The mirror., 1919-03-20
Objects Of Art
Continued from page one)

of earlier times. To catalogue the variety
of such things would require page after page.
Naturally nearly all such objects are
''handy" in size and one does not look fol
particularly large specimens of war prison
ers' art work. One begins to realize, after
visiting the convalescents' ward of a mill
tary hospital, what blessing to the soldier
some knowledge of an art handicraft may
be. have seen several marvellous things
whitfield out of wood by prisoners of war,
bone carvings. beadwork, jewelry that indi-
cate the godsend the work must be to the
soldier prisoner detained in the enemy's
camp. But of all these objects know OF
none that are more beautiful than those OF
straw marqueterie.
I do not know where the art originated.
Mr.. Hodgkin confessed to like hiatus in
his knowledge of the subject. However,
have no doubt but that artistic straw
inlaying was practiced in the Orient at a
very early date. Thence it may have been
brought into Europe. feel sure that it
was known and practiced during the period
of the Renaissance in Italy, and l consider
the old Italian examples of this craft to be
the earliest European ones.
This early Italian straw marqueterie is
distinguished by its rich golden browns Of
various shades, suggesting the richness Of
Venetian pictures. The objects to be Gov
cred by the artist in straw were of variou.
materials, such as wood, paper, papier.
mache, cloth and occasionally glass, meta
or bone. The design, pattern or picture
was worked out by pasting fliments and
little sections of straw (stained to variou:
colars) on the surfaces of objects to be GOV.
erered, and then vanished. The minute.
ness of some of this straw work is extraor-
dinary. 1t would seem TO have necessirated
the use of glass of high magnifying pow.
er requiring almost superhuman patience
and ingenuity to put it together. Moreover,
early pieces in straw marqueterie we're SC
faithfully fabricated that they have come
down to us in excellent condition.
imagine the French learned the art o,
straw marqueterie from their Italian cousins.
l feel sure that the Spanish craftsmen did
At any rate French prisoners of war have
shown themselves wonderfully proficient ia
this art in the past. The French prisoners
of the Napoleonic wars who we're quartered
in England were prolific in their output Of
this sort. Numerous tea-caddies have
seen from their hands, here and their pre-.
served in the cottages of the country round
about Peterborough. At nearby Norman
Cross was one of the chief camps of the Ma
poleonic prisoners of war. We are told
that regular market for the art wares
made by French prisoners at Norman Cross
was held daily in the camp. Perth was an
other prisoner of war concentration centre
and contemporary writers tell US that the
objects made by the French prisoners there
we're of finer design and quality than like
things produced by the English townsmen,
in consequence of which there was brisk
market rivalry. At Dartmoor, Stapleton.
Liverpool and Greenland vallyfeld the
French war prisoners exhibited their skill.
At the Liverpool prison they constructed
little straw marqueterie cases to contain
miniature ships and like articles.
In Francis AbeIl's, "Prisoners of War in
Britain" 1756-1815, the author says, in
speaking of the Greenland Valleyfeld prison
where the making of straw into strawplai,
was carried on by. the prisoners of war,
"The employer gave oHt the straw and
paid for the worked article, three sous pei
'brasse,' little under s.. Some men could
make twelve 'brasses' day. Beaudoin Ia
sergeant-major of the 3lst Line Regiment,
set to work at it, and in the course of q
month became an adept. After four year:
came the remonstrance of the country peo,
pie that this underpaid labor by untaxed
men was doing infinite injury to them;
the government prohibited the manufacture
and much misery among prisoners resulted
i AioLh ehAS PlOuIOAtIOu IcSuItcU the OutSlQe
smuggling of straw into the prison and SELL
ing it later as the manufactured article;
and very profitable industry it must have
been, for we find that, during the trial o1
Matthew Wingrave in 1878, for engaging
in the strawplait trade with the prisoners a,
Valleyfeld, it came out that Wingrave,
who was an extensive dealer in the article,
had actually moved up there from Bedford.
shire on purpose to carry on the trade and
had bought corn6elds for that purpose.
What stories these objects of art made BY
prisoners of war could tell could they bu
speak! What silent testimonies of grit,
patience and fortitude! But perhaps w
may be glad that we do not know all they
might tell, for today has sorrow enough
and we should be grateful that time ha.
been kind enough to leave US just the beau.
ty and not the life details of these object.
froru the hands of those who suffered in the
yesterdays of other wars.
Decisive Naval Battle