The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-19
no demand at all for modern sevres in this

no demand at all for modern Sevres in this
country.
Dresden china, on the other hand, con-
tinues as popular as ever, and the pro-
duction of spurious items of porcelain
with the Semper Augustus mark and the
two crossed swords is almost boundless.
Vases and candelabras and clocks the
bust of the Chinese mandarins with the
movable tongue, which protrudes and Tolls
to and fro; the celebrated bundle of aspar-
agus. the chevalier with the bagwig and
sword, who, with a huge pair of sheers
by his side, is riding on a goat, are fabri-
Gated to a surprisingly large extent prn-
cipally in the neighborhood of Paris,
and find their way to England, to every
country on the continent and TO the Uni
ted States. AS l have said, these pretty
but trumpery objects never make their
appearance at the great auction rooms,
but a ready sale is found for them among
people who have more money than wit,
and who have dealings with persons who
have more business astuteness than prin-
ciple.
Old plate is another department of curios
in which unblushing frauds are too often
perpetrated. 1t has been discovered that
the practice has long existed of cutting
genuine hall marks of the seventeenth and
eighteenth century dates out of small ar
ticles of plate, such salt cellars, and
spoons, and welding them into large salv-
ers and bowls of quite modern manufac-
ture. There is reason for everything,
for oleomargarine as for bogus curios.
Our dairies do not produce enough of the
best fresh butter, and tradesmen with an
imperfect sense of ethics lay in stocks of
sham butter. .
There are not enough curios in the civil
lied world. so the manufacturer of sham
Dresden, apocryphal Limoges enamels,
mythical ivory carvings, and simulated
antique tapestry goes merrily on. AS re-
CARDS the last named fabric an excusable
imitation exists; the Florentines have long
since practiced the art of tapestry paint
ing. A peculiar Kind of canvas is made
the texture of which exactly resembles
that of which genuine tapestry is woven,
and on this the subject selected is hand
painted. There is certainly no more harm
in the subterfuge than there is in the cleo
troplate, which is as handsome as silver,
but makes no pretense of being the real
thing.
Tapestry painting, l understand, has
lately been introduced into England with
very fair prospects of success, but if the
art obtains its acceptance will be a tacit
reproach to us for neglecting to patronize
the productions of the Royal Tapestry
Works at Windsor-a factory for the man
ufacture of genuine Arras which has been
clOseu -Ior l5ck OF publlc support. Inc
general condition of our present economy
in the ways of curios can hardly be de-
scribed as satisfactory. Superb examples
of china, carved work, bronze, enamels
and furniture occasionally make their ap-
pearance in the saleroom; their merits are
at once acknowledged and they find
prompt purchasers at splendid prices. On
the other hand, the name of bogus curios
is legion. France being mainly RESPONSE
Bile for their manufacture; nor does there
seem any probability of a stop being put
to the production of articles which are not
by any means that which their vendors
pretend them to be. Civilized humanity.
when it resides in a handsome house, in
sists on having its little store of real or
supDosititious old porcelain, and 1t is to
be feared that the sum of the suppositi-
tious very largely exceeds that of the
genuine article.