In May 1852, in the prospectus of the present Crystal Palace Com pany, Mr. Jones's name appeared as "Director of Decorations ; " and soon afterwards, in conjunction with Mr. D. Wyatt, he was commis sioned to visit many of the chief buildings and galleries of Europe, in order to collect the remarkable series of casts and works of art which are now exhibited. When the building was ready, the courts of architecture and sculpture were commenced ; and the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Alhambra courts, and the decorative painting of the general fabric, were then completed under his directions. In the building lie somewhat modified the scheme of decoration which he had endeavoured to exemplify in Hyde Park. In that case, there were some distinct questions as to the paiotiug of the columns, some of the objectors contending against painting them in stripes, others arguing for what they styled, though in that particular case with Inadequate reason—structural truth ; for which they supposed a brouza colour was essential. In the buildings at Sydenham Mr. Jones has painted the columns dark red, or marone, and with happy effect. For the authorities for the decoration of the Egyptian Court, Mr. Jones was assisted by Mr. Bonotui, Mr. Sharpe, and others, but the result as a realisation of the character of Egyptian architecture, as to which a claim was advanced by the newspaper press beyond what Mr. Jones would have put forth, has been of course contested. In the polychromatic) decoration of the Greek Court, however, Mr.
Jones's illustrations of his views regarding the ancient practioe, were the subject of many comments, even prior to the opening of the exhibition ; so that on that occasion, he thought fit to publish with the handbooks, ' Au Apology for the Colouring of the Greek Court by Owen Jones; with arguments by G. II. Lewes and W. Watkiss Lloyd,' and other matter, wherein ho draws arguments from the discoveries of painted enrichments by Mr. Penrose, to whose work however a critical study should be given before accept ing the restorations given in it, or deduced by Mr. Jones from it. Some idea of the tendency of Mr. Joues's views may be formed by our stating that he had even earlier come to the conclusion that the shafts of the columns of the Parthenon were entirely gilt. With regard to the paint
ing of sculpture—an old subject of controversy, but one of now growing interest—Mr. Jones equally adopted the extreme view, that the whole surface of the marble was coated with thick paint, and at the Crystal Palace he has painted one portion of the Elgin frieze in party colours, on that principle, the hair of the figures being gilt. The question (between the advocates of the use of colour) as to the ancient practice may now be said to be between what Mr. Jones advocates, and the mere staining of marble, combined perhaps with the introduction of some painted ornaments. In the Alhambra Court Mr. Jones has pro rented the meet elaborate coloured decoration that has been seen in England ; and, allowing for a few trifling emendations or alterations to adapt the work to the Crystal Palace structure, he has given a better representation of the decorations of the original Alhambra than could be obtained from that decaying work of art. These several works occupied him about three years, requiring an amount of careful mani pulation, scarcely precedented even during the middle ages; and by his minute supervision of them he must be held to have served the progress of decorative art iu this country. He has also written a 'Handbook to the Alhambra Court,' wherein ho has given a very clear exposition of the principles of ornamentation, and some arguments also advanced by others, relative to the nature and office of archi tectural art. Recently Mr. Jones has commenced the publication of a work called The Grammar of Ornament,' devoted to numerous illustrations of the ornaments of the different styles.
Of the St. James's Hall, about to be commenced under his direction, some illustrations have appeared in tho 'Builder' (voL xiv., 1856); and these show that the interior will probably exhibit even greater novelty and elaboration, with tasteful design and good art, than have yet been seen combined in Mr. Jones's works as a practical architect.