Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-14
RARE WORK Of ART
ON VIEW IN CAPITAL
Engraved Bust of Queen Vic.
toria as Young Lady in
Private Collection.
BY JESSIE g. BEACH.

Art has varying degrees of refinement
which manifest themselves In different
ways. One artist may excel with canvas
and brush, another may reach the
height of his genius with the etcher's
point. Still another may realize the
climax Of his art in simple relief or
deep carving. It Is this rare ability
that Is exemplified in a deeply engraved
bust of Queen Victoria, as a young
lady, executed In a three eighths- Inch
square, cornflower blue sapphire. which
recently came to Washington and Is now
in the private art collection of Mr.. G.
Calusd, 1918 Connecticut avenue.
OF all the beautiful objects in nature
that appeal OF the imagination few hold
q more prominent place in art mythol-
ogy and poetry than the gem stone.
Gems are the bright colored and bril-
liant objects in the inorganic world that
may pleasantly be compared with the
butterflies and hummingbirds Of the
animal kingdom. Since the earliest
time, scientists say, man has carved
these precious objects for personal
adornment. Gem carving was known
to the BabylonianS thousands OF years
before Christ. The early Egyptians
used them profusely and In China the
origin of jade cutting is lost In the mist
of antiquity.
Love for Carved Stones Continues.
Down through the ages has come this
variety Of materials as we'll as styles
of carvings has been employed. Be-
cause of its extreme hardness, how
ever, the sapphire is rarely carved, a
fact which adds all the more to the in
terest of this beautifully carved stone
which, gem experts Of both New York
and Washington say, is perhaps not
only the smallest deep engraving extant,
but in quality one Of the rareSt OF all
known sapphireS.
Although the bust itself Is so delicately
engraved that, to one unaware, its
vaguest outline escapes the attention
of the natural eye, far more delicate
IS the surrounding inScription-top, Re-
gina; left side, Victoria, and right side,
Briton-which, as one would naturally
expect. is legible only under high mag
MITIGATION.
In legend and fable the cornfiower
blue color characteristic Of valuable
sapphire has long been emplelnatic Of
deep affection and, as Mr.. CaluSd res
marked, it may have been this urge
that occasioned the carving for, al
though the date of the engraving. the
artists name and, in fact, the slightest
detail regarding the creation Of this
unique piece of art have been hope
lessly lost, the deep admiration of the
artist for the young queen is clearly re-
fected In refinement Of workmanship.
Serves as Token Of Affection.
Whether or not it was originally in
tended as a token of affection, the
stone has twice since served that pur-
pose. cit was my fathers custom as
q collector Of rare art" Mr.. Calusd ex-
planned, Ito make frequent journeys
from his home in Bucharest to Con-
stantinople, where, during his visits to
the Sultan's palace, he frequently had
amples Of Turkish art. About SO years
ago my father bought this uniquely
carved sapphire from q member Of the
Turkish royal family, but for some I'M
known reason, failed to ascertain
whether it was a Turkish carving or
perchance had been brought from some
foreign land.
So satisfying was the carving to my
fathers artistic nature, however, that
of all his art possessions he selected
this as the choicest specimen to pre-
sent as a love token to my mother.
The carving again served as q token
OF deep affection when, several years
later, my mother presented it to me,
then young man, In appreciation Of
my recognition as an artist, several of
my paintings having been purchased by
the Queen of Rumania for that coun-
try's national gallery Of art"
Held rs Heirloom.
"Since coming into our family" Mr..
CaluSd added, this stone mas never
been for sale, but has been held as q
precious heirloom, to which it would
be difficult to attach even an approx
mate value"
Mr.. Calusd has made no effort to
display this stone in Washington, and
it is only in the interest of art and
in response to the urge of his friends
that he has agreed to show 1t privately,
by special appointment, to those sufti-