Alaska sentinel., 1905-05-04
CHINA VERY VALUABLE
crockery that VIII Bring Its Weight
 in Gold from Connoisseurs.


 in Gold from Connoisseurs.
 The possessor of cups or saucers with fve-clawed green dragon burned upon them or bowl with dec oration consisting of sixteen-petaied chrysanthemum can sell the fragile ware for its weight in purest gold. But however richly decorated the piece of porcelain may otherwise be, unless the dragon has five claws and the chrysanthemum sixteen petals, no more and no less. 1t has no value in one particular respect.
 A green dragon with five claws Is the crest of the Chinese emperor and is the only porcelain manufactured for his special use that is permitted 10 bear that device. Indeed. in China the seyerest penalties are enforced against any one even found with such porcelain in his possession.
 For a similar reason search through all the bric-a-brac stores in the United States for little cup with sixteen petaled chrysanthemum on it, and the chances are a thousand to one you will be disappointed. Cups. bowls and saul cers you will, of course, find in plenty with chrysanthemums on them, but on close inspection you will discover the flower may nave almost any number of petals but sixteen.
 As a fve-claw dragon Is the crest of the Chinese emperor, so a sixteen petaled chrysanthemum is that of his imperial majesty of Japan, and porce- lain so decorated Is also for his use only. To prevent any of this porce- lain reaching the outside market the greatest precautions are taken both in the factory and the palace. All pieces not in use or rejected ar the factory ns imperfect are at once destroyed by officers appointed for that purpose. But in spite of penaldes and precau- rions a few pieces Of both do oc- casionally escape official vigilance, and these are likely to be found in the most unexpected places. Here. for in- stance. is the story of fye-claw green dragon saucer which was picked up at a sale for less than cents.
 A few years ago curio hunter bid in a job lot al an auction on &C., count of an old pistol which was of fered with several other apparently worthless objects. But in the lot was A saucer with a single green dragon on the inside surface. II was rather a quaint-looking piece, but as the curio hunter explained subsequently, he was not particularly interested in porcelains and at the time would have readily made il present to any one for the asking. He figured out that 1T cost him less than cents.
 In year or two the owner decided to dispose of his curios by auction. AS his collection was well known, many people came to inspect 1t before the sale. He was then not little surprised to be asked by an apparently much interested person whether the saucer would be included in the sale, as 1t was not entered on the catalogue. The saucer had been entirely over looked, but 1t was finally decided 10 include 1t in the sale. though It was not supposed the piece would bring 10 cents.
 So, after the important numbers had been disposed of, the auctioneer put up the saucer, with a few pre- liminary facetious remarks. He asked if any one would bid cents for the saucer. and 5 cents was promptly of fered. Then came bid of g cents. capped by another of 50 cents and be- tween two competitors the price rose briskly to sl9. At s23 1t was finally knocked down, to the astonishment of all the uniniuated present. But the two bidders happened to know the value of a fve-claw dragon when they saw one, at any rate on saucer. The subsequent history of the saucer, 100. was not uneventful. In a year or two it was again sold al auction and was then bought by dealer al a big advance on the s23. By him it was taken east and resold into one of the finest collections. where Ii now reposes in handsome glass case.