The Industrial Arts in SpainRiaño, Juan F. (Juan Facundo)
History
The Industrial Arts in Spain
Riaño, Juan F. (Juan Facundo)
Decorative arts -- Spain -- History; Pottery -- Spain -- History
48. Vase, Green glass with black handle and ribs,
17th century, S.K.M. 242
49. Glass Vessels, S.K.M. 245
50. Tapestry at Cathedral of Gerona, 11th century 267
_The Department of Science and Art is indebted to_ MR. JOHN MURRAY _for
the use of the Woodcuts Nos. 19, 20, 30, and 31. No. 50 is from a
Spanish Woodcut._
SPANISH INDUSTRIAL ART.
GOLD AND SILVER WORK.
The Greek and Latin authors who have described the Spanish Peninsula,
state that the quantity of gold and silver ore found there was very
great, and that hence the district became an important centre of
commercial activity of Phœnicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans.
Some authors have gone so far as to assert that the Phœnicians made
the anchors of their ships of gold and silver, and that the
Carthaginians were astonished to find in Andalusia, that the mangers and
vases for holding wine and oil were made of the same materials. These
references have been constantly mentioned in ancient Spanish authors.
Ambrosio de Morales, in his "Antiguedades de España," Alcala 1577,
enters into every detail on this subject.
I have seen a specimen of this period, a bowl of an earlier and
different style to Roman silversmiths' work, which belongs to a
collector in the province of Cordova. This bowl is of a conical shape:
it is perfectly plain, and has an inscription in Iberian characters
engraved on one of its sides: there are signs outside and at the bottom
which indicate that this bowl was made on the wheel. Velazquez in his
"Ensayo sobre las letras desconocidas," Madrid, 1752, describes a silver
bowl of a similar kind, which was found in Andalusia in 1618 full of
Iberian coins: this bowl weighed ten ounces. Several ornaments, chiefly
consisting of necklaces and earrings, may be studied at the Academy of
History, and private collections, in Madrid; they have been classified
by antiquarians as belonging to this uncertain period, and are similar
in style to others which have been frequently found in England and the
north of Europe. The most interesting objects of this kind which I have
seen in Spain, are gold ornaments proceeding from Galicia; they were
found there by Sr. Villaamil, who gave a description of them in the
"Museo Español de Antiguedades," vol. iii. p. 545.
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