27 JANUARY 2001, Page 29

Dancer with no name

From Mr Joseph Long Sir: In the late 1980s I purchased from a gentleman in Ireland a precious art-deco porcelain figure of a dancer in mid-stride. I need to establish the authenticity of the piece and I cannot locate the bill of sale, nor can I make any sense of the name of the artist on the bottom.

Inasmuch as I acquired this beautiful sculpture through an advertisement in The Spectator, may I prevail upon you to kindly publish this letter in the event that the chap from whom I purchased the work is still a Speccie fan and, more importantly, still alive! Many thanks.

Joseph Long

101 Beverly Road Oradell, New Jersey 07649, USA