Antique Collecting: Enamels And Metalwork

Antique Collecting: Enamels and Metalwork

Page 2 of 4

Firearms have received a great amount of study in the last few years, and the value of a good pistol has risen enormously. The subject is a very wide one and cannot be dealt with briefly. Mechanisms for firing the charge of gunpowder and ejecting the missile can be divided into recognizable types that make dating possible, but only within wide limits. From the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries the powder was ignited by means of a wheel-lock, a hardened toothed wheel which attempted to strike sparks from a piece of flint—comparable to a cigarette-lighter. Its successor, introduced early in the seventeenth century, was the flint-lock, in which a piece of flint gripped in steel jaws was sprung down on to the powder and ignited it as it struck the steel powder-pan. This method endured until early in the nineteenth century, when a small cap, containing chemicals that detonated on being hit, known as a percussion cap, was invented. The cap was placed near the powder, and when the trigger was pressed the hammer fell and the gunpowder was exploded by the cap.

With the settlement of America there was a big demand for reliable firearms that could be made cheaply and in quantity. While all guns and pistols had been loaded from the muzzle, a practical breech-loader was invented in America in 1810. An important part in the development of firearms during the nineteenth century was played by Samuel Colt, born at Hartford. Connecticut, in 1814. He invented, manufactured and continually improved an automatic revolver, and his name remains linked inseparably with such weapons throughout the world.

The Italians and Germans were foremost in the making and decoration of armour, and allied crafts were the making of ornamented caskets and strong-boxes with locks and keys in elaborate designs. While Continental guns were generally preeminent, with the development of the pistol English firearms were often as good as any others made in the eighteenth century.

Japanese armour is not greatly appreciated outside its native land, but swords and daggers are collected widely. The Japanese metalworkers were amazingly skilful in tempering and water¬marking blades during manufacture, and their artistry was matched by that of the men making handles and mounts. Many of the mounts (known as Tsuba) are of iron inlaid with gold and silver in designs illustrating religious and other stories little known in Europe. The handle (Kodzuka) of the short dagger is also frequently the subject of similar decoration.

The most popular use of cast-iron was for the fireplace, where its hard-wearing qualities gave admirable service: as andirons, on which logs were supported: as firebacks to prevent the heat from damaging the building and to reflect it into the room; and in the form of grates to burn the coal which replaced wood. Much of this equipment for English homes from the fourteenth century onwards was made in Sussex, where ironworks prospered for as long as the forests of the county yielded wood for their furnaces.

In recent years attention has been given to nineteenth-century garden furniture made of iron, and for this purpose it seems admirably suited. The use of iron for furniture had several advocates in the 1830's, and many designs were published for chairs and tables in which it was used for the supports. The iron bedstead was introduced also at about that date, but did not become widely popular until twenty years later. In the words of a Victorian designer: 'where carved work, or much ornament, is to be executed in furniture, cast iron will always be found cheaper than wood*. In spite of this, the public was not convinced of its merits and little iron indoor furniture survives. In Germany, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, a method was found of casting very delicate tracery in iron, and jewellery was made from the metal. Surprisingly close imitations of bronzes were made there also from iron.

Bronze

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Its use in prehistoric days is outside the scope of this book and the most important examples that will concern readers are those made in Italy and elsewhere from the sixteenth century and onwards. The making of bronze articles and figures calls for great skill. Most were made by the 'cire-perdue' (lost wax) process, which can be described briefly as follows: the piece is modelled thinly in wax on a core of dry clay, the finished wax is then covered in a coat of clay. Holes are left so that molten metal can be poured in to take the place of the wax, which is melted and runs out. The outer clay coating is broken off, the inner core chipped away, and the article finished by hand to remove any roughness or imperfections. Thus, it can be seen that each single bronze has to be modelled individually and with care, and that each version of the same original is slightly different from the others. All old bronzes were made by this method, which is still in use. The making of bronzes by means of a number of removable and re-usable small moulds, each of which leaves ridges on the article where it is joined, came into use in the nineteenth century. Traces of these ridges usually remain visible and their presence is taken generally as a certain sign of modern manufacture.

Page 1 <<< Page 2 >>> Page 3

Antique Enamel News

Bing: antique enamel site:msnbc.msn.com
Search results

Fixtures to give your bathroom a facelift - TODAYshow.com
If color is a priority, baked enamel or plastic faucets come in a variety of colors. New options in metal finishes for the bath include antique finishes that are more resilient than ...
Best spots to find Alaskan arts, crafts and more - Travel - 24 ...
The collection of antique etchings on parchment is mind-blowing in its ... Bill Spear sells his own brightly colored enamel pins and zipper pulls from his ...
Best spots to find Alaskan arts, crafts and more - Travel - 24 ...
The collection of antique etchings on parchment is mind-blowing in its ... Bill Spear sells his own brightly colored enamel pins and zipper pulls from his ...
Lucky?s favorite vintage shopping sites - TODAY Fashion & Beauty ...
... shopping for antique accessories on the Web is the lack of clear photos. At Hi + Lo, it's visual overload: Every item ? from a graphic 1964 World's Fair scarf to a Mexican enamel ...
Lucky?s favorite vintage shopping sites - TODAY Fashion & Beauty ...
... shopping for antique accessories on the Web is the lack of clear photos. At Hi + Lo, it's visual overload: Every item ? from a graphic 1964 World's Fair scarf to a Mexican enamel ...
Lucky?s favorite vintage shopping sites - TODAY Fashion & Beauty ...
... shopping for antique accessories on the Web is the lack of clear photos. At Hi + Lo, it's visual overload: Every item ? from a graphic 1964 World's Fair scarf to a Mexican enamel ...
Cincinnati museum a ?sign of the times? - Travel - Destination ...
... and 1900s, and the first electric signs of the early 1900s ? porcelain-enamel ... attends swap meets for gas station memorabilia collectors and shows featuring antique ...
Cincinnati museum a ?sign of the times? - Travel - Destination ...
... and 1900s, and the first electric signs of the early 1900s ? porcelain-enamel ... attends swap meets for gas station memorabilia collectors and shows featuring antique ...
Cincinnati museum a ?sign of the times? - Travel - Destination ...
... and 1900s, and the first electric signs of the early 1900s ? porcelain-enamel ... attends swap meets for gas station memorabilia collectors and shows featuring antique ...
Martha Stewart shares her top 50 kitchen tips - TODAY Home ...
Thin shelves ? these are antique milk glass ? add storage without feeling heavy or ... Martha collects vintage enamel holders, originally used for soap and sponges in bathrooms

Newsfeed display by CaRP