Read the story here courtesy of Gutenberg

Wow, so much art here, where to begin?

The plot of the story revolves around an Italian named Beppo smashing some plaster busts of Napoleon.  The story names a sculptor known only as Devine, however, I came across another website deducing that this French artist only existed in Doyle’s mind.  Pity.   On the Granada adaptation, I adore at how kitsch the plaster casts look.  Especially since the narrative describes at how they cheap they were in the story.  After catching the thief and purchasing the last bust, Holmes and company discover something of a touch more value.

“When our visitor had disappeared, Sherlock Holmes’s movements were such as to rivet our attention. He began by taking a clean white cloth from a drawer and laying it over the table. Then he placed his newly acquired bust in the centre of the cloth. Finally, he picked up his hunting-crop and struck Napoleon a sharp blow on the top of the head. The figure broke into fragments, and Holmes bent eagerly over the shattered remains. Next instant, with a loud shout of triumph he held up one splinter, in which a round, dark object was fixed like a plum in a pudding.

“Gentlemen,” he cried, “let me introduce you to the famous black pearl of the Borgias.”

Lestrade and I sat silent for a moment, and then, with a spontaneous impulse, we both broke at clapping, as at the well-wrought crisis of a play. A flush of colour sprang to Holmes’s pale cheeks, and he bowed to us like the master dramatist who receives the homage of his audience. It was at such moments that for an instant he ceased to be a reasoning machine, and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause. The same singularly proud and reserved nature which turned away with disdain from popular notoriety was capable of being moved to its depths by spontaneous wonder and praise from a friend.”

How do I love this excerpt that I copied and pasted from Gutenberg?  Let me count the ways:

The fact that it references one of the most famous Italian families next to the Medici that acted as patrons for artists.

The fact that Holmes used not a hammer, but a riding crop to destroy the bust.

The fact Holmes blushed at people’s admiration, thus feeding his flair for the dramatic.  Jeremy Brett did a sublime job capturing that.

Lastly, I find it hilarious that Lestrade let Holmes and Watson keep the pearl.  He will risk causing an international incident for Holmes!

On the downside, the story did skate pretty close to stereotyping Italians as uncivilized brutes.

ETA: Removed a sentence.  For those who don’t know, the original passage recapped a scene I found funny.  When I reread this entry a year and a half later, that sentence looked sloppy, so I deleted it.