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Show A PEACHBLOW VASE. A MYSTERY OF SEVERAL YEARS SEEMS TO BE CLEARED UP. A Matter That lias L0115 Been of Unusual Interest to Art Collectors Brayton Ives Tells Queer Facts About the Tase and Conditions of His Purchase. The Peachblow vase is in this city. That is the verdict of an amateur Sherlock Sher-lock Holmes, who set about the elucidation elucida-tion of the profound mystery surrounding surround-ing this celebrated piece of porcelain for which $18,000 wa3 paid when it was sold at auction in this city some eight years ago. Moreover; it seems apparent from what this amateur detective has discovered that, while the famous Peach-blow Peach-blow vase belongs to Mr. Brayton Ives and is now in his bouse on Thirty-fourth street, even Mr. Ives himself is still mystified about 6ome things concerning it. Mr. . Ives did not pay $18,000 for the Peachblow vase, and yet Mr. Moss, brother-in-law of Mrs. Mary Jane Morgan Mor-gan and the executor of her estate, affirms af-firms that that enormous sum was paid Into the estate for the vase after the auction auc-tion sale. Nobody can tell who it is that is out of pocket because of the mystery surrounding sur-rounding the Peachblow, but it is certain cer-tain that somebody for a reason best known to himself paid out several thousand thou-sand dollars and has concealed his identity iden-tity up to this date. Mr. Brayton Ives appears to be as much mystified as everybody every-body else. But now that Mr. William T. Walters Wal-ters of Baltimore is dead and a promise of secrecy made by Mr. Ives at the time the vase came into his possession has been fullfilled, he has consented to disclose dis-close some facts not hitherto known in connection with the mystery. "The vase which is now in my possession," posses-sion," said Mr. Ives, "was bought by me from the American Art association, which had conducted the sale of . the Morgan collection. From the outset there was something very mysterious about it. I was given to understand that I was to see something very rare and precious, but that I would have to promise prom-ise to keep it quiet and not tell anybody about it for a certain length of time. Then when my curiosity and interest had been fully aroused I was conducted alone into a shaded apartment. After the doors had been locked and my companion com-panion had looked under the table to be sure there wa3 no one concealed there, a safe was opened cautiously, and this vase was taken out from under its coverings. cover-ings. It looked to me like the Peachblow, Peach-blow, which had vanished so mysteriously." mysteri-ously." "One moment, please," said the amateur ama-teur Sherlock Holmes, "how long after the Peachblow was sold for $18,000 to Mr. Walters, as Mr. Sutton alleged, did this occur?" "From nine months to a year afterward," after-ward," said Mr. Ives. "I bought the vase which was exhibited to me, but I said nothing about it for a long time. I kept it locked in my house. Before I got it I had to promise not to speak about it for a specified time, but that time has elapsed." "How much did you pay for the vase?" "That I am not at liberty to state," said Mr. Ives. "When I bought it, I made two promises, one that I &hould not say anything about it for a specified time, the other that I should never disclose dis-close the purchase price." "What is at the bottom of all thi9 mystery?" "I am unable to guess," answered Mr. Brayton Ives. "Whether or not the vase I bought was the Peachblow vase, there was no reason that I am aware of why the facts should bo concealed." Mr. Ives admitted that the price he paid for the vase was considerably less than $18,000, and as an example of oriental ori-ental porcelain he considered it worth what he had paid for it He said that during the years the vase had been in his possession many things had come to his knowledge about the Peachblow, and that at times he doubted whether the vase in his possession was in reality that famous little mug. It seems that when the vase was sold to him under the mysterious mys-terious circumstances described there was no guarantee that it was the Peachblow Peach-blow vase, and that the comparatively small price at which it was offered tended tend-ed to prove that they were not identical. On the other hand, there are those who assert that Mr. Ives believed he was buying the Peachblow vase, and was at any rate willing to take a "flier" on that assumption. The facts which he has subsequently learned seem to prove beyond any question that he did in reality real-ity buy the famous vase, and that his investment was a judicious one. "Here h one fact, " said Mr. Ives when discussing the pros and cons. "There is a lady in this city who is a friend of Mrs. Moir, who was the sister of Mr3. Morgan. Thi3 lady frequently visited the house of Mrs. Morgan, and there she saw and handled the Peachblow Peach-blow vase many times, examining it carefully. Upon one occasion when visiting vis-iting my house she saw the vase now in my possession and exclaimed: 'I have handled that vase many times. It is the Peachblow!', A careful examination made by her only confirmed this opinion." opin-ion." "The death of Mr. Walters, together with the examination of his collections, have cleared up some of the mystery which surrounds this subject," said Mr. Ives. "'It is now pretty well established that he never had the Peachblow vase. " --New York World. |
