Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1898-05-11
BEAUTIFUL CARVED SHELLS.
Wonderful Work Done by the Hatient
Peasants In Italy.

Wonderful Work Done by the Patient
Peasants In Italy.
Novel appointments for the cabi,
net shelf, corner bracket or other
drawing room decoration are the
miniature plaques and medallions OF
hand carved shell that come from
southern Italy. Conchs having pic
lures carved on the main surface
and left unframed are popular orna-
ments. Sometimes they are mount
ed in gilt or. in variously tinted
frames. A conch of moderate size
showing Canova's dancing girls cut
in the solid shell can be bought for
$35. The carving is as clear cut as
a cameo and shows out beautifully
against the lustrous brown surface
Of the shell. The limbs of the dan
GERS, their airy drapery and classic
features are as perfect in detail as
though the space of the picture were
measured by feet instead of inches.
All of the scenes wrought on these
conGhs are idSal in character, having
10 do with clouds and waves and
NEUROLOGICAL figures. 1t is matter
Of surprise that so many figures and
such intricate designs can be cut in
such a limited space of shell. Nep-
tune and his mermaid nymphs are
pictured on one conch, with the nat
ural accompaniment of dolphins and
sea lions and winged and filmed
monsters. On another shell Jupiter
and the especial goddesses he favor
ed are shown in a mist of cloud
waves and aureoles. Bacchus and
his devotees are not neglected and
are represented as surrounded with
the vineyards and garlands that
give an innocent pastoral air to even
the tipsiest of revels. Dancing maids
and fairy revels and picturesque
peasant carnivals are other subjects
chosen.
Medallions of the carved shell
scarcely 8 INCHES in height are
framed in mosaic work and placed
on tiny easels. They are nearly all
heads or busts of NEUROLOGICAL char
acters. Every curl of hair, every
dimple and every fold of the drapery
stands out clear and lifelike. The
frames of the fine mosaic work are
as handsome as if formed of parti-
colored jewels, and the bright color
ing throws into relief the clear
wilderness and purity of the carving.
Larger carvings are framed in gilt
and mounted on easels The gilt Is
wrought into wreaths and garlands,
each leaf and petal looking as if it
might be picked from the rest.
These medallion settings sell for
from $50 to 800 and over.
"All this work is done by peasant
carvers in the neighborhood of Flor
ence and thereabout, - said the i'm
porter. IF an artist who had at
tanned reputation were to carve a
picture like that on conch, it would
sell for three times as much. The
humble shell carvers in Italy do not
mind how long it takes them to do
piece of work. They carve away at
it at odd moments sometimes for
months Often the workers in shells
are intelligent enough to devise their
own subjects and set to work on
conch with a well defined idea in
their head of what they mean to
bring out. Sometimes these men
evolve pretty and original pictures,
copying the things they have seen
about them all their lives and been
used to shaping. Gondolas are IA
vorite subject and swans and differ
ent kinds of fish and birds. In the
case of these NEUROLOGICAL pictures
a pattern is supplied them, and they
go by that and never deviate from it
in any particular. All the tools are
supplied them from the factory, and
those who display unusual taste for
the work are instructed by the artist
who designs the pictures and gets
the most difficult parts to do. Ac-
cording to the thickness of shell is
the beauty of the carving that is,
if it is intended for bas-relief bust
to be framed. Some shells are much
thicker than others. On most of the
ordinary shell working the carving
is not deep, but, whether deep or
shallow, it is the groundwork of the
dark she'll showing underneath that
gives it its beauty. The mosaic work
for the frames is done individually
by the peasants also. 1t is work that
takes a long time and much pains.
New York Sun.