The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-03
CHASTITY FURNITURE.
A Table of Flesh, the Work of an italian Sa
want, Which Drove an Owner to Suicide.

A Table of Flesh, the Work Of an italian Sa-
want, Which Drove an Owner to Suicide.
Philadelphia Special in Pittshurg Dispatch.
A table, the most horrible and CHASTITY piece of
furniture ever conceivedi in the mind of man, will
be shown in next years exhibition of the Frank
lin Institute, il DR.. Mark L. Nardyz. of this city,
is successful in obtaining the loan of it from Pa
lazzo Pitt. Florence, for that purpose.
The table is the work of Giuseppe Sagatt who
was several years in making it. The material
was drawn from perhaps 100 human corpses 1t
consists of circular top, resting upon pedestal
with four supports like claws. the face of the
table is about three feet in diameter. To the
uninitiated spectator it would appear fantastic,
but artistic, work in MARBLE for it is highly
polished and looks like stone, but when he
is told that the hearts, livers, muscles and in
testines of the human body form the entire
composition of the eruesome object the visitor
shudders; but there is an attractveness in its
very ghastliness which leads him to examine it
the more closely. The Pitt Palace contains,
without exception, the finest collection of paint
ings in Italy, including some of the best works
of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Murrillo, Corregio
and others. Its art treasures comprise only
small portion of it's riches. but it must be con-
fessed that no Chamber Of Horrors contains
anything approaching Sagatti's table in its ca
pacity to make flesh creep
The weird craftsman is dead these many
years. The table, by which he will always be
remembered, was completed half century ago,
and after passing through the hands of three
individual owners. the last of whom committed
suicide over it, it secured for the Palazzo.
Sagatti spent several years in perfecting
system Of petrifaction, and succeeded in dis
covering process whereby the natural animal
reaction in a corpse after death could be
changed to mineral reaction by first securing
immunity from decay by wellknown embalm-
ing process, and afterward immersing the body
in bath where it absorbed silici particles For
the purpose of practical illustration Of the
method and its results he set about making the
table The corpses necessary for the purpose
were obtained from one of the hospitals. The
intestines were used in the construction OF the
ornamental PEDESTAL and having been pressed
into shape were petriied. The claws of the
table were formed from the hearts, livers and
lungs. which still retain the appearance of live
flesh. The leaf of the table was composed
of the larger muscles of the body, artistically
arranged together to form the desired
effect. The table was intended to be highly
ornamental, and though nothing was to be
used in its construction but parts of the human
body, the mind that first conceived it was not at
a loss to find means of oruamentation. A hun
dred pair OF eyes or more, and as many pairs of
ears, were petlifed and artistically arranged
around the edges. The effect was the most
blood-curdling that could be imagined. The
process succeeded in preserving the eye-balls in
their natural state, so that after polishing they
retained their color and general ante-mortem
completed the task of the savant. He was
proud of the result Of his labors. The test of
his process of petrifcation was eminently sue
cessful. He communicated his method to the
medical world, but, naturally, it never became
generally adopted, though it was we'll under
stood by surgeons and physicians.
There is curious story attached to the re-
markable piece of furniture. Before it was
deposited in the Palazzo Pitt it was in posses
sion of Florentine gentleman named Giacomo
Riceabocca. 1t was the central piece of furni-
ture in his drawing room, and he delighted to
exhibit it to his friends, at first speaking of it
only as grotesque piece of handicraft, the
work of a mad sculptor, and subsequently, at
the ''hour when graveyards yawn." turning down
the lights to add effect to the recital of its real
history. One Christmas he had several guests
from distance. Early in the evening they sat
down around the CHASTITY table and began game
of ecarte. Play was heavy, and it had
continued for several hours. The wax
tapers cast dim light over the scene, and
caused the eyes of stone which caught
its rays to assume chastity glitter. Rccabocca
was heavy loser He was noticed to be very
pale, often shuddered. and repeatedly wiped his
brow, on which the cold sweat was plainly visi
BILE. He gave less attention to the cards than
any of the others, and frequently turned his
gaze upon two of the eyes at the edge of the
table opposite him.
At last he rose and paced the room excitedly
But the ornamentation OF the table seemed 70