AH GEE’S EXHIBITION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume III, Issue 526, 5 January 1882, Page 2

AH GEE’S EXHIBITION.

There is at present on view, for a short season, at Fowler’s Buildings, Tancred street, an exhibition well worthy of a visit. This is a collection of models, toys, and carvings by Ah Gee, who hails from the Flowery land. The Chinese have ever borne away the palm for their ingenuity, and the specimens of Mr Ah Gee’s workmanship we inspected to-day are amongst the most ingenious things of the kind we have ever seen. One of the principal models is a beautifully-executed one of Pictori, the town and harbor, together with the principal buildings, and the railway station with a train of several passenger carriages, which emerges from a covered shed at the will of the operator, anjl runs along the line in the most realistic way. The wharf is also shown., with moving models of the s.s. Arawata, the schooner Pelican, and yachts Hine and Lily at anchor in the harbor. In the background are the hills. The town of Wanganui is another prettily-finished model, the river and the bridge also being shown. The model of the Mongarewa Gorge, in the hot springs district, by moonlight, is also well worth looking at. The trees are wonderfully carved, and the bridge, with the water tumbling beneath, very cleverly executed. In the foreground are several Maoris dancing about a wood fire. The Rotomahana terraces, with the hot springs shown, give one a better idea of what this interesting region is like than a hundred photographs. Amongst the other curiosities is shown a tabletop about five feet in diameter, composed of something like 200 pieces of highly-polished native woods. This ♦ specimen is very beautiful indeed, and no doubt would command a fancy price if offered for sale. Round the walls are hanging some scores of exquisite carvings of initial letters in Old English, German Text, Gothic initials, and some exceedingly grotesque initials executed in the form of comic figures of men and animals. But we have not space to describe half the curiosities to be seen at Ah Gee’s, and would recommend our readers to pay the exhibition a visit, for they will be able to spend an amusing half hour by doing so. We may mention that the artist has seen but few of the places he has modelled so cleverly; the majority of them he. has taken from photographs, including a nice model of the Great Eastern ■ steamship.