£800,000 FOR PORCELAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15884, 3 April 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

£800,000 FOR PORCELAIN.

A BIG ART DEAL.

FORTUNE IN A VASE.

Is- the stagnant art circles of London quite a flutter has been caused by the announcement to the effect that the sn»at Pierpont Morgan collection of Oriental porcelain had been bought by the house, of Duveen for a colossal sum. People had begun to believe that war had battered down not only acts, hut views, of ail dealing, and many lean years were piopliesied. The en bloc purchase, tlierefoie. oi ,i -famous art collection at the price of £800,000 will come both as a shock and a restorative to those who felt that «ar was absorbing all the world's money.

It is quite true that the collection is American, and that the Duveens do no; now operate from London -but frumt'ai.j and New York—yet the magnitude of tne transaction proves not only that ti.e world's art treasures are still negotiable, but that the high prices <>[ tie pip .i d ' times of peace are likely to be maintained. What the allied plenipotentiaries luve done for their finances; «nat the diamond merchants have done tor prec iou> st«>i;e*, has been matched by the principal* i this Morgan sale for art. It huglai,.;, France, or Russia has eventually to .-• 1 to America any of her valuable art possessions in the hands of pnvate (.olid. :-, as the direct result of war demand.*. .1 .a alleviating to know thai values will nut seriously decline. The Garland' Nucleus. Mr. Louis Duveen, the Paris i<q limitative ut the well-known art firm, "iitinued tile report ol the New V ik -.':•., but added that the purchase price .'.is 4,000.000, not 3,000,0u0. of dollar.-:, and was emphatic on the point that his i.'u.-e were the sole purchasers. I lie Unw-ens never syndicate. Further, the history ■: the Morgan collection is inseparably , ■ nnected with the firm. In the first place, the nucleus »i the ~,! lection is the line Oriental porcelain wiii-n the Duveens sold at various limes to the late James Garland, piesident of the National Bank in New I'ork. In 1895 tl. s collection was valued at £60.000. and a special wing was built for it when loaned to the Metropolitan Art Museum. After Mr. Garland's death in 1900 the coile..ti-.-i remained on loan, and some thoug.it that it would be given to the American oat: u. On March 7, 1902. however, the announcement was made that the Duveen-. bad bought it back for £120.000. and .i few days later we stated that they hat. .-•. Id it "to the late Mr. Pierpont .Morgan. 'Ilia selling price included a commission of 15 per cent. The collection still remained on loan in New York, and challenged comparison with tho Grandidier, in the Louvre,- the Salting loan at South Kensington, and the Walters collection in Baltimore. Story of a Vase. Mention of the Salting porcelain-now a permanent national possession—reminds one of the most famous trophy of all in the Morgan-Garland cases—the " red-hawthorn vase." This was once in the Salting collection. Like m£iy rich men, the late Mr. George Salting was somctmes obsessed with the fear of becoming poor. He was caught in one of these moods one day by the late. Sir Joseph Duveen, >vho promptly wheedled him into selling tins lovely pink-red enamel vase for £800 It was speedily passed on to Mr. Picipont Morgan at £900, to form another addition to the collection which he was beg'nning to gather. Not long ago it was valued at £40.000, and is reckoned to be one of the most beautiful pieces of K'Ang Hsi porcelain in the world. To the Garland nucleus Mr. Morgan added many other valuable trophies, especially in the " blatk-vase - ' section, remarkable for the lustrous-green enamel glaze, and in the "peach-blow." "sang do poulet," "sang de taoeiif," and other rarities dear to the trained collector. Columns might be written on the glories of the collection. Even the illustrated, cata'oguo of it cost about £200 a copy. But the outstanding fact at the present time is that the sale of the Morgan porcelain has not only been possible but has realised a sum commensurate with the amount expected if the world had not been suffering from the wastage of war.