Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-06-11
oyR nDml Asrs.
How the city Residences May be
Adorned with Rare Specimens OF
Art at Nominal Cost.

Art at q Nominal Cost.
The history Of the origin and develop
ment, growth and decline Of beautiful,
artistic forms constitutes portion Of
the advancement Of every community.
II by their efforts to conceive absolute
perfection, or what Is commonly called
ideal beauty, in form and color, is rsli.
able test OF the progress Of people, and
the accumulation of rare art souvenirs
an illustration of their tastes, then Los
Angeles may well be proud of her wealth
in art, and cultured citizens who have
adorned their homes with rare objects
of the sculptor's handiwork. Nature
has been boun,iful in her bestowal Of
beautiful plants. flowers and semi-trop-
ical foliage, intermingled with luxuri-
Gus growth Of choice fruits. for outdoor
surroundings to our many elegant resi-
dences, but not content with these
adornments, our citizens have gathered
for interior decoration costly works Of
art, including variety of unique de.
signs in bric-a brac, aud aesthetic repro
ductions Of ancient pottery. 1t has not
been an easy matter to procure the more
costly specimens for household adorn-
ment, especially those Of foreign impor-
tation. We have in our midst, however,
some excellent specimens Of statuary in
italian marble and alabaster, though
not from the famed center Of Italian art,
Tuscany. Within the last few years art
critics have accorded to Tuscany the
prize for producing the most beautiful
specimens in Italian marble and Alabas.
ter statuary. Indeed, the ''craze" for
.these specimens has become so marked
throughout the East that scarcely res
idence of any pretentions toward artist G
display is without its souvenir from Vo'-
terra. The perfection attained by the
sculptors in this antiquated city has
been the study Of years. The quaint old
place is now the art center of Italy, be-
ing located sixty miles from Leghorn.
aud is said to have been founded 1000
years before Christ by the Estruscans.
OF the six thousand inhabitants, five
thousand are engaged in the manufac-
turs Of marble and alAbaster statuary
and ornaments of peculiar design. Their
children are set to work on rough
piece As soon as they are old enough to
hold sculptor's chisel, and SO become
accustomed to reproduce their ideas and
Inspirations from marble. The great
mausoIelm at st. Peters in Rome, came
from Volterra, and is priced beyond
value. To-day Los Angeles is favored
with an exhibition OF specimens from
Volterra which are slegant-the peifec-
tion Of art and beauty. They are not
manufactured from any composition, as
many statues are, where an attempt is
made to palm off an imitation on the
public. but are of genuine quarried
Italian marble and will stand the test Of
chemical analysis. These rare art SOU
venirs were shipped direct from Italy,
and comprise beautiful models Of alabas-
ter statuary, Grecian vases, Roman urns,
card receivers, psdestals. imitation Of
fruits most natural in their reproduction.
The marble has rich transparent ap-
pearance, and the veins are plainly
discernible beneath the surface, which b
proves the purity Of the stone. Among
the fine pieces to be offered for sale are
The Bather, carved from alabaster,
Diana. Without Care. Virtue Suppres-
sing Vice, aRd many other beautiful
figures superbly executed with the true
Voltarrs finish. Messrs. Gennari L
Gore, the importers Of this collection,
have brought it here at . great expense
The goods were shipped to this point di
rect from New York and must be solo
without reserve, so that golden oppor
tunity will be offered our citizens to &c
cure some beautiful italian statuary fo
home adornnent at bargain. The ar
exhibition is now open on Main street
in the spacious rooms adjoining tn,
entrance to Childs' Opera House, and to
morrow afternoon and evening Noyes
Field, the well.known auctioneers, viii
open q sale. Every lover of true ar
should be present and secure. at auction
prices, work Of art that would prove
costly luxury if procured by private pur
chase.