type, and two from Chiswick House, Middlesex, of pleasing form.
The leaden cisterns, of which many good examples exist, show a particularly appropriate use of this
metal. These cisterns were used to catch water for use in the garden, and were so ornamented as to
form pleasant features, whether in large grounds or the smallest of gardens. The octagonal cistern from
Charlton in Kent has nicely modelled shields, heads of angels, and other devices within ribbed borders.
The examples from Enfield shown on Plate 112 are in very good preservation; one dated 1791 has
ribbed patterns and small figures emblematical of the seasons ; another is adorned with wreaths, and has
ribbed panels formed of interlacing squares and semicircles ; a third, dated 1769, with the initials F. S.
has quaint floral decorations, with a fish and a crown, set within a ribbed panel.
Mr. Lethaby, in his interesting book on leadwork, speaking of these cisterns, says: "The ribs, with
the stock enrichments in new combinations, the date and initials, were attached to a wood panel the size
of the cistern front; this was moulded in the sand, and the casting made of good substance ; stout strips
were soldered across the inside as ties."
STONE VASES.
PLATES . 113 and 114.
N almost every formal garden stone vases are to be found, and it would not be
difficult to make a large collection of examples, differing in design, from all parts of
the country. On Plates 113 and 114 several suggestive types are shown. The
four handsome examples from Sion House, Isleworth, the seat of the Duke of
Northumberland, are part of a series of ten vases arranged in front of the large
conservatory, on a raised terrace overlooking the beautiful flower garden. They are
of Portland stone, very richly undercut, and surmounted by bouquet of flowers.
They are said to have been the work of Grinling Gibbons, and although direct evidence of this is not
forthcoming, it is certain they must have been executed by a master possessing no less skill than
that great carver.
The four subjects illustrated on Plate 114 show different types of pedestal vases. No. 1 is from
Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, and stands amidst the stately gardens laid out in 1720, overlooking
a classic terrace on the banks of the River Avon. It stands on a square pedestal about three feet in
height. The second example is from the garden at Drummond Castle, more fully illustrated on Plates
88 and 89 ; the square form is very unusual and the top is supported by caryatid figures at either angle,
between which are oval spaces ; the square base is perhaps hardly satisfactory, and apparently does not
form part of the original composition.
The vase from Wrest Park stands alone, in a grassy glade, among the French groves laid out about
the middle of the eighteenth century. It is a well proportioned example about eight feet in height,
including the pedestal, and is ornamented with swags of fruit and flowers and with two masks. The
remaining example from Melbourne Hall dates from the middle of the eighteenth century. In this case
the vase is somewhat simpler in form, and the circular pedestal which supports it has received more
attention than the vase itself, being richly ornamented with amorini and garlands of flowers.