3-017-113 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Exhibition at Alton Towers, Staffordshire, in aid of the Wedgwood Institute of Burslem - the Picture-Gallery and Armoury, 1865. '...it is intended that the building itself shall illustrate the constructive as well as the decorative uses of ceramic art...Earl Granville had done much to further this scheme, having allowed the exhibition committee to borrow some of the art- treasures from the museum at South Kensington...in respect of Wedgwood ware, a larger show was rarely if ever seen. There are also some excellent specimens of Staffordshire ware, from the best local manufacturers...The Armoury is devoted to a large collection of electrotyped copies of famous mediaeval work in armour from the South Kensington collection, the originals of which are in the Musee d'Artillerie, Paris, the Louvre, and the South Kensington Museum. One of the finest is an embossed shield, the original of which is by Benvenuto Cellini, at Windsor Castle. A few specimens of the English school will also attract attention. In the Picture-Gallery there is a choice collection of oil paintings, towards which liberal contributions have been made by the Department of Science and Art'. From "Illustrated London News", 1865.