The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1904-12-08
HISTORY OF CANOES.
Shells, Eggs and Soft Stones Used Be-
fore ONYX Was Known.

IOTc OnyH was r\HO"H'
An interesting lecture was recently
delivered by Mr.. Cyril Davenport at
the Royal Institution, London, dealing
with the beautiful handicraft dating
from Ptolemaic times-cameos. Mr..
Davenport maintained that a first rate
intaglio on hard stone was the finest
work of art which could be wrought by
the hand Of man. IntagliOs, however,
he explained, were normally intended
for the purpose of making impressions
being therefore. only a means to an
end, whereas a cameo was complete in
itself. He described the process nee
essary to the production of a cameo,
including the mysteries Of the bow
drill, cutting diamond point, and mod
ern gem cutters lathe. A short &C
count was also given of the early his
tory of canoes on shells. eggs and
soft stones before the discovery of
onyx as the material specially adapt
ed for cameo cutting. The Graeco-
Roman, and especially the Augustan,
period was rich in canoes, and almost
every great Roman wished to have
his portrait cut in onyx. One of these
an exquisite portrait of the emperor
himself, which formerly belonged to
the Strozzi collection. is perhaps the
finest existing cameo Such portrait
canoes were practically indestructible
except by accident. The large came
os-the Triumph Of Bacchus." at the
Vatican: the Agate de Tibre," at
Paris, and the "Gemma Augesten," at
Vienna-were described in detail, and
much curious information was given
about the signatures on canoes. When
these signatures were in relief they
were undoubtedly genuine, but when
in intagiio they might be forgeries,
and many such signatures were known
to have been forged during the Rem
aiSsance.
Regarding the glass plates the fin
est instances of glass canoes are to
be found upon the Portland vase and
the Auldjo vases, both in London, and
ON the Vase des Vendanges, at Naples.
The remarkable change from the
classical and neurological designs of
the Graeco-Roman times to the Chris
tian themes CT the fourth century,
when Constantine the Great became
Christian, is curiously illustrated in
canoes. Hercules was christened
David" Perseus and the Gorgon be-
came David ard Goliath" and Ven
uses and Ledas were turned into "Vir-
gin Marys;' and the great Agate de
Tibre" ct Paris was only saved from
destruction by being called the "Tri-
umph of Joseph in Egypt" Then at
the Renaissance they all went back
again, and classical art recovered it's
lost position. The Renaissance cam
60 cutters were very skilled work
men, but in spite of their general
high level they had not succeeded in
making any very important cameo, al
though the "Hymeneal Procession of
Eros and Pschye" realized high price.
They were, however, eminently sue
cessful in the setting Of gems. Pope
Plus II. and Lorenzo de Medici be-
slowed high and learned patronage in
the matter Of engraved gems. Two
very charming pendants with cameo
portraits of Queen Elizabeth repre-
sented English work, and fine recent
work has also been executed by Ed
ward Burch. Marchant, Wray and
Brett. In Great Britain, however, the
art YVES virtually lost. and Bernardo
Pistrucci. chief enoraver to the mint.
who designed the beautiful group of
st. George and the Dragon on the Eng
lish sovereign coin was really the last
great cameo designed In France fine
work has been done in late years by
Adolph David. Henri Francois. Geor-
ges Lemaire and others.-Scientifc
American.