Studio-Talk
form part of a small collection which Messrs.
Yamanaka and Co. are exhibiting in their galleries,
and their excellent condition after the lapse of so
many years is significant 'of the care with which
they have been treated by their owners, evidently
members of the wealthy classes. In the costlier
examples ivory is used, not only for the various
fittings and accessories, but also in conjunction
with lacquered wood for the cage itself. The illus-
trations show two in which the “wires” consist
of thin sticks of ivory. There is also one rare
specimen in which strips of tortoiseshell are used in
the same way; but in the other cases thin bamboo
canes form the bars of the songster’s prison. A
very curious specimen is the one in the form of a car
on wheels. The framework in this case is of wood,
which, like the bamboo canes, is covered with red
lacquer, the brilliance of which is relieved by the
dark lacquer panels. In some of the examples
illustrated, the base is capable of being detached
bodily from the upper part, metal clips being used
to hold the two parts together, and in the case of
all the hanging cages, the hook with the rest of the
attachment is of metal—usually silver—beautifully
wrought. Of particular interest are the numerous
small accessories belonging to the cages, such as the
carved ivory perch, the ivory feeding-sticks and
food receptacles of various kinds, the porcelain
water pots, and so forth. All these utensils and
implements are carefully adapted to their functions,
yet each of them has become, under the magic
touch of the craftsman a real little work of art.
STUDIO-TALK.
(From Our Own Correspondents.)
tONDON.—The exhibition of the Royal
Society of Painters in Water Colours does
not reflect the influences of war. It is
-J just what it might have been in normal
times. Some of the ablest of the members are repre-
sented by admirable examples of their work, and
among these we may especially mention the flower
painter, Mr. Francis James. Mr. F. Cayley
Robinson treats a scene with a title suggestive of
domestic genre, Sunday at Home, in that cold
sculpturesque, almost monumental method which
gives to his subjects a curious decorative importance.
ch’ien lung bird-cage accessories, chiefly of carved ivory
213
form part of a small collection which Messrs.
Yamanaka and Co. are exhibiting in their galleries,
and their excellent condition after the lapse of so
many years is significant 'of the care with which
they have been treated by their owners, evidently
members of the wealthy classes. In the costlier
examples ivory is used, not only for the various
fittings and accessories, but also in conjunction
with lacquered wood for the cage itself. The illus-
trations show two in which the “wires” consist
of thin sticks of ivory. There is also one rare
specimen in which strips of tortoiseshell are used in
the same way; but in the other cases thin bamboo
canes form the bars of the songster’s prison. A
very curious specimen is the one in the form of a car
on wheels. The framework in this case is of wood,
which, like the bamboo canes, is covered with red
lacquer, the brilliance of which is relieved by the
dark lacquer panels. In some of the examples
illustrated, the base is capable of being detached
bodily from the upper part, metal clips being used
to hold the two parts together, and in the case of
all the hanging cages, the hook with the rest of the
attachment is of metal—usually silver—beautifully
wrought. Of particular interest are the numerous
small accessories belonging to the cages, such as the
carved ivory perch, the ivory feeding-sticks and
food receptacles of various kinds, the porcelain
water pots, and so forth. All these utensils and
implements are carefully adapted to their functions,
yet each of them has become, under the magic
touch of the craftsman a real little work of art.
STUDIO-TALK.
(From Our Own Correspondents.)
tONDON.—The exhibition of the Royal
Society of Painters in Water Colours does
not reflect the influences of war. It is
-J just what it might have been in normal
times. Some of the ablest of the members are repre-
sented by admirable examples of their work, and
among these we may especially mention the flower
painter, Mr. Francis James. Mr. F. Cayley
Robinson treats a scene with a title suggestive of
domestic genre, Sunday at Home, in that cold
sculpturesque, almost monumental method which
gives to his subjects a curious decorative importance.
ch’ien lung bird-cage accessories, chiefly of carved ivory
213