Identifier: examplesofhouseh00smit (find matches)
Title: Examples of household taste
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: Smith, Walter, 1836-1886 Smith, Walter, 1836-1886. Industrial art of the International Exhibition
Subjects: Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.) Decorative arts
Publisher: New York, R. Worthington
Contributing Library: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library

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and pediment, on which to display his skill.In general design and in detail the artist has followed classic models. In thepanels at the base are winged masks, half human, half animal, carved in reliefwith scroll-work, while a Pompeiian pattern, a succession of vases, scrolls andemblems, is introduced in the pilasters. The pediment is ornamented with anelaborate frieze, consisting of birds and leaf-scrolls, with phoenixes in the squarepanels at the ends. Above the whole, at either corner, are shallow Pompeiian 288 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBIT10N, 1876. lamps, and as a central and crowning- ornament are two cupids supporting ascroll and medallion on which arms or a monogram may properly be carved. A beautiful example of one of the higher grades of Brussels lace is seenin our engraving on page 286, a Lace Curtain exhibited in the collectiveexhibit of Brussels lace-manufacturers. The design is not only elaborate: it isintricate and minute in no ordinary degree. In the central medallion are a
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Sideboard; Wright &> Mansfield, London. harp and lyre and other implements of music surrounded by a wreath offlowers. These are supported on a vase, the lines of which wind off into abewildering scroll-work of flowers and tendrils. Cornucopias on either handare overflowing with fruit, and above them climbing plants meet and intertwinewith others suspended from above. In this part of the design there is some-thing of oriental richness and feeling, though with a more accurate and carefulbalancing of parts. The scroll within the border and the border itself arethoroughly Eastern in character. INDUSTRIAL ART. 289 As in our modern manner of furnishing the dining-room the sideboard ismade the most conspicuous object in the room, more attention is given to itsdesign and construction than to any other of the pieces of furniture. It is theone object that can be ornamented and decorated to any extent that the fancyof the designer may suggest. Chairs and tables from their construction and

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