The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-09-05
A California Lady's Exhibit.
Paris Cor. of the Baltimore American !

The jewel casket, powder box and
portemonnaie OF Mrs, A. Sunderland, Of
California, valued at 100000, attract
much attention. They were made ex.
pressly for the exposition by order OF
Mrs, Sunderland, and after her own de.
signs and ideas by a jeweler of San Fran
cisco. As "a work of the jewelers. ant
they are not surpassed by anything in
the exposition. The pOrtemonnaie is
made Of solid gold and quartz rock, in
mosaic, beautifully interspered with
gold. The quartz rock used in this and
the other articles comes from mines OF
California, Nevada, Arizona and Wash
ingtOn territory.
The jewel casket represent the sub.
stantial wealth of the mines on the Pa.
ciic coast, being made entirely of gold
quartz rock from the mines of California,
Oregon, Nevada and Idaho, and required
the steady work of five skillful artisans
tor six months.
1t is shout fifteen inches long, ten
inches wide and about ten inches deep,
and this, with the other articles, weighs
nearly nineteen pounds. The casket,
for richness, beauty and novelty has
never been surpassed. 1t rests on four
feet of solid gold, each OF which repre-
sents the symbolic female figure that
sdorns the coat of arms of the state OF
California, with the bear at her side.
The figures are in full relief and most
elegantly formed, and constitute a~salient
feature of the beautiful work. The
sides and ends of the caskets are com
posed of solid slabs of gold quartz,
highly polished, cut in spheroids, and
are inlaid in solid gold, with ornamental
surroundings. The four handsome pill
lars upon the sides are OF Roman dOric
style, which is artistically carried out in
the entire work. The base of the casket
is ornamented with graceful foliations,
which are repeated upon the m~ouldings
that finish the lid or cover. The top is
of solid gold, beautifully inlaid with
gold quartz in the finest mosaic work,
hundreds of pieces being required for
the construction ofthis exquisite cover.
The most elegant part of the whole
casket is the exquisite piece of work.
msnship on the inside of the cover, it
being pictorial and historical represent
alton of a buffalo hunt on the plains.
The engraving of the landscape 10 very
fine, the ~shrubbery and trees being in
bas-relief. In the foreground is the
railway track, with two buffaloes dash
ing across it to evade the hunters, who
ate in close pursuit. All of this is alto
relieve, and with great expression. The
figures are not only correctly propora
toned but skilfully handled, and the
whole representation is artistically
wrought.
The powder box is composed of quartz
rock, its shape being round and made to
resemble n Greek dome, the top or cover
being supported by eight columns of
solid gold quartz rock, beautifully pol.
ished, each capped with pure gold. The
cover forming the roof OF the dome is
exquisitely inlaid with quartz rock of
~variegated %colors, filled with precious
metal and is bound on the edge with a sol
id rim of gold, the inside being lined with
solid gold. The body o the box is made
from n large mass of quartz rock, bored
out an elegantly polished on the outside,
while the inside is lined throughout with
solid gold, and rests on an ornamented
base made OF quartz rock mounted in
gold. The whole is s|urmounted with
the emblem of California, viz, the griz-
Fly bear, which is represented as cross
ing the great overland railway. The
puff ia made of the same mate.
rial, and is of the greatest taste. Two
of solid gold and the same guam
of gold quartz, were required to
make the above.