effect. Jackson and Graham showed a specimen in the style of Louis XVI.-crimson, white, and gold; and a chimney-piece of Algerian onyx.

A Sideboard, made by Morant, for the late Earl of Ellesmere, is in fine Italian style gold-winged chimera supporting a slab of enamelled white; the back purple velvet, with the crest on a gilt scroll; and festoons of fruit, scroll-work, frieze, and mouldings, of great richness. The Gillows exhibited a Renaissance Sideboard of English walnut, except the slab, unpolished. The same exhibitors showed a Cabinet of elegant Italian design, for the display of gems and china. Pool and Macgillivray exhibited a central Cabinet for showing articles of vertu: it is of novel form and material, circular, upon four finely carved supports; inclosed with bent glass, with three interior shelves, also of glass, resting around a central column, so that the articles displayed upon them are seen to the greatest advantage.

Mr. Wertheimer, of Bond-street, exhibited an exquisitely carved console Table and Cabinet, in the style of Louis XVI. Of the table, the ground is of steel in silver, and the ornaments upon it mat-gold, or bosses in mat-gold. Swags of flowers, laurel, and ivy leaves, also in dead gold, hang gracefully from the front and sides, and in the centre is the head of a bacchante wreathed with flowers. The carving of these decorations has scarcely been surpassed in cabinet-work. Every leaf is wrought out with the utmost care, and even the fibres are shown in delicate relief. The mounts are in the style of Goutière. Another Cabinet, after the celebrated Reisner, is of simple but elegant outline: the doors of choice marqueterie.

A magnificent Buffet, or Sideboard, by Jackson and Graham, was shown among the trophies in the nave of the Building. It is ten feet in length, of pollard oak, enriched by carvings in brown English oak. On the doors of the pedestals are carved boys gathering grapes, and reaping: the friezes are ornamented with the hop-plant springing from shields.

The frieze of the centre division has a richly-carved shield with fruit enrichments, with barley as supporters. Above the slabs, and over the pedestals, are plinths, with characteristic carved panels, -the one representing a winecup entwined by the vine; and the other a tankard, amidst the hop-plant. Two female caryatides support the cornice and pediment, which has a boldly carved central shield in the centre, and festoons of fruit, pendent and partly resting upon the cornice. The caryatid figures are flanked with pilasters richly carved, one of game, surmounted by the head of a retriever; the other, river and sea fish, surmounted by the head of an otter. The centre and side panels are filled with looking-glass.

The same makers exhibited a large Wardrobe, of walnut-wood, planned in three divisions. The plinth, cornice, and end-panels are inlaid with lines; and finished with ornamental corners of amboyna, purple wood, and holly. The central door is panelled with looking-glass, and the side-doors have small oval mirrors in rich floral marqueterie; the pilasters are inlaid with various

woods: the caps and bases supporting the cornice and pediment are finely carved; and a hollow worked upon the angles of the wardrobe receives inlaid and carved columns completing the support of the cornice.

Litchfield and Radclyffe, Hanway-street and Green-street, exhibited a group of Ebony and Ivory Furniture, of great merit for design and execution. The group consisted of a carved Ivory and Ebony upright Cabinet, on stand, the doors inlaid with cornelian, marble columns, plinths, &c.; the inside lined with silvered glass, and decorated with groups and fine specimens of Sèvres, Dresden, Berlin, and Viennese porcelain. There were also three Ebony Library Tables, of Italian design, with inlaid ivory, and richly carved mouldings and panels in ebony; therm legs, relieved with discs of ivory; and the tops bordered with inlaid and engraved ivory marqueterie. Next was a fine old Venetian engraved Looking-glass, adapted as a cheval-glass by a stand of richlycarved ebony, inlaid with ivory, manufactured to the order of the Earl of Craven. For these beautiful Works, Litchfield and Radclyffe deservedly received a Prize Medal.

The adaptability of the French Renaissance for drawing-room decoration by means of light, elegant panels, rendering it capable of great pictorial effect, and the introduction of classic medallions, pictures, jewels, brackets, vases, &c., was well exemplified here.

Wright and Mansfield, of Great Portland-street, exhibited a Cabinet, carved and gilt in the English style of the last century, with plaques of Wedgwood-ware in the panels and frieze; a fine Louis the Sixteenth marqueterie Cabinet with ormolu mounts; a Chimney-piece and Glass frame in the English style of the eighteenth century, of gean-wood, or wild-cherry of the Scotch Highlands, with medallions of black Wedgwood-ware in the frieze; also, a noble specimen of Room Decoration and a Bookcase, both in the style of last century the bookcase of the wild-cherry wood, with Wedgwood medallion-the design and the medallions of the frieze and door-panels after Flaxman.

Another superb object was a Pianoforte, by Erard, in a case o fine Amboyna wood, richly inlaid with trophies of musical instruments, and flowers of fine marqueterie; the front, above the fall, of perforated purple wood, forming three finely-painted plaques of porcelain; that in the centre representing a group of children playing upon musical instruments; on the left is a medallion of a boy playing the Pandean pipes; and on the right, a corresponding medallion of a boy playing cymbals.

The Paper-hangings in this division were mostly well designed and beautifully printed. Green and King, Baker-street, showed some effectively painted washable Wall-decorations; Lea, of Lutterworth, Wall-decorations for churches; Maslin and Co., Foley-street, imitations of British and Foreign Marbles and Serpentines, on paper; Stather sent from Hull washable photographic oak Paper-hangings, and a granite Column imitated with machine-printed paper; M'Lachlan, St. James's-street, artistic

Decorations for dining and drawing-rooms; and Williams and Cooper, West Smithfield. Wall-decorations in Italian and other styles. Tasteful Paper-hangings were shown by Woolams, Scott, and Jeffrey; clever imitations of figured Silk, by Kershaw; and Glass Mosaics, by Stevens. The Pyrography, or woodwork, ornamented by the agency of heat, and exhibited by Mr. G. J. Smith, of Wenlock-street, was very effective.

The Papier-maché (English manufacture, with a French name), of Bielefield and Bettridge, was shown in tasteful decorations and suites of furniture, and ornamental articles.

Among the Carvings in Wood, those of Wallis, of Louth, from nature; and Flowers in walnut, by Winfield, were excellent.

Mr. Rogers exhibited several Works of rare beauty of design and execution: including a Glass Frame, richly carved in light wood, in the style of Grinling Gibbons, and mounted on Amboyna wood; an oak Clock-bracket, in the style of Holbein; four highlyfinished plaques, charming studies of Flowers in Box-woodcranesbill, buttercup, ivy, and passion-flower; a very elaborate Roundel, carved in Boxwood, bordered with Italian foliage-the centre, two Genii holding a cartouche; a carved Vase of Fruits and Flowers, executed for Boodle's Club; a foliated Cross carved in Ebony, with silver mountings; a magnificently carved Saltcellar, highly enriched with Italian ornamentation; and several Boxwood Frames and Brackets in rich and elaborate taste: and a set of Chess-men carved in Ivory-the Holy War-the Turks under Saladin, and Christians under Richard Coeur-de-Lion-the costumes from ancient authorities. These several Works are, in treatment, full of artistic thought and poetic fancy; and in execution, rich and elaborate.

Cox and Co. exhibited a large Lectern, surmounted by an eagle standing on a rock, with spreading wings: carved from the solid, in oak. The work is octagonal in plan, tapering upwards; the base is of moulded work, above embellished with crockets all different in design, worked from natural foliage and flowers of English growth. The capital of this lectern represents the foliage and flowers of the horse-chestnut.

Kirk and Parry, of Sleaford, showed a fine Carved Font, of Ancaster stone, surmounted by a beautifully-carved cover in English Oak, by Mr. David Sharp, who also exhibited a carved Bracket in the classical style, which is tasteful and skilful. Mr. Sharp is entirely a self-taught artist.

There were shown here some clever illustrations of how far machinery can be employed instead of hand-work in carving: in this subdivision of labour, the mechanical stage is likely to be carried so far as to reduce to the minimum the life, feeling, and finish of hand-labour.

MEDIEVAL ART.

The very interesting collection of Works exhibited by the Ecclesiological Society,* well illustrated the great advance made in their particular epoch of art, since the formation of the Mediæval Court, in the Exhibition of 1851.

The arrangement of the similar Court in the recent Exhibition was carried out by Mr. Burges and Mr. Slater, the eminent architects. They showed amongst other things, a Reredos by Mr. Street, executed by Mr. Earp; and a portion of that for Waltham Abbey, with the cartoon of the rest. There was likewise a cast of the Sculpture by Mr. Farmer, in the Bedminster Reredos, which excited so much controversy a few years since. Mr. Redfern contributed casts of his sculptures of the Ascension, for the Digby Mortuary Chapel at Sherborne; and for the Westroop monument in Limerick Cathedral, the latter being arranged in connexion with a portion of the actual carved work of the monument.

A cast of Dr. Mill's Monument (designed by Mr. Scott) and Effigy at Ely was exhibited. Mr. Nichol sent another Effigy arranged on a high tomb in connexion with some subjects in relief; as also, the late Lord Cawdor's High Tomb; and one of the circular panels, with a cut subject, for the Lichfield Pavement. In woodwork there were the Stalls of Chichester Cathedral; a rich Bureau, which was shown about two years ago at the Architectural Exhibition; and a Decorated Organ.

Fonts in alabaster and marble, by Mr. Norton; and a cast of the Renaissance Font at Witley, by Mr. Forsyth; were also

shown.

In Metal-work, one exhibitor sent a rich Iron Font-cover; the Ecclesiological Society exhibited the Frontal which it is about to present to St. Paul's Cathedral, designed according to the Cologne method; and the Dean of Peterborough kindly lent the new Frontal for his cathedral, executed by the Ladies' Ecclesiastical Embroidery Society.

An appreciative précis of the contents of the Medieval Court appeared in the Builder, to which the reader is referred.

IRON MANUFACTURES.

Previously to describing the more striking Articles, we shall quote the following précis of the recent larger operations and results of the Iron Manufacture, abridged from the Times.

Yield of Cast-iron.-Great progress has of late been made in this respect. In the Great Exhibition of 1851 there was a Model of a Blast Furnace from the Cwm Celyn Works, Monmouthshire, which yielded a weekly average of 209 tons of white pig iron during twelve consecutive months. This was regarded as a very large amount. The gradual increase in yield in different districts is certainly one of the most interesting points connected with the * See "Progress of Art-Manufactures," p. 72 of the present volume.

development of the iron trade in modern times. Not many years ago, a weekly return of 70 tons was considered good, but now a single furnace has yielded the enormous amount of 600 tons in a single week. Some of the Aberdare furnaces are reported to have done excellent work, and to have yielded a weekly average of 400 tons. This has been effected by what is called "driving hard"i.e., sending a large quantity of blast through the furnace in a given time. An instructive Model, to scale, of one of these Furnaces, together with numerous Illustrative Specimens, was exhibited by the Aberdare Iron Company. Great yields have recently been obtained at the Barrow-in-Furness works, Cumberland. These works are quite of recent construction, and were represented by a costly mahogany Model, occupying a very large superficial area. There was also a single Model, made to open, of one of the furnaces. The average yield in one of these furnaces per day during the fortnight ending the 16th of April, 1862, was 91 tons 7 cwt. 3 qrs., or the enormous amount of about 640 tons (short weight) in a week of seven days. In one week this furnace yielded not less than 684 tons (short weight)! The qualities of the pig iron were 3-5 between Nos. 1 and 4, and 2-5 between Nos. 5 and 6, inclusive of 35 tons of mottled pig. It is exclusively rich red ore that is smelted at these furnaces, and the fuel is Durham coke. The waste gases are economized in raising steam, and their propulsion to a distance is aided by the exhaustion of a fan. The pipes conveying the gases are provided with expansion joints. Great advantage is attributed to the manner in which the gases are taken off from the furnace, and to the mode of fitting.

In the Austrian Department Charcoal Pig-iron was shown, which, it is stated on the best authority, is produced with a consumption of less charcoal than is known in any other locality. The ore is brown decomposed spathose ore, containing, when roasted, 52 per cent. of iron, and the products are gray iron and spiegeleisen. Only 60 parts by weight of charcoal are required to produce 100 of pig-iron. Models of Furnaces for smelting Iron and Copper were found in the Russian Department. They are long and rectangular in horizontal section, and are provided with numerous twyers. One of these furnaces is reported to have been in operation for smelting iron during a year and a half. A large yield and reduction in the amount of fuel are stated to be the advantages of this kind of furnace.

Forged Iron.-Some of these specimens were interesting as illustrations of remarkable malleability, others as displaying skilful workmanship, and others on account of their large dimensions. A deep round vessel, with everted rim, at the top of the Lowmoor collection, furnished an example of malleability, as it was fashioned out of a flat piece under the hammer. Some of the crank shafts were admirable specimens of forging-such as the locomotive straight and double-crank axles from the Monkbridge Works. The straight axles contrasted very favourably with