Syrian Brasszvork 
SYRIAN BRASSWORK. 
OTHING in New York is less oriental 
in outward aspect, or more oriental in 
spirit than the Syrian Quarter. This region 
lies in Greenwich and Washington Streets 
immediately above 
and for three or four 
blocks below Rector 
Street. In these two 
thoroughfares, and in 
a few of the cross 
streets thereabouts, 
live some thousands 
of Syrians, Armenians 
and others of the 
Turkish Sultan’s 
Christian subjects. 
They use the Arabic 
characters in writing 
and in the newspaper 
which is the organ of 
the colony. In dress 
and appearance they 
are like so many 
Turks, save, indeed, 
those who have 
adopted Yankee cos¬ 
tume. Few of them, 
however, are Mo¬ 
hammedans, and they 
maintain a Christian 
Maronite church, 
where the service is 
accordingtoan ancient 
oriental ritual. The 
Quarter is one of 
many shops in which 
are sold oriental goods 
of numerous kinds, 
among them gay 
cloths, cheap showy 
jewelry and a great 
number of small 
articles such as are 
hawked about the 
streets by peddlers. 
Perhaps the most in¬ 
teresting things sold 
in these shops are 
oriental brasses of many forms and varying 
quality. The wholesale shops of the quarter 
have the largest collection of such articles to 
be found anywhere in this country. These 
gorgeous wares are housed in high dark 
buildings as unoriental in outward aspect as can 
well be imagined. Within, however, they look 
like the bazaars of the East, for they are filled 
from end to end with Damascus brasses, gay 
stuffs from Eastern 
looms, furniture glit¬ 
tering with mother- 
of-pearl inlaid, and a 
thousand and one arti¬ 
cles of ornament and 
use. The articles in 
brass are of all degrees 
of merit, from the 
crudest of hammered 
ware to the most 
delicately etched or 
engraved pieces with 
applied silver, copper 
and gold. All of 
them, however, good 
or bad, fall into one of 
two classes— articles 
for lustral purposes, 
and articles of domes¬ 
tic use. The former 
include lanterns of all 
sizes, from a tiny 
thing that a child may 
carry to an immense 
affair of brass and 
glass, elaborately 
wrought and weighing 
hundreds of pounds, 
censers usually 
formed like the 
minaret of a mosque, 
huge candlesticks, 
and bowls of all sizes. 
The articlesofdomes- 
tic use include trays 
from six inches to 
nearly six feet in 
diameter, braziers, 
jardinieres, tea and 
coffee-pots, bells, 
hand basins and 
ewers, card baskets, 
jewel boxes, measures 
of various sizes, and a number of small objects. 
Most of the articles are sold in this country 
for ornamental purposes, though many of 
A MOSQUE LANTERN 
3 2 4 
