Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1923-01-18


Carlo Maratta or a similar Sas-
saferato for twenty or thirty
sovereigns. Today those pictures
are fetching their full price.
A friend of mine, some eighteen
months ago bought a Madonna
and Child, painted very beautiful
" by an obvious Italian master
of the seventeenth century. The
price was seventy-five dollars.
He took it home and on exam
nation found it to be Garlic
Maratta, which had once belong
ed to one Of the Dukes of Kent
in the eighteenth century. He took
the picture to famous connois'
seur who told him that when the
Duke of Kent bought the picture
he gave six hundred odd pounds
for it, but that as the fashion
for religious pictures had gone
west" he would be lucky to get
S25 at any reputable auction for
it.
That was about eighteen months
ago. Today pictures by Carlo Ma
rata are fetching from five hund-
red to a thousand pounds.
Human nature is funny thing
MY friend, now that he knows
he can get thousands of dollars
for his SIS painting fatty refuses
to part with it.
But fashion plays funny tricks
with other things besides pictures
Take armour for instance. When
Sir Guy Laking, keeper of the
Kings armOury, died three years
AGO. and his collection was sold
the prices were absurdly low for
eastern arms and armour, while
the European stuff was almost
prohibitive in price. Wonderful
kantanas-the figh%ng, two
handed swords of the old time
Japanese Samurai-sold for a
few pounds; Persian scimitars
dating back to Haroun al Ras'
child, with wonderful Damascus
arabesques cunningly worked in
TO their blades; helmets, then
canal wrought of silver and sill
yer gilt chain armour, fetched
but little more. On the other
hand, the European war harness
was utterly beyond the reach OF
anyone but the very rich.
Today again, things are ex'
actly reversed. Eastern arms
are bringing in the money, while
European stuff is practically go
ing begging.
A Japanese sword dated l25t
by one of the most famous smiths
I'M old Japan, sold last week tol
one hundred and fifty pounds
That same sword two years ago
sold at the Identical sale rooms
for a five pound note.
Whenever a historical play Is
produced which is a success, there
is invariably rush on the part
of those well-to-do persons who
have witnessed it 20 purchase
arms and armour and pictures Of
the period. :.
That is one way. Another Is
in the continual "finds" which take
Mace all over the world and are
reported in the news columns. A
man excavating in a drain comes
on a beautifully sculptured Ro'
man head. 1t is at once photo
rraphed and Photographed al
over the country. Immediately the
sale rooms are flooded with Sculp'
ture good and bad. The good Il
sold at superlative rates, and the
bad along with it.
Human nature is the factor II
nearly all art fashions. an
willing to wager that if you ash
the curator of the New lort
Metropolitan Museum of Art, nj
will tell you that there has beer
an enormous number of people
during the last month, who nave
come to the Museum to ruo W
their scanty knowledge Of Egyp
Itian antiquities. The reason Il
m be found at Luxor, Egypt
where a few weeks ago Lord Car
narvon unearthed one of the bur
led treasure stores of the Phar
oab. Tut-Ankh-Amen, who iive'
and reigned in Egypt, l4oo year
before Christ.
] nv