CHAPTER XIII

ORIENTAL BRONZES AND BRASSES

Countries of origin--How some Oriental curios are derived--A wealth of metal on view--Various Indian wares--Chinese and Japanese art.

Under the somewhat generic term "Oriental" we class those numerous bronzes and other art treasures which come to us from the East and the Far East. Early in the mediæval days Eastern influence dominated the craftsmen of Europe, and many of those who took part in the Crusades, and later in adventurous journeys into the northern part of Africa, bordering upon the Great Sea, brought back to their Western homes curios which were undoubtedly Oriental in their design.

Countries of Origin.

A collection of copper and brass to be at all representative must be varied and cosmopolitan in selection. Such a collection should include vessels of utility and ornamental objects which show the aims of the artist who designed them. Incidentally, too, such objects exhibit the sameness of purpose existing in many lands; although the methods of domestic procedure and the ways of living vary until their common origin is scarcely recognizable. In such a collection of domestic curios the influence of Saracenic art is seen in the ewers and basins and similar vessels which come from the lands where the wild Arab tribes lived for centuries in an almost barbarous state on the edge of the Syrian desert. Many of these quaint hammered copper vessels are of barbaric beauty, such as, for instance, the coffee-pot shown in Fig. 64 and the basin in Fig. 65.

There are some pleasing customs savouring of patriarchal days still practised by Arab races. Such, for instance, when the sheik has finished his morning meal he throws a stone into his brass or copper coffee-pot as a sign to his followers to strike camp.

"Awake, for morning, in the bowl of night, Has flung the stone which puts the stars to flight, And, ho! the hunter of the East has caught the Sultan's turritt in a noose of light."

The Arab metal-work is generally covered over with characteristic designs and distinctive styles. Equally characteristic is the finely engraved ornament on many small brass objects made by Arab craftsmen. This is exemplified in the small and beautifully engraved brass writing boxes which were once a feature among the educated scribes of Arab fame. One such case is to be seen in the British Museum, the work of Mahmud, son of Souker, of Bagdad, made in 1281. The style is said by experts to combine the art motives of Mesapotamia and Egypt, which in the thirteenth century very naturally met in Syria. Another distinctive style is noticeable in the art of the metal-workers of the Mameluke dynasty of Egypt; their arabesques showed more realistic foliage than the Arab decorations of an earlier date.

Antiquaries always turn quite naturally to Egypt, that land with such a great past, when seeking for inspiration from the great monuments which are masterpieces of art--in bronze and stone. These they find there it is true, but the more important pieces of metal-work of that early period are found in Assyria, from whence came ponderous gates of brass, covered with the remains of delicate tracery and inscriptions. Such works of ancient art are rightly given places of prominence in our museums; the private collector, however, is generally content with the lesser bronze antiquities of Egypt which he can _collect_. These include mirrors and many small articles for the toilet and some delightful domestic bronzes. Among them are charming little ewers with long projecting spouts and curiously wrought curved handles ornamented with masks and shells.

The curios which reach us from Cairo are mostly in strict accordance with Egyptian characteristics. The earlier examples are representative of the art of Northern Egypt as it was expressed by the metal-workers between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, throughout which there does not appear to have been any great divergence of style, although when objects known to have been made during the earlier part of that period, and others fashioned during the later, the progress and development, although it had been slow, is very noticeable. There are also some traces of outside influences. In Fig. 10 there is an early lamp of brass in the form of a bird, inlaid with copper, an example placed in the thirteenth century. Quite different is the late example (eighteenth century) given in Fig. 64, which is a coffee-pot with a bucket handle and another small handle at the back; the spout is roughly worked with corrugations and quatrefoils, on the five bosses being the marks adopted by the owner of the shop in Cairo where it was used.

Reference has already been made to the influence of Saracenic art upon metal-workers in places where the Saracens came in contact with the craftsmen. As indicative of this feature the fine large brass basin illustrated in Fig. 65 is shown. Some portions of the bowl have evidently been filled in with silver. There are other objects such as bowls, dishes, and ewers showing similar decorations, many of which may be seen along with this example in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Saracens seem to have had some influence upon what are usually regarded as European articles; thus in a collection of old bronze mortars there are sometimes examples from countries in the South of Europe which show in their designs these characteristics. The mortar had, of course, a very general use, and was needed everywhere in days when so many compounds were prepared by hand labour.

Persian art is peculiarly specialistic in its treatment. The designs used by the metal-workers in that country from quite early days were emblematic and of an all-over conventional type, often interwoven with scenes. Even many of the common vessels, like bowls and covers and saucers of brass, are cleverly chased with hunting scenes and floral attributes, many of the cups being covered with arabesque ornament.

Some of the brass egg-shaped hooker bases are chased in relief; the mounts of the rose-water ewers--which are often of china, with metal linings for holding ice--are frequently decorative. In many instances the vessels are ornamented with coloured inlays, giving them peculiar colour effects. Damascus--always an important seat of metal-work--has supplied collectors from many countries with the beautifully incised ornament produced by filling in the cut spaces with fine gold or silver wire beaten into the brass and then polished. So important has this mode of giving relief become that damascened metal stands alone as an art, seen at its best in the wonderful armour of the later period, when the utility of plate armour was giving way to the ornament which embellished the State armour--the "dress suits" of the regimentals of the Stuart days.

How some Oriental Curios are Derived.

It is useful at times to consider how the curios we collect have gradually accumulated, and thus to ascertain how they have been secured in the past; and from that we are enabled to form some estimate of further supplies, for the law of supply and demand regulates to some extent the market value of curios; it has something to do with the direction taken by curio-hunters.

Many curios have come into this country as the result of war and loot. Wars in the Far East have served the collector, and many choice bits of metal-work have changed hands at nominal sums after the return of troops employed in minor wars and punitive expeditions. Our vast Indian Empire, however, supplies many beautiful objects in metal, both ancient and of comparatively recent days, but even those are so quaint and so unlike the common objects of British make with which we are familiar that they are welcomed and find a fitting place among antique copper and brass.

To understand the curios which may be bought in Eastern bazaars, and more conveniently in the numerous stores and shops where Indian curios are sold, it is well to become acquainted with a really good representative collection, such as that which may be examined in the Indian Museum at South Kensington. In several galleries, arranged in cases according to the districts from which the specimens have been gathered, are to be found metal-work ranging from the sixteenth century to the present day. Although some of these are exceptional pieces, by far the larger number are helpful to the collector of even modest means in that they represent Indian curios which may be collected at trifling cost. Such objects, however, are unfortunately too often intermixed with modern castings and copies offered unblushingly by the dealer to the unwary. Among such curios from Indian bazaars, purchased by travellers to the less frequented districts, are very many cooking utensils. Some of these, although not very old, are quaint and unlike modern European vessels, for the native cooks have been slow to accept any change in their methods of cooking and do not take kindly to the use of Western types of culinary appliances. The Indian cook clings tenaciously to copper vessels, and notwithstanding attempts to introduce vessels of tin, aluminium, and enamelled ware, the old "chattie" is again and again brought out in preference. Most of the vessels are of primitive types, but they serve the purpose and the material is good and lasting. The native workers understand the requirements of Indian men and women, and can shape and hammer together just what they have for generations regarded as "the best." Clever indeed have been the native braziers in the past--and they still are--for they possess in addition to knowledge of coppersmithing an excellent knowledge of the composition and working qualities of the materials they employ. They understand something of the chemistry of metals, and are careful when melting copper in the furnace or over the fire not to overheat it, or to allow the metal to perish in processes of manufacture.

A Wealth of Metal on View.

The collection of Asiatic metal-work where specimens from different countries, made at various periods, can be compared is, _par excellence_, that in the Indian Museum (the best examples of richly wrought damascened armour and arms are found in the Wallace Collection and at the Tower). The visitor on entering is at once absorbed in admiring Indian curiosities, especially the products of native craftsmen. In the vestibule are many remarkable exhibits, the work of Nepal metal-workers. Most of them were gifts to King George and Queen Mary when they visited India on the occasion of the great Coronation Durbar at Delhi. Some of the larger pieces were the gift of the Maharajah and Prime Minister of Nepal. Very wonderful is their workmanship, especially that of the brass groups so true to life. One of these represents a hunting elephant, fully equipped, with attendants; others, too, are associated with sports and hunting scenes. There are emblems of demons and the evil spirits which are so fully believed in by native dwellers on the borders of the forest.

Temple vessels are abundant, and among them are monsters and other fabulous creatures, and numbers of masks, notably those representing the fierce Dragpo fiend Tamdin (see Chapter XIV). There are some fine temple sets, and two magnificent conventional lions (temple guardians). There is also a very interesting brass group of natives occupied in various ways, one, for instance, carrying a package on his shoulder illustrating the method of relieving the weight of the bundle by a forehead strap, by which means natives are enabled to sustain the strain.

So intricate are many of these cleverly modelled groups that it is not always easy to understand how they have been cast. Especially remarkable is the founding of the figure groups produced by the natives of the Patan district of Nepal. In most cases they accomplished their task by the _circe perdu_ process (see Glossary), which enables them to cast even the most delicate groups.

Some very interesting wares in metal are obtained from Moradabad; they are smooth and beautifully finished, made of brass, and partly tinned. The more decorative pieces are of the early nineteenth century, and include such objects as plates, water-jars, tumblers, and sugar-pots and covers. From Lucknow some fine trays are secured; and many beautiful brass ewers, bowls, and basins have been obtained from Haidarabad, where not only comparatively modern but early eighteenth-century brasswork is to be found. Some of these have a pleasing effect when polished, the design or pattern upon them being inlaid with copper on a brass foundation and then polished.

Various Indian Wares.

There is an Indian ware known as _bidri_, beautifully damascened in gold on a brass and copper base, chiefly made in the villages round Lucknow and Deccan from the seventeenth century onwards. The peculiarity of these objects is that they are distinctly black and white, the metal consisting of an alloy of zinc, copper, and lead afterwards damascened with silver which is finally blackened by pickling. A favourite curio is a Betel-nut box and cover; there are also spice boxes and objects intended for the base of a water-pipe. Many of the choice curios from Kashmir in Northern India are mostly of a dark red-brown copper, and are frequently incised and inlaid with lac. Among them are domestic vessels, the most commonly met with being the coffee-pot (_Kafijosh_). In one famous collection there is a curious boat-shaped alms-bowl of copper, chased with a running ornament, a design frequently employed in the eighteenth century. There are some interesting Mogul brasses, among which are washhand basins. In these, too, the decorations are frequently filled in with black lac. Very different are the brass and copper objects from the Punjab. Some of pure copper are inlaid with black lac, others are of copper-gilt, looking in the sunlight like burnished gold. Some are of brass; among the older objects of special interest being charcoal burners of fine brass with dome-shaped covers. From the Punjab come copper toilet boxes, which are usually fitted with locks terminating in the form of a conventional lotus. One of the most curious treasures in the Indian Museum secured from that district is a "black" cup, made of a metal composed of quicksilver and copper, a metallic compound supposed to give a digestive virtue to any liquid drank out of it.

The variety of metal objects from Nepal is considerable. There are articles of home decoration and usefulness, including charming toilet sundries. Among the lamps are many weird forms, a favourite being a lamp designed like a peacock's tail supported by a lion. There are inkpots of symbolical forms with figures of Ganasa, the Hindoo god of wisdom. There are also many decorative water-bottles and vases and beautifully formed tazzas; as well as charming toilet boxes with raised diaper ornament and conventional patterns.

From Madras come bowls and water-bottles and many delightful trinket boxes, some shaped like fishes, others of bird-like forms. Some of these were intended for use as receptacles for antimony salve, which is so much used in India for the eyes. Among the more modern curios made during the latter half of the nineteenth century are spun and turned brasswork, especially vases and bowls. Travancore is also famous for its artists in metal, and especially for their beautiful decorative brass pots with curious spouts and drinking cups.

The little bullock bells are characteristic of many parts of India, some being prettily ornamented and of sweet tinkling sounds. From Southern India there are Betel-nut cutters of unusual forms, and quite a variety of metal bowls, some being shaped like a pumpkin. From the same district come highly decorative copper plaques and brass salvers as well as water vessels.

The lamps from India are of equal interest to those met with among the antiquities of similar types from other countries. Those of more recent date, the work of baptized natives, have for the chief ornament emblems of the Christian religion instead of those associated with idol worship; although in some instances the cross is flanked on either side with the sun and moon, reminding us of the more ancient pagan religions.

Many parts of India are noted for beautiful inlaid lac, much of which is extremely decorative; the vases illustrated in Fig. 67 came from Moradabad; they are of red-brown copper relieved with black lac. Haidarabad is also noted for such wares, in some instances red as well as black lac being used in the decorations, which are chiefly of conventional form.

The brasswork of Benares is well known, and it is still one of the most important features in present-day Oriental bazaars and shops. The modern work, however, rarely comes up to the old, for in olden time great care was taken in producing varied forms and correct ornament in decoration, the chief features of the Benares brasswork being the series of ten incarnations of Vishnu, represented so often on trays, bowls, and smaller vessels, such, for instance, as spice boxes and perfume holders, and receptacles for pulverized sandal-wood.

The native princes of India have always been accustomed to State ceremonial, and among the curious objects from that country are symbols of office, some of the maces being beautifully damascened with gold. The ceremonial and State swords formerly carried by the princes are museum curios of value, especially those around which the memories of historical events cluster, such as the gauntlet-sword of brass, the hilt in the form of a tiger's head, which formerly belonged to Ruggoneth Sookul, who saved Captain Gordon's life during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.

As it has been suggested wars with Oriental potentates and the annexation of lands which had previously been under British protection have from time to time enriched national as well as private collections. Many of the trophies of war are unique and do not exist in duplicate. In the Indian Museum there are many such objects, notably the one-time regalia of the Kings of Burma; at South Kensington, too, there is a massive bowl of brass on which is engraved in picture characters the story of the history of China as related by Confucius, and transcribed by his pupil Tso, five hundred years before the Christian era.

Lamaistic temple curios are referred to in another chapter. These, however, do not exhaust the metal-work from Thibet. Indeed, many of the minor objects, especially those of a domestic character, are very pleasing. The vessels used in making tea in Thibet differ from those in China--the home of tea-drinking--in that the process of preparing "the cup that cheers but not inebriates" is different. The ladies of Thibet take the tea-leaves and grind them dry until they are of the consistency of a fine powder, using a brass mortar for the purpose. They then put the powdered tea into a kettle, and allow it to boil for about five minutes. The liquid is afterwards poured through a strainer into a tea-urn, and a little butter and barley flour are added. This compound, after being vigorously churned up, is poured from the urn of wrought copper into teapots, where it is allowed to settle before it is served up in small brass bowls. Ladles are used for the purpose of taking the tea from the urn, for it has no tap, being simply a two-handled jar with a cover.

Some interesting curios are derived from Ceylon, especially those utensils made by the Sinhalese, who, it will be remembered, emigrated there from Bengal in the sixth century. The chief copper-workers in the island are the Veddahs, an aboriginal tribe of the interior closely allied to the Sinhalese. Their work includes copper and brass on which is very beautiful repoussé decoration. Buddhist influence has always been strong in Ceylon, and it is conspicuous in much of the decoration of the more important metal-work.

Ceylon casters have turned out some fine bells and many heavy bronze lamps. The lesser objects, which are varied, include brass boxes in which the lime for Betel chewing was kept. Some of these are circular, and others are pear-shaped, many being incised and inlaid with the more precious metals. Betel-nut cutters, similar to those from other parts of India, are among the collectable curios, those from Ceylon being especially interesting, for they frequently take the form of animals or of winged flying females. The objects enumerated do not by any means exhaust the metal curios from India and Ceylon, but they are among the chief features observable in a large collection, in the gathering together of which many small trinkets and perhaps unique sundries will be secured.

Chinese and Japanese Art.

To many the curios from China and Japan are more familiar than those from India and British Asiatic possessions. The pottery and porcelain of China have long been used in this country, and during recent years other objects of a curious and antiquarian nature have been imported in large quantities from both these ancient countries. In shops and bazaars the metallic wares of China and Japan have been much popularized too. That China has a great past and possessed a civilization hundreds of years before similar conditions appertained in Europe is well known. Collectors of the antique go back in their search after specimens of bronze and other metals to those produced by the artists of China in the Han Dynasty, which dates from B.C. 216. In records of that period, concurrent with accounts of pottery, there are well authenticated details of the metal cooking vessels then in common use. There were utilitarian bronzes and many beautiful vases, some of almost the same designs as the concurrent pottery. There were cooking utensils not at all unlike the mediæval bronze pots of modern Europe; their handles, however, were more decorative, often taking the form of a dragon's head. The feet of these ancient cooking-pots were often like lions' claws or eagles' talons. Among other relics of that period are quadrangular wine jars, some of the rarer types being decorated with fishes, in the drawing of which the Chinese artists of the Han Dynasty were very clever. They used such decorations appropriately, too for this was the ornament they chose on fish kettles.

A peculiarity of the metal-work of the Han period was the dark red copper which seems to have been used concurrently with bronze. When we note that some of the pottery was beautifully formed we can quite understand that the bronzes were equally well shaped, for the metal-workers would not be behind the potters in their craftmanship. Some of the rarer bronze tazzas are also well shaped and have been carefully moulded.

The chief curios coming into the hands of collectors are of a somewhat later date than the Han Dynasty; but China moves on slowly, and there does not appear to have been much advance or change for many centuries. The metal-work made during what we term mediæval days in Europe was often copied from familiar objects made of other materials. There is a bronze vase made in the Sung Dynasty, fashioned in imitation of an old jar tied up with rope, the ring handles being technically described as "conventional heads applique"; this vessel measures 14-1/4 in. diameter at the shoulder and stands 9-1/2 in. high. It is difficult to trace where such pieces come from; it is, however, well known that many have been looted from the temples; others, probably imitating older examples, are mainly of nineteenth-century workmanship.

The metal-work which comes from Japan has reached us in great variety. There has been no need for the traveller or collector to search the island for curios to bring over to this country, for the commercial instincts of a new race of Japanese merchants have poured out a wealth of antiques, collected from the native villages; with these and modern imitations they have gladly supplied the demand of the Western world. In this way attention has been called to the products of that country where craftsmen have gone on hammering copper and brass, and inlaying the metal in highly decorated patterns in silver and gold for so many years.

Reference has already been made to the rare temple pieces and sets which have been looted or purchased from Asiatic countries, so many of which are of rare cloissonné enamels. Some of these of Japanese origin are mentioned in Chapter XIV. Of the minor bronzes, replicas of temple relics, there are many beautiful koros or incense burners. Other bronzes serve the purpose of ornament in the Western countries to which they have found their way. In Fig. 68 is shown a beautiful bronze. The sacred carp is inlaid with gold and silver and is exceptionally well finished. The pair, of which it is one, came from Japan about thirty years ago, and are of much finer workmanship than many of the more modern replicas.

Household requisites as well as ornamental treasures have been made with care by hammer and engraving tool into things of beauty as well as usefulness. The household requirements of the Japanese are limited in number, but in the entertainment of her friends the Japanese lady is able to cause envy among her Western sisters because of the beauty of her kettles and brazier. The kettle shown in Fig. 66 is one of a toilet set of hammered brass, engraved with badges and foliage. It was probably produced early in the nineteenth century, before Western commercial ideas began to invade the workshops of Old Japan. In conjunction with such kettles (the Japanese name of a kettle is _yuwakashi_) metal bowls were used, the water being poured over the hands of the fair Japanese and her guests by attendants, who also held the bowl to catch the dropping water.

In Old Japan there was much patience as well as skill, and the methods adopted by the artists of those days would be too tedious and expensive now when the merchants buy and sell and compete in Western markets. The processes by which the beautiful bronze objects were moulded took time, and the incising and inlays could never be paid for in proper proportion to the labour expended on them. The metals of which Japanese bronzes were made consisted of curious alloys, the composition of which was long kept a secret. One of their finest brasses is known as _sinchu_, consisting of ten parts of copper and five of zinc. Another very beautiful copper is called _shadko_, in which splendid hues are imparted by the treatment of acids; in this alloy there is one part of gold to ten of copper, to which is attributable the splendid colouring of the so-called bronze. Older methods, however, are gradually giving way to more economic production on Western plans and formulæ, so that in time perhaps the Eastern and Oriental influence and characteristics of Asiatic bronzes, so charming and so much appreciated by collectors, may diminish if not disappear altogether.

XIV

IDOLS AND TEMPLE RELICS