It was almost entirely
black; but the exquisite work of it--the spiral fluting of the ewer, its
shell-like cover, the winged dragon on the handle, and, round the oval
basin, the rim of chasing dolphins, could still be seen.
"That came from the Wolfgang sale--I gave six hundred for it. It's
worth six thousand now--you can't find such a piece anywhere. Ah! by
George!"--with a stifled shout--"and that's the Demidoff tazza!"--as
Faversham lifted up a thing lying in a half-open box that might have been
ebony--a shallow cup on a stem, with a young vine-crowned Bacchus for a
handle. Melrose took it eagerly, put up his eyeglass, and, rubbing away
with his handkerchief, searched for the mark. "There it is!--a Caduceus
and 1620. And the signature--see!--'A.D. Viana.' There was a cup signed
by Viana sold last week at Christie's--fetched a fabulous sum! Every
single thing in this room is worth treble and quadruple what I gave for
it. Talk of investments! There are no such investments as works of art.
Buy 'em, I say--lock 'em up--and forget 'em for twenty years!"
With much labour, they had at last ranged the most important pieces on
some trestle tables and in the cupboards of the room. A number of smaller
boxes and packages still remained to be looked through. Faversham, by
Melrose's directions, had written to a London firm of dealers in antique
silver, directing them to send down two of their best men to clean, mend,
and catalogue. Proper glazed cupboards, baize-lined, were to be put up
along each side of the room; the room itself was to be repaired,
whitened, and painted.
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