International studio (31.1907)

Practical Points on IVood-Cawing

to be stained, there are a number of preparations
on the market which are easily applied, but,
whether coloured or not, wood-carving should never
be finished with a high polish, as the reflected lights
will destroy the effect of the work. Both oak and
mahogany will darken with age, if one has the pa-
tience to wait. An application of equal parts of
boiled linseed oil and turpentine will hasten the
process, and will, if repeated, in time give a fine, hard
finish, which nothing else equals.
In no other way is the increasing interest in the
handicrafts more plainly shown than in the growing
number of people who have taken up the art of
wood-carving and in the improved quality of the
work which is now being done. Many New York
women have work in their homes which compares
favourably with anything which can be seen in the
collections in museums. A most interesting chest
has recently been completed by Miss Hetta L. H.
Ward, of Newark, N. J., as a gift to her brother, Dr.
William Ward. As he is an authority on old seals
and cylinders, the decorations have been taken
from some of the most famous ones of Babylonia
and neighbouring countries. The front shows two
seals of the earliest Babylonian period, one of them
containing the name of Targon I, whose date is
usually placed at 8300 B. C., in which Gilgarmish,
identified with the Biblical Nimrod, is giving water
from a spouting vase to a buffalo. In the other
Gilgarmish is fighting a lion.
The two ends of the chest are from Assyrian seals
of about 700 B. C. and show the contests of winged

gods with the winged monsters which represent evil
powers.
On the cover are Persian designs. One is from the
famous seal of Darius, in which the king is seen in
his chariot, killing lions. The other shows two
winged monsters, supporting the divine emblem of
the winged solar disk, while between them is the
moon god. The borders are all of corresponding
periods, showing cattle, monstrous genii, the sacred
tree, the winged disk, palmettes and rosettes.
Another ambitious piece of carving has just been
completed by Miss Emily Slade, who has recently
built a summer home in Windsor, Vt. In the large
hall is a reproduction of the stairway in Cluny
Museum, Paris, for which she has done all of the
carving. The newel post shows a female head and
bust, ending in lion’s paws, with acanthus scrolls,
and the long string-pieces are heavily enriched with
decorations of fruit and flowers, with ribbon fes-
toons. Such a piece of work as this would have
been considered utterly impossible for a woman to
accomplish twenty years ago. Interest in wood-
carving is not by any means confined to the younger
generation alone. Many society women in New
York have taken it up as a pastime, some of them
well past middle life, and have accomplished sur-
prisingly good work.
The Institute of Arts and Science in Manchester,
N. H., has probably the largest and most enthusias-
tic classes in wood-carving to be found in this
country. Its art section is endowed, and is unique
in that all of the classes are open to any respectable
person in the State, on payment of
the yearly fee of three dollars, this
being the only expense, except for
tools and materials. A stranger who
had the privilege of entering the
homes of the city would be aston-
ished at the number of pieces of
beautiful carved furniture contained
in them.
In closing, a word as to the health-
fulness of wood-carving as an oc-
cupation may not be amiss. Like
everything else, it can be overdone,
but unless a person has some
trouble which prevents standing,
an hour or two at the bench every
day will do a great deal to strengthen
and develop the muscles of the
arms, shoulders and back, as well as
providing a pleasant mental stimu-
lus, which is equally beneficial. It
is a distinct advantage to any one to


SHAPING BY ELEANOR
ILLUSTRATION FROM ROWE
‘practical wood-carving”

LXXXIV