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The journal of design and manufactures
(1850)

[Review of patterns:] miscellaneous,   pp. 84-87


Page 84

84                   Review of Patterns: Miscellaneous. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
CANDLEsrICy, in Ormolu, manufactured by Messenger. 
This is a bright-looking little object; and we are not, on the whole, dissatis-
fied at its manifestly un-English character. It appears to have been sur-mouM,
or 
borrowed from one 
of those little French                                   the whole    of
the 
oddities which were                                      upper half remind-
so abundant in the                                       ing us of the earlier
latter days of Louis                                     style, -  while
 the 
the Fifteenth. The                                        whole of the base,
style of that period                                     in the absence of
was a curious one,                                       shell  and    scroll-
and had    much in                                       work, and the com-
common    with   the                                     parative angularity
facile  school    of                                     and severity of
its 
Kent,   the    great                                     forms, foreshadows
architect of Queen        6)                             the subsequent de-
Anne's time, who,                                         velopement of con-
with   quick  fancy                                       ventionality. 
One 
and   ready  pencil,                                     peculiarity  in
  all 
designed everything,                                      the French bronze
from palaces to pet-                                      and ormolu-work
of 
ticoats. This French                                      the period we de-
style was peculiarly                                      scribe, is the
ex- 
one of    transition,                                     treme beauty of
the 
intervening between                                       chasing and finish-
the rocaille charac-                                     ing; all the leaves,
ter of Louis Qua-                                         and raffles of
leaves, 
torze,  the  flimsy                                       are drawn and un-
oddities   of    the                                      dercut   with 
 the 
early Louis Quinze                                        greatest  care,
and 
details,  and    the                                      yet freedom; and
severely   classical,                                     we are happy to
see 
which received   its                                      that, in   this
 re- 
highest    develope-                                      spect, Mr. Messenger
ment from the hands                                       leaves very little
for 
of Perci~r and La                                         the most fastidious
Fontaine,   in   the                                      to complain of.
But 
palmy days of the                                         we should have
been 
empire. The speci-                                        better  pleased
 to 
men we have now                                           have seen the ad-
under dissection ex-                                      mirable   executive
hibits very clearly                                       ability of Mr.
Mes- 
the   double  influ-                                      senger's   manufac-
ence, the    quaint-                                      tory employed upon
ness of the "Cupi.                                        an original
than a 
dons," and   indeed                                       borrowed design.


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