The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-08-13
CAMEO CUTTING,
a Visit to tho Roman Studios
Where the Work Is Done
Specimens of Wonderful Skill IL Carving
Onyx and Shclls-Ilfcli,c Portraits
OF Historical Pcrsonagcs and
Noted People

self heart urd soul In admiration of ,u
the gods and goddcsses that wore ever
heard of, from Jupiter to the voricst
little love. He has seen ca;neos here or
there all his life and paid little ntten-
ton to them; but here in their birth
place, their home, he develops IL passion
for them that would affect heart of
stone, which these gods and goddesses
always possess And truly canoes are
to be admired; down them who viii,
fashion or no fashion, as I'M exquisite
work of art there is nothing moro beau
tiful
One of the most interesting cameo
studios, says the jewelers. Review, Is
that of francesca Clappori, on tho Via
Sist3nn Signor Clapponi has had
twenty years of practice in cameo cut
ting, and your correspondent is indebted
10 him for much valuable information
on this interesting study. He has been
cnllcd the modern Michael Angelo by
came of his American admirers, and not
undcscrvedly, for more exquisite work
than his would be hard to find His
specially is portraits, and these develop
from the stone quite as truthful us from
the c-ny,on work, in which he is aleo an
expert One of his best works Is por-
trnit OF Queen Marguorita, of Italy.
The likeness Is exact, and the famous
pearls, string after string, about her
neck stand out in individual perfection
Portraits of the queen of England, the
composer List and other people, not
forgetting Cook, of circular voyage
fame, are others of equal merit The
most eXquisitcly finished portrait is of
Mary Stuart, after OH antique painting.
The relief is in flesh color, against durle
red background. Every point In the
high lace ruchcs at the throat stands
out dclicatcly, while the entire lace is
almost transparcnt-is, In fact, when
held TO the light
Canoes are sometimes of shell and
sometimes of stone. Those of shell arc
most common and are more easily
made than those of stone, because the
shell Is softer and yields more readily
to the drill. The shells are of the
conch order and are brought from the
sea at different ports of Italy. The
stone comes mostly from India, some
from Germany. 1t belongs to the
family of quartz, (banded), and comes
IN variotls combinations of color, the
rarest being flesh color and rcd; tho
most common one black and white
The stone comes cut in different sizes
ready for the artist to begin work on.
They cost from two to thirty or moro
frnrcs each, according 70 size and
quality.
After plaster cast has been mado
from q drawing or portrait the artist
sketches from the east on the stone he
is about to cut and proceeds to chip
awny all surplus portions of the upper
layer of color. lie does this by means
Of drill fastened in 4 machine worked
by the foot The drills usod ar. very
fine and while at work the artist looks
through magnifying glass These
drills require constant cutting down
and the application of diamond dust, rs
the stone is 80 hard. The stone, too,
requires constant rubbing OF, for tie
drill blaclsens und so inislcads tive
artist unless continual care is given. 1t
takes from three to thirty days to cut Il
stone cameo. The artist must under
stand drawing and measurements well,
as after the first outline cutting he Is al
most wholly dependent upon the cS-
actitude OF his eye. The finishing work
is very delicate. a iniscut, and nose
Is spoiled, IN ear taken off, or the
fascinating curl of q mustachc forever
lost 1t is sweet and poctical TO wear O
lovcd ones face cut In cameo, but woe
to the artist who by slight deviation
makes Genevieve's mouth too largo OF
converts the classical nose of Clarence
into 'snub."
1ntaglios are very much IN favor at
the present time. They are Just the re-
rf tho IN tho s,1l,inn{
cut below The level OF the stone. Many
Of these are made for the purpose of
seals, and give perfect impression. It
has been said that Moses wore an intag-
Ito ring, and VIC have no more reason to
doubt than TO believe It. No one sus-
poets Moses of not doing the proper
thing, and if he had the good taste to
wear an intaglio, he is all the more
worthy of admiration. However, in
taglios arc known to have been of very
ancient origin. E.
Intaglios arc cut in stones of one cob
OF, and are best when the stones arc
translucent They appear in most del
icate shades, and the 3un,ien engraving
is sometimes wonderful in its minute
ness Many famous paintings as we'll
as statues are copied in this manner,
and the production is often as marvel
Gus as the original. The aurora" Of
Guido RIM is almost as beautiful cut
into dark stone as when in light relief
in colors. Where so many figures are
grouped it is really wonderful thing
to produce them In such minute proper
tions as seen III these intaglios- What
ever other arts the Italians may be pro
ficient In, that of stone cutting is fol-