The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908, 1907-11-30
Treasures of Spanish Art.
New York Herald.)


Hispanic Society of America, at One Hundred and
Sxty-seventh and Broadway, which has been the OBJ
ect of so much curiosity for the last two years. are
opened to the public next month what probably is the
finest collection of Spanish antiquities in the world
will be on view
Mr.. ]. Pierpont Morgan in his private collection
has many very valuable specimens of Spanish art,
but they form but department in his fine treasury.
Even the exhibit of the British museum, in London,
according to connoisseur, cannot compare in size,
rarity or extent with that housed in the library
in Audubon park. Collectively the building and
its contents represent about four million dollars in
money value, though intrnsca1ly money could not
replace many of the art works, for they the only
ones of their kind far antiquarians and relic
hunters know
This valuable array of beautiful Spanish objects is
the work of just one man, Mr.. Archer NJ Hunting
ton son of the late Coils P Huntington and heir to
his vast estate For more than eighteen years Mr..
Huntington who is Spanish scholar of marked at
tainments, has been making the collection, He has
explored every of Europe his quest for any
rare article representing either the pottery, painting
photography or architecture of that country
AS consequence of this search there has been
gathered from every part of the world, but principally
from Spain these rare and costly specimens which
are to serve as types supplement the work of the
Spanish student If the latter wishes to bit of
real Spanish pottery: all he need do is to select it
from the catalogue and satisfy his desire If he wants
to know the details of Spanish architecture not from
some other person who has it, he find it at
hand
Included in the collection many mosaics.
One particular specimen, which ornaments the west
wall of the entrance hail. is than two thousand
years old Then there old things beautifully
glazed with brilliant colors, and editions of books
published long before the art of painting invent
ed many of them in the handwriting of famous his
torical men.
Particularly curious the ecclesiastical paintings
which hang on the north wall of the gallery Brought
direct from the walls of old Spanish churches, where
they were for hundreds of years, they to ehale
curious flavor of old time piety Marble tombs
there are too which have been brought at great
cost and set up in their entirety to show how the
Spanish grandees honored their dead.
In the collection also are quaint iron and steel
knockers, locks and other ornamentatons for doors,
porce1ains of great antiquity and beauty, carved
woods and worries, bronzes and old coins, not to
speak of thousands of volumes of Spanish works
bearing on the subject at hand
1t was the aim of the architect, Charles ?. Hunting
ton to keep the interior of the building IN harmony
with Spanish ideas and the reading room, which oc-
cupies the largest division of space is Illustrative OF
the patio of Spanish dwellings. The mezzanine floor
is held up by heavy archways the pillars being rich
1y covered with Gotta in Spanish renaissance de-
sign Unlike the real patio, which is in reality an
open court roof is added. Otherwise the idea has
been correctly followed. The mezzanne floor is fitted
with cases containing the curios. Just above them
hang the ecclesiastical paintings and tapestries.
To lovers of ceramics feature of the new library
will be of greater interest than the fine collection of