The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1894-11-09
ORIENTAL ARTISANS.

The Wood and Ivory Carvers and Sill
versmIths OF Canton.
''In the City of Canton" is the title of
gossipy paper by Florence O'Driscoll, NJ.
F., in the Century. In describing the pa
tlent and skilled artisans, the writer
says:
Farther along the streets were the
ivory-carvers, all working in sight of the
passers-by. Men shaped from dingy-
coated elephants tusk objects of living
wonder and beauty-sprites and COLLINS,
gods and devils, caricatures of human
form, things unlike anything on the
earth, or in the waters beneath, or in the
heavens above. Animals. birds and
creeping things grew out of this dead
ivory To take shape and live m almost
noisy gambols around the spiral Lusk.
Paper-knlves, weights, combs, backs for
brushes, ornaments, hairpins, cunningly
carved globes within globes, toys and
many other strange things had birth III
! these quaint and primitive workshops.
Near by were the wood-carvers, sitting
on the floor of their booths, and hold
ing with their feet the timber from which
they chopped out, and with chisels grayed
dragons, scrolls, flowers, birds, signs for
shops, hgureheadS for boats, chair backs
marvelOusly carven cabinets and Curl
ously iancitul objects. Every workman
Clipped away as if his life depended
upon his Industry, and seemingly devel-
oped each design as he worked from the
inner consciousness OF his weird imagin-
alton. l could see no prearranged de-
sign for any piece of carving, nor were
there any models to he seen in the ivory
shops.
The silver hammered away at
his pots, and reptiles and flying things,
manikins, eiementals, giants and legend
airy personages grew out OF his labors.
lie also sklllfully wove wires together,
which took shape as delicate tiligree
forms; or he joined tiny leaf-like plates
with hligree scrolls, and with the beauti-
full, sneeny feathers from kingtisher's
breast inlaid the plates in brilliant and
uniading tints,
The gold-worker displayed cunning
Workmanship of like nature. The gold
beaten in his open shop, two or three feet
back from the passing streams of people,
hammered away at ingots, bars and
plates until the thin leaf for gliding was
obtained. Two workmen had an anvil
placed on the ground between them; the
sheets of gold were divided by dark
brown tissue. and, with a very wide-faced
hammer fixed upon very thick, straight
handle, they beat away blow after blow
in turn. Behind each beaten stood boy
with a large feather fan. whose duty it
was to fan the laborer while he toiled.
The stone-caryers, like most other
craftsmen, sat above their work. Unlike
the Westerners, whose hammer-faces are
| hard and chisel-heads soft, the Chinese
stone-cutter uses soft-iron hammer-a
round, mop-like lump of iron with a
handle through the center. The chisel is
of iron, with steel point and head; the
round, hard-steel head wears in a short
| time cup-shaped hole or socket in the
| hammer, and 1t seems almost marvel
| that true blow can be struck with such
| tool. The stone-cutter uses long hand
saws, and sits TO his work. With one
hand he pushes the saw, with the other
he moves in the opposite direction a
little water-mop to keep the saw-cut
| clear.
The blacksmiths, filters, file-cutters,
| iron-tounders and homework ers were all
to be seen laboring away III therl title
shops. Eile-cutters sat. and holding with
their toes an untempersd file-iron in a
grooved anvil, notched it, using little
steel cutting-tool and hammer with amaz-
ing rapidly.