The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-11-17
ORIENTAL ARTISANS.
The Wood and Ivory Carvers and Silver.
smiths of Canton.

The Wood and Ivory Carvers and Silver.
smiths of CSnton.
SIN the City of Canton" is the title OF
q gossipy paper by Florence O'Driscoll,
M. P, in The Century. In describing the
patient and skilled artisans the writer says
Farther along the streets were the ivory
carvers, all working in sight of the pass
ersby. Men shaped from a 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, OF in the heavens
above. Animals, birds and creeping
things grew out Of this dead ivory to take
the shape and live in almost noisy gam
bols around the spiral tusk Paper knives,
weights combs, backs for brushes, orna-
ments, hairpins, cunningly- carved globes
within globes, toys and 1pany strange
things had birth in these quaint and
primitive workshops.
Near by were the wood carvers, sitting
on the floors of their booths and holding
with their feet the timber from which
they chopped out and with chisels grayed
dragons, scrolls, flowers, birds, signs for
shops, fgsreheads for boats, chair backs
marvelously carved cabinets and curious
~ fanciful objects. Every workman chip
ped away as if his life depended upon his
industry, and seemingly developed each
design as he worked from the inner con-
seriousness of his weird Imagination. I
could see no prearranged design for any
piece of carving, nor were there any mod
els to be seen in the ivory shops.
The silver worker hammered away at
his pots, and reptiles and flying things,
manikins, elementals, giants and legend
airy personages grew out of his labors. He
also skillfully wove wires together, which
took shape as delicate filigree forms, or he
Joined tiny leafiike plates with filigree
scrolls, and with the beautiful sheeny
feathers from kingfsher's breast inlaid
the plates in brilliant and unfading 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 peo-
pie 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 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 carvers like most craftsmen
sat above their work. Unlike the western
ers, whose hammer faces are hard and
chisel heads soft, the Chinese stonecutter
uses soft iron hammer--a round, mop
like lump of iron with handle through
the center. The chisel is of iron, with
steel point and head. The round, hard
steel head wears in 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 handsaws and sits to his
work. With one hand he pushes the saw;
with the other he moves in the opposite
direction little water mop to keep the
saw cut clear
The blaoksmiths, filters, file cutters,
iron founders and iron workers were all to
be seen laboring away in their little shops.
File cutters sat, and holding with their
toes an untempered file iron in a grooved
anvil notched it, using little steel cut
ting tool and hammer with amazing "a.
pidity.