New-York tribune., 1912-01-28

cent Is the presence in the water. beside
the boat, of a number of those who had
scoffed at Noah's precautions and who
are now paying the penalty by grace
fu,,v drowning while he and his family
look on. It is quaint specimen.
In another picture here, representing n
shoemaker. set down as a seventeenth
century Persian adaptation from a con-
temporary European picture. there Is a
dvnamic quality that may be taken as a
Western infusion. The same quality
would have been appropriate In another
seventeenth century tinted drawing,
Cavalry Fighting Elephant" but it is
not found here except a suggestion of II
in the swinging weapon of the armored
man. The elephant is so placed as to
threaten the soldier. but its attitude has
nothing of this character. 1t is Eastern
in its static quietness and in the heed
paid to detail.
! Among the drawings in this collection
are several bearing the seal Of Shah Alb
! has. a ruler who flourished from 1856 TO
well as a patron of the painters and
other art workers of his time. From the
evidences adduced 1t is also shown that
( Shah Abbas collected what were even
/ then "6ld masters" The Kevorkian col
lection contains several noteworthy spec
linens that were once in the possession
of this stately parsonage.
Coming to the ceramics, one finds here
cabinets filled with jars, bowls. plates
and little vessels of singular beauty of
shape and texture. Nature has assisted
in the decoration of some of the very old
pieces by incrustng them with rides
cent surfaces during their long burial In
the earth. But with or without this
, precious iridescence these memorials of
old Persian work evince creative power
Of very high order. There are octagon
bowls here in which the archltectonic
| feeling is strong. Plates and vases, in
their color and skin. and in the ingenious
decorative patterns that in many cas- ss
cover them, are of lustrous hue and
haunting symmetry of form. They set 4
standard which it would be hard for
modern wOrkmen of any nation 10 equal.
Without referring in detail I'm this
place TO the exhibits In the Architect
ural Leagues twenty-seventh annual
show, which opens to-day at the Fine
Arts Building it may be remarked again
that nearly anybody at all interested In
the practical bettering Of the buildings
In which we live and of the decorative
factors for their adornment will find
himself well repaid for the time taken
TO visit the galleries. 1t is doubtless
the architect is most closely connected
with the actuality of the life of his time.
Questions that may remain more or less
academic when applied TO paintings or
sculpture become living realities when a
mans house Is concerned, and scarcely
less so when the buildings involved are
those In which he does his work or en-
Joys his leisure.
II is not so long ago. for example, that
serious attention began 10 be paid 10
beauty Of design and appropriateness OF
decoration in theatres. For some years
past, however. there has been scarcely
one exhibition by the Architectural
League in which there were no examples
Of projects OF of completed work by ar
chitects or sculptors or mural painters
or all three. for American playhouses
The present exhibition is no exception
seen here will probably prove as stimu-
lating to popular interest on account OF
It's subject as anything in the exhibit