The morning news., 1892-01-25
PORTRAITS IN STONE.
Methods Of Cutting Delicate Features
Upon Canoes

I Methods OF Cutting Delicate Features
Upon Canoes
From the Jeaosler's Rsrfeu's P1ris Letter.
I dropped in to see my old friend. Franz
! cesco Ciapponi. this morning and found the
cameo cutter hard at work at his drill.
He WIS just putting the flushing touch TO
| a portrait that seemed almost TO speak in its
! likeness to nature. The original card por-
trait stsod before the artist, and the = %-inch
stone ca ne out under the file in exact tni-
tatiOn.
His subject was a young English girl
with aguilIne nose and an arrangement Of
her hair as nearly classic as possible to the
wearer. The head in the photograph poised
at considerable distance from the shoulders,
but the artist had obeyed the instruction of
| the young woman and given the stone q
| typical John Bull neck.
The oriEinal OF the picture, hattered by
the beautiful neck, now desired that her
| front hair should have more curl in 1t, aud
the artist was at his Wits end TO put a
| curved cut over a straight one. The SUBJ
| ject sat by awaiting the result, while the
worker tried to explain that a sculptor's
| finished worked was not so easily improved
upon as painters.
These minute portraits in stone are GER
tainly the most wonderful of all artistic
work. The curve in the rounded cheek and
uellCbJS 5dE were UIellkS III e0dcbneso, anu
the small lips and bright eye did not need
color to give them expression. The stone
was flesh color on dark red background,
and the natural tint made the portrait more
true than life.
Very few are acquainted with the process
OF cameo cutting, or have any idea OF the
tediousness of the work. A cameo cutter
must be thorough artist to do his work
well. His training is Christian one, for he
haWa the n1fiaDCa nf IOh and fha
entity Of Moses. His tools consist of small
revolving wheel and an assortment of files.
These files are affixed to the wheels and
cut away the surplus stone little by little.
A large magnifying glass is fastened just
above the file, and through this the artist
keeps careful eye on the progress OF his
work.
The first important labor is to make a
plaster cast of the portrait to be copied.
This is made the required size of the cameo
and finished in every detail. The general
outline is then traced on the stone, and all
the surplus surface cut away. In order to
hold securely under the file the stone is
sunk in sealing wax upon wooden handle
aud this the steady hand of the artist keep,
in place as the wheel rotates
The drill requires constant sharpening
and the application of diamond dust
Every touch of the steel leaves a black
mark, aud unless this is rubbed off, the
worker runs the risk Of being deceived in
his measurements. The WORK progresses
slowly, and as each feature develops, the
greatest caution must be taken to avoid a
miscut.
Good eyesight is essential, and the work
is most trying on the eyes. Signor Clap
poni now works with spectacleS on his nose,
but he is a veteran in the trade, and could
almost cut cameo with his eyes shut.
When the cutting is finished the stone is
| freed from the ware and washed and pol-
| tshed. 1t takes from three to thirty days to
cut stone cameo. but the shells develop
more rapidly. The stone comes mostly
| from India, with few stragglers from Ger
many. They belong to the family Of banded
! quartz, and come in various combinations
OF color. The rarest are warm flesh tint
| against a dark background, and the most
common black and white.
These stones come out in different sizes
ready for the artist to begin work on. They
cost from 35 cents TO Sc. according to size
| and quality.
Various kinds Of shells are used in cameo
| cutting. The two. most prominent are
know as the bulls mouth, which has red
inner coat, and the black hemlet, which
shows up white on dark caret color. The
shells are cheaper and more easily worked
than the stone, and therefore find a more
Cameo cutting Is little known and prao-
tioed in America, and in consequence less
interest is taken in the art. The cutters In
Rome are going to make an effort, however,
| to precIpitate their industry upon the
| American people by an exhibit at the
| worlds fair.
The little pictures in stone are so ex-
| quisitely beautiful that they merit, and,
am sure. will receive some day a conspicu-
GUS place in the stocks of wide-awake
American jewellers. Labor is cheap in
Europe and the patience Of the Italians
eternal l doubt our ever being able to
| compete in this industry.