Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1853-08-31
Art in Japan.

The Japanese are fond of rich draw
|ings and paintings upon all their furni-
ture-at least, upon all that is brought
here TO market-particularly in mother
of-pearl, which they know how TO inlay
in the thinnest possible blades, forming
flowers or fruits, landscapes or animals,
but principally birds. So finely wrought
are these paintings sometimes, particu-
larly in the large pieces, that 1 have
thought frequently, and am yet of the
opinion, that they have found out some
way or other to melt or dissolve that
S Inning and glittering material, the
mother-of-pearl, 20 lay it upon what
they please afterward, in a thin
sheet without brush. They excel, al
so, in their other varnishes, principally
in red and black, with gold and silver
ornaments and I much admired some
tables upon which the skilful workmen,
as you would lay five cards into each
other in circle to show part of each,
had arrangedsthe five different styles of
vanishing, all executed in the same per-
lection, upon one plate. In painting.
however, they labor under the same dis
advantages as the Chinese. Concerning
perspective, they have an idea of it, and
some works Of that kind are executed
without many faults but generally they
know very little about it, and have plen-
ty of room for improvement there at
least. The next day it was possible to
get sight of the silken goods, the fair
half of Batavia having left. There
were dresses at twenty-five roopiahs
each, all of them in small squared pat
tern; nothing extraordinary, the Chi
nese silk being just as tasteful and far
cheaper. But besides this, there were
some Grape shawls, most beautifully wo-
ven and colored the large quantity the
contractor had brought over this year
with him, had prevented the ladies' car
rying off every one of them the first
day-two days afterward not one was
left. Husbands have hard time in
Batavia when the japanese ship arrives.
In this room there were also the play
things, that the Japanese are very ex-
pert in inventing as we'll as executing
little dolls, they had as nicely made as |
have ever seen doll in my life, and at
the same time in its true, droll, childish,
japanese character. Little goldfish
and turtles, moving on wire in little
counterfeit ponds regular toys for chill
dren, in all imaginable queer forms, be-
sides quantity of other little articles
and knick-knacks porcelain figures
with shaking heads, and in-and- out-dar-
ting tongues, ivory figures and gilded
statutes, two or three inches high !;
fans, bamboo-boxes, and different kinds
of cagar-etnls, snuff boxes, etc. Among
the c'gar-etuis, one kind l felt certain
hand The material out Of Which they had
been made, was nothing else than the
hide of human body. It most certain
ly looked rather singular, having be-
sides, very peculiar, sharp and I'M
pleasant smell; but others to whom |
spoke, particularly DR.. Mohnike, who
had lived at Decima three years, gave it
as his opinion that it was certain kin d
of paper, made out of the bark of trees.
1t looked, though, far more like hide
than paper. A large quantity of paper
umbrellas, made of bamboo and oiled pa
per only, straw mats, in tasteful colors
brooms, catsups, agger agger, ordinary
stone and china ware, and boxes full OF
basket-work, formed the bulk Of the
goods. - From Gerstacker's Voyage
Round the World.