Currents of Baroque Revival in the decorative arts in Malta : 1870-1900

Abstract

This paper discusses and analyses the strong presence of ornate design currents on the small central Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo in the final decades of the nineteenth century. Despite its geographical location at the periphery of Europe, Malta has a deeply root ed and time-honoured tradition in the field of decoration and ornament which goes back centuries. The nineteenth century came to consolidate the European calling of the decorative arts on the islands and aligned them with the major trends in design across Europe. Works in silver, wood, embroidery and other media, commissioned especially for the numerous churches and monastic establishments, were produced both in Malta and abroad in important centres like Rome, Paris and Lyon. From the late 1860s, the interest in Renaissance Revival forms and the eclectic fusion of varied styles was joined by a growing love for more ornate solutions. The eclectic flavour remained but decoration turned heavier and Baroque and Rococo forms became more insistent and diffused in a large number of works. The available evidence shows that this tendency started to become more evident in the 1870s. Maltese production from this period involved works both by locals such as the Cannataci silversmith brothers, Francesco Saver io (active from 1867) and Roberto (active 1863–1890s), and the wood carvers Paolo Bugeja (1840-after 1905) and Carmelo Teuma (ca. 1869-ca. 1936)– and foreigners, such as the Italian Vincenzo Cardona (active ca. 1880-ca. 1913). This current continued to consolidate itself in the last two decades of the century, especially in the works of designers and carvers active in the maritime city of Vittoriosa. It peaked at the turn of the twentieth century and persisted in the works of the two most prolific designers of the first half of the twentieth century: Abramo Gatt (1863-1944) and Emanuele Buhagiar (1876–1962).