ART.
THE JONES COLLECTION AT SOUTH. KENSINGTON. Ma. Joine JONES (1800-1882) must obviously have been extremely successful as tailor and army clothier, which was his business, before ever he won more general and enduring fame by making the great collection of objets d'art that was his pleasure. It still survives intact as a monument to his public spirit and connoisseurship and as a perpetual delight to all those who love fine craftsmanship. In rooms 65-69 of the Victoria and Albert Museum, which were reopened to the public on Saturday, the collection has been effectively rearranged after a prolonged retirement in " a place of safety against air risks." The exhibits consist chiefly of French work of the eighteenth century —furniture, metalwork, ceramics, sculpture, pictures and minis- tures-Lalmost all of outstanding merit, and showing that Jones made his selections with a skill and judgment that areeven more rare than the posiession of the means necessary for such an enterprise. Most prized by their collector were certain armoires by Boule, but I doubt whether to-day we see very much beyond consummate craftsmanship in their elaborate arabesques, though fifty years ago such work was at a high premium, resulting in that flood of bastard imitations which is no doubt largely responsible for our present reaction against even the very best authentic examples. a - Characteristic of the ancien regime is the exquisite little model in gold and lapis lazuli of the five orders of archi- tecture on a porphyry -base " made for the amusement and instruction of Marie Antoinette" in 1780. It is a pretty, precious little toy, showing formal architecture as a plaything for the boudoir, where indeed it very soon after- wards expired. The Queen's own architectural tastes being, however, reflected in the romantic whimwhams of the Trianon Farm. it is to be doubted whether she ever took much heed of it save, perhaps, as a glittering and festive-looking " ornament." The miniatures, mostly of royal and historic personages, both French and English, are of a high order, the renowned Petitot and his school being particularly well represented.
When the demands of a luxurious society are met with such artistry and happy invention as is displayed in the Jones collection, it is difficult not to regard the age of patrons with some indulgence and to wonder whether " superfluous riches "
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