The sun., 1903-06-21
THE STORY OF GREEN BOTTLE
AN OLD CHINESE PRODUCTION
THAT HAS CHARMED MEN.
Its Journey From London. Passing From
Hand to Hand with Increasing Appre.
citation. to . New Homo where II
Now Draws tho True W0rsfippers.

Its Journey From London. Passing From
Hand to Hand with Increasing Appre.
citation. to . New Homo Where 1t
Now Draws tho True Worsiippers.
There Ia an old green bottle in New York.
and there are many men who love 1t. It
| is empty but what a mockery to say so.
For it is filed with associations which en-
hance ts beauty and It's value beyond the
worth that any material contents could
| give to It.
1t is a bit OF Chinese clay, fred by a
| Celestial potter. and glazed in color that
has been potent with mankind since the
| infancy Of the race. The investigators de-
clare green to have had peculiar charm
for primitive people. and they learn that
| among the cultivated In ssthetics its at
traction is as grcat to-day.
This green bottle from the Flowery
| Kingdom came to New York from London,
where some years ago. before Chinese
| ceramics had the great number OF ad-
mirers they have to-day, 1t attracted the
attention Of member OF New Works most
conspicuous jewelry house. 1t WAS with
out pedigree; the New Yorker bought it
for it's color. which was not exactly like any
| other green he had ever seen.
But let the story come from an enthusiast,
| who, parting from the bottle once. loves
it now better than ever. an art lover and
collector known to every collector in the
! city, who bought the vase from the jew
eler:
when l saw the vase / succumbed,
he said. II was just making collection
| OF Chinese single color porcelains, and to
possess that strange. charmf'il piece OF
green, with its graceful shape, fairly
thrilled me. I never knew before then
that could fall in love with bottle. l
became the happy possessor OF 1t for little
| more than $50 and was proud Of 1t for
several years.
"Then wandered among pictures in my
collecting, and when friend from Boston,
a lawyer. fell a victim to the green bottles
charms finally let him have it. with some
pangs, but for the substantial earnest Of
his true appreciation Of it, expressed In
the sum OF $3.50.
I'm the course OF time it passed to the
collection Of the greatest collector OF Chinese
porcelains New York has known, and there
it began to be appreciated at its true value.
He caressed it, smoothed its rounded surface
with his hand whenever he took 1t up,
as he would the tenderest cheek of beauty.
and when his friends and the admirers Of
porcelain came on pilgrimages to visit it
yes, to visit the vase-he never handed it
to them without first softly enfolding the
treasure in his hands as a mother wraps
the dearest child to her bosom
~ know what you want, know what
you have come up for o-day, he would say
sometimes in greeting to the visitors who
tried to make him believe that they had
dropped in for a social chats That green
bottle, eh? Well when we have attained
the proper frame Of mind we'll approach
it
And presently. with eyes brilliant with
brimming appreciation Of his singular treas
| ure, hewoud produce it, holding it with the
| utmost deicaoy OF admiration. No one
could duplicate that particular bottle.
In that was one Of its rare charms to the
true collector.
when this distinguished man passed
| on from the world which he had found
so beautiful and had made contribute to
| him, in his home, Of it's natural beauties
| and OF the art productions Of many peoples,
the choice green bottle was viewed with
| envious and covetous eyes by many a COL
lector. Each wondered how to get it. and
when the collection came on exhibition,
prior to dispersal at public auction. there
| was the queerest manpuvring to secure
| the first look at the green gem. first pri-
vate look, go that one might fortify himself
by this new, rekindling glance. and nerve
himself to bid to the height of his admira-
ton when the bottle came up for sale.
1T reminded me of certain famous sale
from private house on Fifth avenue many
years ago, when all the collectors wanted
to be the first to see a particular treasure
which the owner was known to have, and
the owner had therefore made it a point
that nobody should get in to see it alone,
and 80 made an engagement to have all the
eager ones meet at a certain hour in his
reception room and 60 upstairs to the gal
lery in body.
when the hour arrived every man was
tbere-and you would name them il you
named the best-known collectors in town.
Each kept an eye on the others to see that
no one got too far ahead az the owner led
us out through the hall to the elevator.
There came the surprise. One who has
since been one of tho most successful COL
lectors in the United States-and know
the reason why he is now-suddenly ceased
to give any heed to the order of precedence
bowed every man Of us in, even the host
Then he stepped in easily.
we were paralyzed at the unusual polite
ness at such time and watched him then
instead Of each other, trying to read his
nscrutable countenance. When the ele-
| vator stopped we woke up. He was the
first man out and he stepped nimbly into
the gallery and drew a bee line for the.
object Of our common quest. He has had
my most sincere admiration as man of
fnesse from that hour.
well. at the auction the collectors bid
freely upon the green bottle until it went
far above 81 900. and then they began to
falter. knowing that it had never sold for
anywhere near such a sum. was hum
BILE bidder myself. One OF the richest
Of trust magnates dropped out OF the
bidding at $500 and bachelor merchant
took the bottle at close to 5000. That
was five years ago.
To-day the vase is enthroned in the
appreciative bachelors home, and the
price he paid for 1t will probably never
buy il again. II dominates his superb COL
lection OF Chinese porcelains. II is in the
top Of q case Of single colors and his friends
do homage to it, enriched as It ia now by
he associations which have attached to
it in it's American career, passing from
collector to collector, but especially the as
soCiations that cling to IL from having