New-York tribune., 1911-03-04
ART EXHIBITIONS
Oriental Antiquities and Modern
American Pictures.

There will be sold at the American Art
Galleries next Monday and Tuesday after
Moons an interesting collection OF anuqu-
ties belonging 70 the Messrs. Tabbagh OF
Paris ami Nsw York II contains some re-
markable pieces Of old glass ana pottery
and il is also rich in Persian manuscripts
illustrated with paintings m miniature.
The examples Of Eastern faIencc. rare plat
ters. ewers. bowls ard so on form Pc
culiarly impressive group. Some OF the
pfeces are notable not only for their artis-
tic beauty but for their historical signln-
cance Thus. the inscription on one piece
of Rakka faTence. mosque lamp OF the
ninth century. associates II with the great
CaIirh Of the classic OF Oriental literature
The unusually good catalogue compiled oy
Mr. Horace Townsend. brings out MANY
such suggestive points in the mass o. ma
terial shown They cffer much that is IN
str,ictive and entertaining 70 the leisurey
amateur. but We must be content 10 draw
attention t. the broad interest of this col
lection.
n Is on the whole novel in character
for while Persian craftsmanship is not uh-
known in our exhibitions II is NOT half 60
familiar "a Is that of China and Japan
Neither. TO be sure. is il half so enchant-
irg. and this for reasons into which " II
perhaps worth while briefly 70 inquire.
Chinese and japanese art is nothing II not
consummately sophisticated. Its traits are
those Of peoples dedicated through CEN
turies tc certain conventions and bringing
tbose conventions. by dint % sheer appli-
caticn. m an extraordinary pitch OF ex-
nraesiyeness The whole character nj
/ chinese porcelain is summed mp in mastery
Of line and color. Texture too counts
enorrnouslv. of course. hut looking for the
very essence Of one Of these beautltn'
works Of art you find il in the makers IN
stipct for form and in his impeccahle taste.
That taste. we NAV add, is above all Things
severe. the taste 20 be expected ot ha-
ton worshipping tradition. And II is pre-
cisalv in taste that we mark the point or
divergence between Persia and the coun-
tries mentioned. You could not say thdt
i,e art was either naive or crude. yet ooth
aritbets hover on ones lips before many
Of the things in the present exhioitioh'
There is color mere. sometimes beWitchlHs
color. but II never possesses quite the iui'
rounded perfection or say, a great piece OF
sang-de-bu,uf and similarly YOU look VI
vain for a Persian senstiveness IN TespeC'
70 line. whether as regards the contour
- an object or the decoration on its sur
facae conparable 10 the sensitiveness ol
CHINA or Japan. Like the bits of Greek
CLASS I'm this collection. which owe much OF
tho charm of their patina 10 long burial
persian faIence is characterized by what
saa,ns an almost accidental beauty. as
buflip1 better fhdn
they knew.
The typical Persian miniature Is dh en-
chanting thing. almost Western in It's real
/ ism and animation and. indeed IL II ho'
very FAR removed from the West IN the
matter Of form. The student VIII ma IN
one of the drawings here (No. 1885, ID the
agure OF a Sybil actually recalling the Itai-
ian Renaissance in its delicate grace a
follower of Botticelli might nave made H.
II ia well to look closely to the drafts
1 uanship in these miniatures. Inc orhl'
lance OF the color leaps 10 the eye ou'
little By little as the ninutely handIeo
designs are examined. there steals over
the beholder a delightful sense OF the
! persian artists constructive skil. lie Is
| no mere maker of picture books. out' on
the contrary. an original and sometimes
/ powerful master OF form. To Western
| a,es i'm fact. his work addresses itself with
a simple force superior 10 trat OF the Jap
anese painting or print. which requires III
tho beholder Il subtler initiation. The
illuminated manuscripts IN this collection
are numerous, and they are strikingly
/ varied in character. They would make a
good independent exhibition, and as 1t /:
thev more than hold their own against the
,veightv merits of the faience, the glass
ar the superb rugs.
In two OF the small upper rooms there
are hung sixty-odd modern pictures. TO b'
sold on Tuesday evening 10 close an estate
Among them are some fairly interesting
nieces-we note capital water color by
Zamacois-but the collection as a whole
ia not imposing Next Friday shere vii
no nlaced on view at the American Ar
lCaIIe,tes the collection of modern painting
and water colors by foreign and American
artists formed by the late Peter A. Schemm
of philadelphia The sale Is scheduled 70
the evenings OF March u. Is and II a
Nendelssohn Hall. THIS collection contain
pir,ures hy the late George Tnness. tn
Late \. " Wyant. Boldini. Meissonier
schrever. most OF the modern 'tchmen
the late Alfred Stevens and many othe
salient individualltles
The memters ot the Salmag gundi Club ar
holding their annual exhibition OF paint