French Antiquarians' Find and Attempt to Palm off on Them a Set of Forgeries Peking, May 15
Buried bronzes Shansi form the basis an interesting story that with the local authorities and gentry of Munyuanhsien, a small town near Tatungfu, an agreement for the purchase of certain old bronzes. that had been found buried in the round in that neighbourhood.
News of the find and of the arrangement made to sell the treasures to foreigners had, however, penetrated to the Capital and, suen after the bargain had been concluded, four Chinese merchants in Peking, so it is alleged, xot into touch with a certain Li, who was cone of the signatories tothe agree ment, and concocted a neat plo duping the foreigners and securing the bronzes for themselves. Duplicates of the bronzes were made and substituted for the originals, but Messrs, Wannieck and Grosjean, discovering that the changes had been made, declined to accept delivery and protested to the authority Eventually the affair was brought to the notice of the French Legation and, as a result of representa tions to the Waichiaopu, the Shansi authorities were instructed to ensure the carrying out of the agreement and the punishment of the plotters. According to the latest information, however, Messrs, Wannieck and Grosjean are still without their bronzes and the officials of Shansi are betraying but little interest in the matter.
The Fake Allegation May 16, With reference to the report who later are alleged to have found that duplicates had been substituted for the originals, it is suggested in certain quarters' that the. original bronzes were false from the begicings As against this, however, itis asserted on the other side that when Messrs, "Wannieck and Gro went to get their treasure they found not even fakes but a collec tion of valueless metal, Tt is also stated in reliable circles that the two dealers are. in. possession of photographs of the original bronzes Which they assert. "are curios about which no cent auld be' possible-—Reuter'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.