448 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION 



of tbe pearly nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), while the background is inlaid with bits 

 of abalone shell. 



There may also be mentioned a table in the same exhibit, where the flowers, forming 

 part of a decorative border upon the top of the table, are made of pearl-oyster shell. 



Some fine specimens of inlaying in furniture were shown in the Italian section by 

 Ferdinando Pogiaui, where mother-of-pearl is used in diamond- shaped and hexago- 

 nal forms, in the Oriental manner, as well as for entire figures inlaid with ivory and 

 ebony, as a decoration in connection with his fine furniture. 



Among many striking applications of pearl-bearing shells to decoration and fur- 

 niture may be noted, in particular, some shown by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating- 

 Company in the Manufactures Building. One of these, a specimen of high art, is an 

 ecclesiastical table. Beneath the edge of the mensa, or top of the altar, which con- 

 sists of a single slab of Carrara marble, is a design of four circles, each containing 

 one of the Apocalyptic emblems of the four evangelists. On the altar frontal, on 

 either side of the center, are two larger circles, each containing a monogram of the 

 Holy Name imbedded in a background of rosary beads made from the Fiji Island 

 pearl shell. The monogram is further enriched by inlays of gold and precious stones, 

 and made to appear iridescent by the addition of the green Japanese mother-of-pearl 

 (abalone shell). (See Pis. 22 and 24.) 



A tabernacle door isbeautifully ornamented with several kinds of pearl shell from 

 South Africa and from Terra del Fuego and Japan. 



On the walls of the chapel, containing part of the above-named exhibit, the green 

 abalone shells were made to simulate peacock's feathers with wonderful success. 



Tiffany & Co. exhibited a very fine piece of work in the dial of a large astronomical 

 clock. This dial measures 20 by 30 inches. The shells are arranged in such a manner 

 as to give sky and sea effects. Inlays of mother-of-pearl shells were also used in 

 elaborate scrolls on some boxes made of shark skin from Long Island Sound and Java, 

 the shark skin being stained green, yellow, and other colors, and polished. 



One of the most interesting objects of pearl inlay was a small round earthenware 

 pot in the collection in the Cliff Dwellers' exhibit, immediately west of the Anthropo- 

 logical Building. In this earthen pot, irregular squares of Unio shell (fresh-water 

 mussel) have been inlaid in hard clay in regular layers , the clay between the pieces of 

 pearl being about the width of the pieces themselves, and producing the effect of 

 mosaic. This is the only object so decorated that has ever been found. 



Pearl-shell has also been utilized in the beautifying of church vestments. Two 

 varieties have been specially used; one form, employed in the decoration of a miter, is 

 peculiarly adapted to the embroiderer's art, as the protuberances on the true pearl 

 oyster, sawn out and pierced, or mounted in a metal border and pierced, can 

 readily be fastened to the embroidery with silk or wire. The other form is beads 

 made from the Fiji Island pearl shell, which have been successfully used in the 

 decoration of a chasuble. The natural surface of the shell is not ground down; only 

 tbe sides are shaped, thus giving a more pearly appearance than if the whole were 

 polished. In Russia, for centuries, this method of embellishing ecclesiastical gar- 

 ments has been practiced with wonderful success. The treasury of the Metropolitans 

 in the Kremlin at Moscow contains an immense number. These applications seem a 

 curious "reversion" to the Indian pearl-covered mantle referred to previously, as 

 indicated by the cut pieces of mother-of-pearl in the American Museum of Natural 

 History. 



