Chats on Household Curios Part 17

There are many household curios which cannot be cla.s.sified under the headings of the foregoing chapters. They represent well-known features in every home, and yet each little group has an individuality of its own. Some may say that the main features of house-furnishing have been left out of consideration, and that they are the most interesting household curios when age and disuse have come upon them. Household furniture, however, has been fully dealt with in the "Chats" series in the two volumes ent.i.tled "Chats on Old English Furniture," and "Chats on Cottage and Farmhouse Furniture," to which books those interested in the curiosities of cabinet-making and village carpentry are referred. Yet notwithstanding the completeness of those works there are a few objects which have so entirely pa.s.sed into the range of household curios, and their uses were so entirely apart from present-day furniture, that some of them are specially noted in the following paragraphs, together with a few other isolated antiques.

Dower Chests.

If there is one piece of furniture above another that is surrounded with a halo of romance, surely it is the dower chest! We can picture the incoming of the coffer in all the newness of hand polish, fresh from the hands of the village carpenter or the retainer who had wrought the gnarled old oak grown on the estate for a favourite daughter of his lord--that chest which was to be packed full of fragrant linen, between which was laid sweet lavender, and richly embroidered garments for the bride, who, with her personal belongings stowed away therein, was to pa.s.s from the parental home to her newly wedded and unknown life. There are ancient chests full of historic memories, such as those in which the wealth of monarchs has been stored, like that in Knaresborough Castle, which, according to legend and some reference in old deeds, came over with William the Conqueror. In the Castle Museum there is another chest made for Queen Philippa in 1333--a veritable dower chest.

Some of the older chests have had loops for poles by which they could be carried about; but such were more correctly treasure chests. The dower chests usually remained in the home of the bride, and in time became her receptacle for bedding and other household stores, the little tray or corner box for jewels and trinkets being disused and eventually done away with altogether. The evolution of the chest until it became a cabinet or a chest of drawers is a story for the lover of old furniture to tell, but the dower chest in its earlier forms is a curio rich in legend and folklore. It may interest American readers to record that many of the oldest specimens in the States were first used as packing cases of unusual strength, gifts from the old folks at home, when colonists in Jacobean days crossed the Atlantic. Curiously enough, American craftsmen copied them and maintained the purity of the old English style long after the makers of English dower chests had been influenced by Dutch and French design and inlay.

Medicine Chests.

Some of the early English medicine chests, the foundation of which is of wood, are covered with tapestry, others with green satin, sometimes ornamented with floral devices made of puffed satin, overlaid and outlined with gold thread. Medicine chests varied in size, but few households were "furnished" without a fitting receptacle for home-made recipes for simple ailments, such as were much resorted to in the past.

The chests were usually well fitted with bottles and phials, and with gla.s.s stoppers or silver or pewter tops. Many of the medicines had been prescribed by local pract.i.tioners, and were regarded as sovereign remedies to be used on all occasions; others were family recipes held in high repute. In such chests there was often a drawer or compartment containing bleeding cups and lancet--a remedy often resorted to when an illness could not be diagnosed.

Old Lacquer.

The beautiful red lacquer work is getting scarce, although it has had a long run, for it is more than twelve hundred years since the j.a.panese learned the secret of making it from the Coreans, who in their turn had it from the Chinese. The secret of producing in China and j.a.pan lacquer which cannot be imitated in other countries lies in the _rhus vernificifera_ which flourishes in those localities. It is the gum of that tree commonly called the lacquer-tree, which when taken fresh and applied to the object it is intended to lacquer turns jet-black on exposure to the sun, drying with great hardness. It will thus be seen that although French and English lacquers have been very popular, the imitation lacquer applied can have neither the effect nor the durability of the natural gum which sets so hard, and in the larger and more important objects can be applied again and again until quite a depth of lacquer is obtained, sometimes encrusted over with jewels and other materials embedded in it.

The best English lacquer was made in this country between the years 1670 and 1710, and was a very successful imitation of the Oriental. At that time and during the following century very many tea caddies, trays, screens, trinket boxes, and even furniture, were imported; and it was those which English workmen copied, gradually increasing the variety of household goods for which that material was so suitable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 94.--OLD POWDER FLASKS.

(_In the Victoria and Albert Museum._)]

Old English lacquer differed from the more modern papier-mache in that instead of the pulp being composed entirely of paper, glued together and pressed, it was composed of a basis of wood, covered over with a black lacquer, on which the design was painted in colours. It was made under considerable difficulties, in that it had to compete with the imported Oriental wares which were made in China and j.a.pan under more favourable natural conditions.

The art of j.a.panning was revived in England late in the eighteenth century, and some remarkable pieces appear to have been the work of amateurs who painted and gilded so-called lacquer work, tea caddies, and jewelled caskets. It must be remembered that the art of j.a.panning was looked upon at one time as an accomplishment, for about the year 1700 many gentlewomen were taught the art.

French artists took up the Oriental style, and produced some very successful lacquer work, striking out in an entirely distinct style, which, as Vernis Martin decoration, became famous. The varnish or lacquer forming the foundation for those delightful little pictures was not unlike in effect the Oriental lacquer which to some extent it was intended to imitate.

In the early nineteenth century lacquering as an art fell into disrepute, and such decorations were largely a.s.sociated with the commoner metal wares, stoved and lacquered by the so-called j.a.panning process carried out in Birmingham and other places, although there is now some admiration shown by collectors for small trays, bread baskets, candle boxes, and snuffer trays of metal, j.a.panned and decorated by hand in colours and much fine gold pencilling.

The Tool Chest.

There have been amateur mechanics in all ages, and among the household curios are many old tools suggestive of having been made when the carpenter had plenty of time on his hands to decorate his tools with carvings, and frequently to make up his own kit. Thus old planes and braces were evidently the work of men who possessed some humour and skill, too, for some of the carved decoration is quite grotesque. There is a fine collection of old tools made and used in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries on view in one of our museums. There is a carpenter's plough, dated 1750, moulding planes and skew-mouthed fillisters of beechwood, and a router plane of carved hornbeam. The modern hand brace becomes more realistic, and its origin understood at a glance when we examine the old hand brace of turned and carved boxwood, dated 1642, in that collection. The part where the bit is fitted is literally a hand, carved out of solid wood, and the curious crank indicates an imaginary twist in the arm, perhaps suggested by some carpenter who was able to manipulate his tools in a way not commonly understood, thus giving to future carpenters a most useful tool.

Egyptian Curios.

Among the collectable curios of old households are many antiquities from foreign lands. Perhaps the most interesting, in that they afford us examples of the prototypes of household antiques as they were known to a nation possessing an early civilization, polish, and refinement, are those which have been discovered recently in Egyptian tombs. Some representative examples may be seen in the British Museum. There are toilet requisites including mirrors, combs, and even wigs and wig boxes, as well as a gla.s.s tube for stibium or eye paint. There are ivory pillows or head rests, models of the ghostly boats of the underworld, and a vast variety of children's toys, including wooden dolls with strings of mud beads to represent hair, porcelain elephants, and wooden cats; and there are children's b.a.l.l.s made of blue glazed porcelain, and of leather stuffed with chopped straw. There are many games and amus.e.m.e.nts, such as stone draught boards, and draughtsmen in porcelain and wood. There are bells of bronze and some remarkable musical instruments like a harp, the body of which is in the form of a woman; and there are reed flutes and whistles and cymbals such as were carried by priestesses. There are curious ivory amulets, quaintly carved spoons, ivory boxes, and even theatre tickets. Necklaces and pendants and other articles of adornment are plentiful, for the Egyptian maidens possessed much jewellery--bracelets, rings, and necklaces. One very exceptionally fine relic of this far-off age is a toilet box complete with vases of unguents, eye paint, comb, and bronze sh.e.l.l on which to mix unguents, and other trinkets. Many such antiquities find their way into museums and private collections of household curios, and are useful and interesting for purposes of comparison, telling of customs which change not, and of the many connecting links which exist between the past and the present.

Ancient Spectacles.

It is truly astonishing how many ancient spectacles, which to collectors of such things would be veritable treasures, lie neglected and allowed to "knock about" until broken or otherwise damaged. Those mostly discovered are the heavy bra.s.s and silver-rimmed spectacles of about one hundred years ago, some very interesting specimens of which are to be seen in several of the larger local museums.

Spectacles are of very respectable age, although they cannot be traced back to the ancient peoples, for the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, notwithstanding that they polished gla.s.s and rock crystal and possessed much scientific lore, were ignorant of their use as aids to sight.

It is said that the credit of the discovery of how to make use of artificial aids to defective sight must be accorded to Roger Bacon, who in his book _Opus Majus_, published in the thirteenth century, mentioned magnifying gla.s.ses as being useful to old people to make them see better. True spectacles are said to have been fashioned in 1317 by Salvino degli Armati, a Florentine n.o.bleman. At first they were convex; indeed, no mention of concave gla.s.ses for shortsighted persons was made until towards the middle of the sixteenth century. From that time onward there were developments, and among the household curios are to be found silver, bra.s.s, and tortoisesh.e.l.l rims, and gla.s.ses of more or less utility.

Curious China Ware.

Old china and pottery have been fully dealt with by many specialist writers, but there are some household curios made of porcelain, china, and earthenware which cannot be omitted from this survey of household curios. Foremost among these are the now scarce Toby jugs, made at so many of the famous potteries. In a large collection the variations are at once recognized; yet the same idea seems to have run through the minds of the artists in fashioning these jugs, so essentially typical of the age in which they were made and used. Among the Sunderland jugs are many variations both in size and colouring; they were rich in colours, too, and look exceedingly well on an old cabinet.

The posset cups of silver were supplemented by tygs and posset cups and many-handled drinking cups of early Staffordshire make. The brown and yellow slip decoration of this ware is a striking characteristic. All the early seventeenth-century ale drinking cups like the tygs had handles, and in those days of conviviality the double or multiplied handle served a useful purpose, for the vessels were in use when it was the custom of the ale-house for several friends to drink out of one vessel, just as in more polite society and on public occasions the loving cup was pa.s.sed round.

Some of the so-called portrait busts and statuettes of the eighteenth century are especially interesting to collectors. There are figures to suit all; musicians may delight in that of Handel; others in the busts of Wesley and Whitfield; explorers in the statue of Benjamin Franklin made about 1770, and some in that of John Wilks seated near an old column of a still earlier date. There is also a cleverly modelled figure of Geoffrey Chaucer. One of the best known groups is that of the "Vicar and Moses," made by Wood, of Burslem.

Garden Curios.

It is said that garden craft, like most other forms of art, came from the East; that the cultivation of gardens commenced in Egypt, Persia, and a.s.syria, travelling westward through Greece and Rome; and in some of the early English gardens which horticulturists are so fond of copying to-day there are traces of Eastern influence still remaining.

Although the garden is the place where we expect to find flowers, foliage, and perhaps fruit and vegetables, it has always been a.s.sociated with home life, and some of the charms of domestic comradeship owe their greatness to the garden and pleasance.

It has always been the aim of the professional and the amateur gardener to furnish the lawn and flower-beds with appropriate settings, some of which have become very quaint in the eyes of twentieth-century horticulturists.

The Egyptians had their trellised bowers, and their tiny pools of clear water. The Greeks, however, were fortunate in having undulated and even hilly ground to cultivate, and their gardens were much more picturesque than the level ground of Egypt, although the Orientals built terraces, and by artificial means enhanced the beauty of their gardens. The adornment of gardens with statuary comes to us from Greece, and many modern reproductions of ancient Greek statues are regarded as the curios of the modern garden. Delightful, indeed, are some of the statuettes in stone and lead representing Aphrodite and the Graces. The Roman gardens were magnificent in their miniature temples, replicas of which are found in the old Georgian summer-houses, such as may be seen at Kew, and in many private grounds, dating from that period. The Romans were lovers of roses, and had many charming rose bowers, curiously and cunningly formed.

The dawn of gardening on some approved plan, and then ornamenting the portions not covered with greenery, began in monastic days. The oldest of the occupations of civilized man, it was long held in high repute, and many worthy men have posed as amateurs. Indeed, there have been Royal gardeners, among the most familiar being Edward I and Queen Elizabeth. From Tudor times onward the once waste land in the immediate vicinity of castles and palaces was cultivated, and the gardens of the n.o.bility along the Strand in London were full of beautiful stonework and statuettes. A writer in the sixteenth century, describing an English garden of his day, wrote: "Every garden of account hath its fish pond, its maze, and its sundials."

Many fine old fountains or miniature fishponds remain, and sundials are among the curios a.s.sociated with the outdoor life of the home. The garden houses of the eighteenth century included a bowling green or court, viewed from the terrace; and towards the end of that period many leaden figures were cast, the favourite being replicas of Roman statuary dedicated to such deities as Bacchus, Venus, Neptune, and Minerva. These lead statues have been collected by dealers during the last few years.

Some of them are really very beautifully formed, although in many instances the wear and tear of a couple of centuries has covered them over with scratches and indentations. A few years ago lead statues received little consideration from their owners, and the children made them targets for stone-throwing. They are thought more of now, and at several recent sales lead statuettes and vases have sold for considerable sums.

Sometimes ancient lead cisterns are seen outside old houses; many of these and even rain-water spout heads, beautifully moulded and cast, are among the household curios for which there is some call among collectors.

The Mounting of Curios.

A miscellaneous a.s.sortment of curios displayed without any regard to their proper setting has just the same effect as a badly framed picture, or a painting with an inappropriate frame. Sundry curios may be made to look charming when properly shown in a gla.s.s-topped table or a suitable case, their value as home ornaments being materially increased.

Indeed, there are many beautiful objects which look nothing unless properly framed. The Wedgwood cameo gems so varied and so very minutely tooled require proper display; according to their colours so should they be arranged on a velvet or cloth background with an ample margin to separate them. A group of miniatures looks nothing unless in suitable setting or mount. Much of the beauty of old china is lost because it is simply laid out without a colour scheme. A cup and saucer look very much better when shown on a stand, so that the saucer can be seen and every detail of the cup examined, the richness of the colouring inside or out, as the case may be, being thrown up by the ebonized stand on which it is placed. Carved ivories should certainly be shown with a dark setting. In a similar way Oriental plaques and even smaller plates with light backgrounds are set off to the best advantage when shown in dark ebony frames. The Orientals know the value of framework perhaps more than any other people, and among the curios they have sent over to this country are appropriately carved frames and stands. The almost priceless ginger jars when placed upon carved-wood stands, for which the Chinese are so famous, are beautiful indeed, the contrast of the black and blue against the black base being very striking. Indeed, much of the carved furniture of the Orientals has been specially designed as a framework for mother-o'-pearl and gem ornaments. The rare jade carvings in black ebony screens, and the marvellous carving of the larger screens are but appropriate settings to the painted and needlework pictures so rich in colours and gold. In Fig. 57 we ill.u.s.trate a very remarkable piece in which the artist has expended his wonderful skill in providing a suitable stand or frame for a very beautiful early porcelain plate.

Every detail of the carving is worthy of close inspection. This beautiful piece was included in a collection of jade, cloisonne enamels, and carved furniture gathered together in Java some years ago by a well-known collector of Chinese and Oriental curios. Now and then such pieces are to be seen in the shops of West End dealers. But it would be difficult indeed to find one so characteristic of the Chinese carver's art as the one shown.

Obsolete Household Names.

Most household goods and both useful and ornamental home appointments used at the present time are the outcome of progress and development, and their names have changed but little. The change has been in style, material, and manufacture rather than in newness of purpose. It is true that in modern household economy some of the present-day household utensils are the outcome of modern invention, having no similarity in form to the simpler primitive contrivances which they have superseded.

Thus, for instance, the vacuum cleaner has little in its appearance to a.s.sociate it with the old-fashioned carpet brush, neither has the modern knife cleaner much in common with the old knife board. There are some articles, however, which have become quite obsolete, and their names are fast disappearing from inventories of household goods, and, like the older antiquarian relics, are likely soon to be forgotten. In the foregoing chapters mention has been made of the collectable objects of household use, dating from the period of bronze to modern times, and no doubt there are many other articles which have entirely disappeared on account of their perishable nature, or from their very character, there being nothing to suggest their retention. It may be useful for purposes of reference to note the following articles of furniture, kitchen utensils, and mechanical contrivances, which were mentioned in a book published about one hundred years ago--house furnishings, about the ancient uses of which we hear nothing at the present time.

AMPLE--An ointment box, formerly carried by a medical man.

APPLE-GRATE--A sixteenth-century cradle of iron in which to roast apples.

BOMBARD--A large leathern bottle for carrying beer; a term also applied to ancient ale-barrels.