HANDICRAFT
VOL. IV MAY 1911 NO. 2
THE TILE FLOORS IN ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, DETROIT
MARIAN V. LOUD
The original article can be read here
The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul’s, Detroit, of which Messrs. Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson are the architects, is intensely interesting, not only as a beautiful example of
modern Gothic architecture, but also, to the craftsman especially, on account of several striking features of its interior. The reredos, choir-stalls, pulpit, in fact all the furniture of the chancel, is of carved wood, done in the style of the finest Gothic traditions; a very notable piece of work. This reredos will be familiar to all Boston readers of Handicraft as it was on exhibition there at the Museum of Fine Arts before being sent to Detroit. The large east window, made by Heaton, Butler & Bayne of London, is a beautiful piece of glass mosaic, decorative rather than pictorial; filling the whole end of the church with a wonderful glow of color, of which the predominant tone is a rich turquoise blue. And finally, the tile floor, the subject of this article. It is interesting to know that the Pewabic Pottery won the contract for supplying this floor tile in open competition with the best potteries in the country; and while the window comes from England and the wood-carving from Boston, the tile is entirely a produd of Detroit.
It speaks well for the genius of the architect and the catholicity of the Gothic style, that all these different elements blend into a whole whose essential unity is enhanced, rather than impaired, by them.
Editorial Note.
One of its most notable art achievements has been given to America by Mary Chase Perry and Horace J. Caulkins, in the floors of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Detroit, Michigan. Although departing from long established conventions in paving, they have maintained, consistently, the spirit of the Gothic period, in which style the church is built.
In the three main porches, the square six-inch unglazed tile in soft buffs and ambers, set with the wide grouting characteristic of Pewabic work, give the impression of breadth and stability suitable to the entrance of such a structure.
Unity of design is not sacrificed by the variation in the paving of the Hancock Avenue porch. Four inch natural clay tile are set with modelled inserts. The border, together with those of the other porches are essentially Gothic, consisting of simple arrangements of squares and triangles, in varying tones of brown, soft green and the quiet blue which gives the key-note to the whole design. Standing within the doors of the nave, one is impressed, at once, with what sympathy the designer has worked with the architect. Deeper in tone and smaller in size than the tiles of the main porch from which one has entered, they seem to increase the breadth of the aisles and the loftiness of the ceiling. One is led forward by the narrow border and the instinctive spotting of blue throughout the field until he stands at the steps of the choir. From this point the design is taken up in glazed tile. The delightful irregularities of the handpressed tile add to the beauty of the ivory and brown tones of the field, bordered by large Gothic triangles in mellow green and blue. Three panels, set diamondwise occupy the middle line of the aisle. In the center of each lies a twelve inch tile bearing in low relief an angel form, while the borders are made up of tiles modelled in ecclesiastical designs. The blue note which we have been following is nearly submerged in the clouding of the brown and green of these angel panels, but is sufficiently present to keep us expectant.
Stone steps lead to the Outer Sanctuary, where an ivory and brown field, set diagonally, with modelled inserts, and a staccato border of vivid blue oblongs alternating with square three-toned modelled tile, prepare us for the glory of the Inner Sanctuary. A magnificent border of iridescent tiles, bearing various types of crosses, lies between the Outer Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, significant of the human sacrifices requisite to spiritual attainments. On a field of blue—as blue as those starry ceilings of old Egypt—lies the cross, glowing with the marvelous hues of Pewabic lustre. A halo of tiny tiles in antique gold lies upon the arms of the cross, while the very heart from which the whole design radiates is an iridescent disc bearing the form of a pelican feeding her young with drops of her own blood, symbolic of the mother church sustaining the young churches. Panels bearing the symbols of the four Evangelists lie to left and right, while other panels in iridescent tiles complete a design leaving nothing to be desired in form, color or religious feeling. Nowhere in the world, we believe, does there exist a floor bearing the slightest resemblance to this of St. Paul’s. Perhaps its closest relationship, and this in feeling only, lies with the exquisite mosaics in the ceiling of the Tomb of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. In the one, stately forms move across the vault of Heaven’s blue; in the other the cross with its golden halo glows in the blue of infinite space, symbolic of human life and its divine aspirations.
Editorial Note
One of its most notable art achievements has been given to America by Mary Chase Perry and Horace J. Caulkins, in the floors of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Detroit, Michigan. Although departing from long established conventions in paving, they have maintained, consistently, the spirit of the Gothic period, in which style the church is built.
In the three main porches, the square six-inch unglazed tile in soft buffs and ambers, set with the wide grouting characteristic of Pewabic work, give the impression of breadth and stability suitable to the entrance of such a structure.
Unity of design is not sacrificed by the variation in the paving of the Hancock Avenue porch. Four inch natural clay tile are set with modelled inserts. The border, together with those of the other porches are essentially Gothic, consisting of simple arrangements of squares and triangles, in varying tones of brown, soft green and the quiet blue which gives the key-note to the whole design. Standing within the doors of the nave, one is impressed, at once, with what sympathy the designer has worked with the architect. Deeper in tone and smaller in size than the tiles of the main porch from which one has entered, they seem to increase the breadth of the aisles and the loftiness of the ceiling. One is led forward by the narrow border and the instinctive spotting of blue throughout the field until he stands at the steps of the choir. From this point the design is taken up in glazed tile. The delightful irregularities of the handpressed tile add to the beauty of the ivory and brown tones of the field, bordered by large Gothic triangles in mellow green and blue. Three panels, set diamondwise occupy the middle line of the aisle. In the center of each lies a twelve inch tile bearing in low relief an angel form, while the borders are made up of tiles modelled in ecclesiastical designs. The blue note which we have been following is nearly submerged in the clouding of the brown and green of these angel panels, but is sufficiently present to keep us expectant.
Stone steps lead to the Outer Sanctuary, where an ivory and brown field, set diagonally, with modelled inserts, and a staccato border of vivid blue oblongs alternating with square three-toned modelled tile, prepare us for the glory of the Inner Sanctuary. A magnificent border of iridescent tiles, bearing various types of crosses, lies between the Outer Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, significant of the human sacrifices requisite to spiritual attainments. On a field of blue—as blue as those starry ceilings of old Egypt—lies the cross, glowing with the marvelous hues of Pewabic lustre. A halo of tiny tiles in antique gold lies upon the arms of the cross, while the very heart from which the whole design radiates is an iridescent disc bearing the form of a pelican feeding her young with drops of her own blood, symbolic of the mother church sustaining the young churches. Panels bearing the symbols of the four Evangelists lie to left and right, while other panels in iridescent tiles complete a design leaving nothing to be desired in form, color or religious feeling. Nowhere in the world, we believe, does there exist a floor bearing the slightest resemblance to this of St. Paul’s. Perhaps its closest relationship, and this in feeling only, lies with the exquisite mosaics in the ceiling of the Tomb of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. In the one, stately forms move across the vault of Heaven’s blue; in the other the cross with its golden halo glows in the blue of infinite space, symbolic of human life and its divine aspirations.
