Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-09-27
SEEING THE FAIR
TN DETAIL

skingfsher JeweIry Has Great Vogue
In China-BrilIlant Headdresses For
Chinese Brides-The Flower Makers
of Amoy--Laoquered Ware and les
Malsins-No Wrong Side TO Chinese
EmbroideFIes - Curious Craft For
Rivers, Canals and the Seattle Cor
morant Fisher-Bows and Arrows
Used by Chinese-The Tea Poy-The
Umbrella of Thousand Characters.
The Bridal Chamber and Summer
Bed.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE BY
MARK BENNITT.l
II / were to suggest new jewelry
fad / should direct attention to the
Joyful creations of the Chinese to be
seen in the show cases In the Chinese
collective exhibit in the Palace of Lib
,eral Arts. Here are combinations OF
precious things unthought Of In this
young sapling Of nation in the west.
Most interesting to me were the varia-
Itfons In the use Of the bright blue
iunderwing Of the knghsher. The hair
ornaments for Chinese ladies would go
well In the hats of the American bellies.
FLOWERS with blue kingfsher feather
petals and blossoms of carnelian and
dade are 50 common as to seem cheap,
yet time and skill are woven into their
delicate and intricate parts unmis-
Itakably Here are such novelties that
one may almost see wave Of Chinese
ifads rolling down upon us. A gor-
lgeous headdress for bride, inlaid
with kingfsher feathers and jewels,
looks as il 1t might be worth $500. One
feels like taking it on the spot for $50.
the real price, and run the risk Of get
ting the bride, for surely to wear such
a crown Of glory must have fascina-
lions for feminine hearts.
would not award too much credit
to the flower makers OF China, for we
have flower workers Of magic skill In
our own country, but the Amoyans OF
China have held the mirror UP to ma
ture SO wonderfully that we should
discover nature only by her little in
accuracies rather than by the failure
to initiate nature in this artificial
work. Europe is the great market for
the artificial flowers of Annoy, and
many q trade secret is no doubt be-
ing given away here as well as
throughout the vast exposition
Ladies who rave will find just cause
in several features Of the Chinese ex-
IL
ihibit. For example, to rave over the
LACQUER ware is good deal easier than
to buy it. Here is lacquer table at
$500. Here are vases, trays, boxes,
statuettes and dozens of beautiful
things that seem half transparent, vet
light, durable and precious. Fuchau
lis the home of the best lacquered ware,
and the best work is made of fine
.varnish Of secret composition. The
process of making the lacquered arti-
Icles is simple enough if you have the
right materials. Your table, box or
tray must be thoroughly seasoned and
substantially made. Note the national
iIrnettO of the Chinese, ThoroughneSs. !.
The varnish or lacquer must be OF ma
Iterials slightly elastic and tough when
dry. If the lacquer is of the transpar-
ent quality or delicateiy tinted IN any
pleasing shade you are quite likely to
have a neat result with four to eight
slvarnishings There are as many kinds
.lof varnishes as there are resins to
make them from, and the important Sc
cret is in the beauty of the varntsh.
The hand embEoideries supply anOth-
err example of Chinese thoroughness,
for there is no wrong side to them. A
perfect pattern Is presented on both
sides Of the work. The character OF
each piece bears inspection. This il
no less true of other work Of every
kind A nation so old does not regard
anything as temporary. Makeshifts
are not part or parcel of its sys'
tenn The ship of state does not sal
with jury mast. The idea of perma.
tnency is in the quality Of nearly ev.
ierything but the funny little toys 70;
the babies.
Chinese history seems to have devel
oped every kind of craft except the
submarine boat and the airship.
might mention also the schooner that
sails over the mohogany bar, which is
not in evidence in the great Chinese Elk
hibit in the Palace of LibeLal Arts.
In the western part of the exhibit
the boats are crowded together tier on
tier. all faithful models Of the craft
used upon the rivers and bays Of Chi
ma and in the coastwise trade. The
official boats for the officers Of the
government have a trim look that
commands respect Tho pleasure boats
indicate much luxury aboard. Here
are the long dragon boats for festival
| events, rowed by twenty men or more
| The sa1npans for up river travel are
! of shallow draft and are poled OF
| towed from one point to another
| The rivers Of China are important ar
teries Of travel and traffic. The cata.
marans, made of large bamboo poles
dashed together, are the surf boats
They are light and buoyant,' and tut
or covered compartment at the middle
of the raft saves the passengers from
a wetting as they go from ship tt
i shore or shore tO shin SIS