full text of story chinese statue if some one has the isc story book of 11th plz respond otherwise don't send summary or rubbish otherwise I have to
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The Chinese Statue, the opening story of “A Quiver Full of Arrows” by Jeffrey Archer, revolves around a priceless statue of Emperor Kung of the Ming Dynasty. A nested fiction, it opens into Sotheby’s auction house (the frame story), buzzing with those quiet murmurings that always precede the sale of a masterpiece. Lot 103, a little Chinese statue, a delicate piece of ivory, was the next item to come under the auctioneer’s hammer. Seated among the bidders, the narrator, seemingly a lover of art, studied the catalogue which read that the statue had been purchased in Ha Li Chuan in 1871 and was “the property of a gentleman”. Intrigued by the quaint reference, the narrator does some research. His discovery is what forms the core story.
In a flashback, we are introduced to Sir Alexander Heathcote, the protagonist. Unlike his father, who was a military General, young Alexander chose to serve the Queen in the diplomatic service. Bright and exact, he swiftly went up the career ladder and in no time rose to the position of a minister in Peking. When he was made the British Ambassador in China, he was ever more delighted for he had always had a keen interest in the Ming Dynasty and its artefacts and this crowning appointment would make it possible for him to admire and minutely observe in their natural habitat some of the great statues, paintings and drawings (which he had previously been able to admire only in books) in person. Upon his visit to the Imperial Palace in China, he was mesmerized by the magnificent collection of ivory and jade statues embellishing the hallway in a most casual manner. Perhaps it was his devotion towards Art that led him to the countryside to look for more artefacts belonging to the Ming Dynasty. A connoisseur of Art, he had the highest regard for artists. Thus, as a mark of respect, he left his servants behind and went into the workshop, chaperoned only by his Mandarin, who acted as an interpreter and guide. An enthralled Alexander sighed and chuckled as he studied many of the pieces with admiration for over an hour after which he showered the skilled old craftsman with the praise that he truly deserved. When the craftsman took him to his store, Sir Alexander was enamoured by what lay before him —row upon row of beautiful miniature emperors and classical figures. Understanding Heathcote’s taste and liking for art from his love and knowledge of the Ming Dynasty, which was soon revealed to the artist en-conversation, he brought a specimen of Ming art itself— an old statue of Emperor Kung, an heirloom, which had been in his family for over seven generations. On sighting upon it, Sir Alexander’s mouth opened wide and he could not hide his excitement. The little statue, no more than six inches in height was as fine an example of Ming as the minister had seen. He felt quite confident about the fact had it was the handwork of the great Pen Q, who had been patronized by the Emperor and thus the statue must have been dated as back as the 15th century. The statue’s only blemish, if it be called so, was that the ivory base on which these statues are usually fashioned was missing and a small stick protruded from the bottom of the imperial robes. Nonetheless, so impressed was he with its beauty, that he could not curb his desire of owning it and uttered the same to the artist. But what he did not know was that according to an old Chinese tradition, the giver grew in the eyes of his fellow men by parting with something that an honoured guest requested and in no time the artist hunted down a base decorated with small, dark figures that bore the mark of a good craftsman, though its history was not quite known to him and fixed it unto the figurine. With a heart filled his regret, Heathcote tried but could not refuse the gift that the old craftsman so pressed unto the embarrassed minister for the sake of the honour of his humble home. The way gloom loomed over the face of the old man suggested how dear he held the statuette to his heart and how magnificent a piece of art it was. Nonetheless, the man reassured that his family would be honoured by the fact that the little statue lives in a great Embassy and may one day be admired by the people of Heathcote’s land.