Here is the text that accompanied a cabinet artwork I produced for an exhibition called Objects of Curious Virtue, Echoes of John Ruskin, the Artworks and Cabinets of David Walker Barker. The particular cabinet referred to was titled In Place of Calverts Agates, was filled with varied examples of agates and was one of seven cabinets in the exhibition each dedicated to a specific theme. The text touches upon John Ruskins fascination for agates and an unfortunate incident in his life as a collector of geological material: IN PLACE OF CALVERT’S AGATES. Agate, chalcedony, jasper and flint are basically the same substance chemically (SiO2 Silicon Dioxide). Agate, banded chalcedony and jasper represent some of the most spectacular examples of patterns that are generated through natural processes, displaying the most intricate and remarkable appearance in the flow or regularity of their internal structure. The hidden dimensions of these stones, which barely betray anything of their interior mystery through their outward appearance, has fascinated humanity for thousands of years, whilst their decorative splendour has been recognised just as long. They became especially popular amongst collectors of geological specimens in the 19th century and fascinated John Ruskin, so much so that the Guild of St George collection, gifted by Ruskin to the City of Sheffield, contains many fine examples. In the lecture “The Value of Drawing”, given at St Martins School of Art on Friday, 3rd April 1857, John Ruskin made reference to agate in the following lines, “But this agate was precious, not simply from its rarity, but on account of its own beauty; it was an exquisite thing to witness the precision with which the lines were drawn, and a subject of endless entertainment and wonder how it all was done—liquid colour, as it were, thrown into solid colour—all that was in the agate, of which the jasper was a component part, or the Scotch pebbles. All these had the patterns in them, which were painted chiefly with this rust of iron”. In February 1868 Ruskin purchased a collection of agates and other minerals from the mineral dealer John Frederick Calvert (1825–1897) for £3,000, a hefty price even by today’s standards. Ruskin was dissatisfied with the acquisition considering it to be worth much less than the price he had paid and took Calvert to court. After a considerable delay a settlement was agreed leaving Ruskin substantially out of pocket as the following comment testifies: “The lawyers charged me a thousand pounds, gave me a thousand pounds back, out of the three; and made the defendant give me another five hundred pounds’ worth of minerals.” This is not an unfamiliar story when a collection is purchased without prior viewing and sight unseen, many a collector having fallen prey to such unscrupulous trading. The polished agate slices and stones displayed in this cabinet represent contemporary specimens together with some ‘Old Time’ Victorian examples. Whilst in the 19th century the market for agates, as collectors’ items, was substantial, current commercial exploitation provides a great wealth and variety of these remarkable formations, many of them of superior aesthetic quality. Could John Ruskin have trawled through such a repository as is available today he would have found much to please the eye and fascinate the mind in the specimens available and no doubt to have filled his cabinets and specimen drawers and to grace his table top.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 17:15:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015