The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-06-18
THE vATICAN's TREASURY.
A Ieep at Its Priceless Gems and til
Gorgeous Tapestries.

Il
Ieep at Its Priceless Gems and the
Gorgeous Tapestries.
Rome Letter in New York Journal
bit OF good luck alone is responsible
for the peep which had into the sacristy
OF the Vatican few days ago. 1t
Is privilege accorded to but few, and
almost never to the casual visitor to Rome.
could have fingered for days in ecstatic
admiration of the beautiful things which
saw IN the series of rooms close to the
Slstine chapel. Would that had the pen
OF Ferdinand Fabre, the illustrious novel
lst who has devoted his life to painting
scenes from clerical careers, with which to
describe the surroundings of this world
famous sacristy and it's guardians The
pencil OF Nibett alone could do justice to
the beautiful and costly treasures seen
there. In beautiful caskets are kept the
altar services of the different sovereign
pontlffs and the immense mass of pontlfi-
cal ornaments and vestments, forming a
complete history of sacerdotal costume
down through the long centuries.
There are foar rooms, exquisitely dec
Grated, in each of which are great cup
boards with glass doors. In these are
score of mitres ornamented with costly
gems. chalices in gold and silver, chasu-
bles, stoles, garments which the popes don
only on occasions of the greatest cere-
mopy, and some of which are almost
priceless.
Many of the most beautiful robes are
embroidered in gold, with the arms of
Gregory XVI, Plus TX. and Leo XIII.
Among the most ancient relics preserved
there is an "aube" which belonged to Bon
Il
by the Caetani family. A dalmatique
given to Clement V. (Aldobrandini) by
the grand duchess of Tuscany is also
shown here.
There were formerly many hundreds of
rare and precious objects in these cabinets,
which had belonged to popes in the four
tenth and sixteenth centuries. But it
must be remembered that Pious VI, in
order to pay part of the two hundred
millions of francs which Napoleon b.
naparte imposed upon him as war tax,
had to melt down host of chalices and
treasures of the olden days and even to
sell the gems in the Vatican treasury.
This was better than to borrow the i'm
mense sum at an extravagant rate of in
terest from the bankers OF the time.
When the French army entered Rome, in
179S. this treasury was sacked-not all the
the revolution made a choice of what they
thought most available for subsequent
sale. This was at the same time that so
many pictures and statues were stolen from
the Vatican galleries.
There was great scandal about the
sacking, and the French soldiers were
finally constrained to return goodly num-
Der of treasures, among them hundred
beautiful missals ornamented with precious
miniatures. The superb dalmatique now
in the treasury was saved from piliage be-
cause it was undergoing repairs just then.
and so were most OF the tapestries en-
ployed in the service of the state.
One of the most beautiful collections in
the Vatican treasury is wonderfully rich
altar service in gold and silver, offered to
Plus TX by Baron d'Aubigny. Here also
is a crucinx as richly ornate "a that on
which Mario in Mr.. Crawford's dellghtru
story spent such infinite labor This IS
the gift of a famous Englishman converted
TO Catholicism. Here also the golden
roses given by the popes to roya! person
aces who have deserved special distinction
are kept until wanted. They are all made
by family i'll the neighborhood OF the
Vatican, and these goldsmiths have had
monopoly OF the manufacture ior ooo
years.
In the glass cases one sees many superb
swords One of these weapons, presented
10 Plus N by the pontihcal zonayes, IS
peculiarly rich: the hilt Is studded with
gems. 1t is the custom of the popes TO
send these swords TO those who have
fought valiantly in the cause oil the
church.
saw a tiara of extreme richness COW
cred with fine pearls. emeralds and other
precious stones, but was told that the cost
Hest objects were kept IN the pope 5 pri-
vate apartments, and that the really rlch
treasure. as the guardian said, Is IN the
nope's sieeping room, where no visitor Is
ever admitted to see it. There have been
several robberies from this Sistine treas
ury. and great caution IS now exercised.
Among the tiaras one OF the most note-
worthy was presented by Queen Isabella
of Spain 1t has no less than l9,ocO Drill
liants upon 1t.
Another deliciously rich one Is that
which was given by Napoleon l. TO Plus
VII. At its summit cross IN brltilants ~
sustained by a huge emerald, which serves
as base This emerald, the chasing OF
which is rich gold, hears on It's contour
the name of Gregory MIL, which proves
that it had been taken from the pontihcai
treasury.
"NapoIeon might at least have had the
good grace 10 etiace the name OF rope
Gregory" said my companion, pointing
this out to me; but II seems that ne did
NO, over, care TO conceal the emerald
origin.
The tapestries. or arazzi As the Romans
call them. because they were made at Ar
ras. in France, are rarely shown nova
DAYS. Some of them still hang. heneve'
in one of the corridors OF the aucau'
Those which Leo Y ordered for the SIS
tine chapel were made from cartoons by
Rgphael in ISIS. Seven of these cartoons
are now in the South Kensington museum
in London. \ second series Was mace :, at
| later period from designs by Ulullo no
mano and other OF Raphaels pupils. Ihey
represent various events in the life OF the
| Savior.
The history of several of these TAPESTRIES
| is remarkable. They were carried on py
| the French IN i7gs and sold 10 trader AZ
| Genoa. who burned one of them Tor the
! sake Of the gold and silver threads used IN
| the bright lights representing sunshine.
! This speculation proved Improbable the
/ trader offered 10 sell the remainder IN
| lS1S, and they we're bought by Plus VII,
| who returned them 10 their original
places.