Door knockers from the forbidden city in beijing.

Christies Auction house in New York has come out and told me; that they are not sure?; but they believe that these door knockers are not that old; and not all that New.I think that Christies is looking only at the monetary issue only and does not have the Chinese interests in mind; I say this because ;if these are the real thing they are" priceless" and will more then likely be asked returned under international agreements that pertain to historical pieces; and once returned they can not realize a profit. It is of my opinion that all pieces be authenticated in do process and given back; if found out to be real; but in China what constitutes real . If it can be shown that these door knockers are even 150 to 200 years old; then they are of great value; as they are originals; and constitute true Chinese. I challenge all auction houses;and museums to prove other wise;as the term fake in China is truly a vague term. In the long run items are only enjoyed by all; as you can not stop someone from looking; and to have the real thing can be a insurance nightmare .I believe how; and where I came about purchasing these items ; that they are the real Item; and given that they were in use up until July 2009; how can that be construed as an imitation; of any kind; shape or form.

Edward H.C Graydon

In this photo you can see the brass pieces that were identical to the one that fell on my foot.

The worker that has a tool belt around his waist is the one that sold me these door knockers along with a uniformed guard; after hours at the far end of the palace.

I was the last person to leave the forbidden city on the last day there;I was given a tour at the back of the palace . A once in a life time incident took place;as I was leaving the first inner wall . As the door was closing a piece of the brass door stub fell off hitting me in the foot.I had a chance to look at and examine the brass up close; The photo at the top shows the workers who sold me these knockers after closing of the palace. I do not know if brass is brass; but the brass on the door stubs is exactly the same in appearance as the door knockers

The photo of the police walking down the stairs will show{when you zoom in the brass that had fallen of the door; you can see him holding the brass in his right hand.

This is the back of the Knocker that has not been touched.

The Knocker on the far right is not nearly as dirty as when I bought it,as I had to clean it in order to touch it in any way

When I came across these door knockers; they where filthy from years of expos er to the elements. They came in a set of two; I am currently using one on my front door and I will be sending the other to my families house in the states to be used there. I believe these items are over 500 years old.I can not stress enough how black and oily these door knockers where when I bought them. I purchased these on the far end of the forbidden city; where construction was taking place; and the site was closed off to the public.There is no question that I believe they are the real thing from the original doors of the imperial palace. The back of these knockers are green from decay.