House clearance vase fetches £53m ($85.6m)

[SoCalDem]

Chinese vase circa 1740s from the Qianlong period
The Qianlong-period vase dating from about 1740 sold at 40 times its estimate

House clearance vase fetches £53m

By Jan Dalley in London, Peter Aspden in Abu Dhabi and Justine Lau in Hong Kong

Published: November 12 2010 12:55 | Last updated: November 12 2010 19:14




Bidding at the Bainbridges auction rooms on Thursday for the 16-inch-high vase, made during the rule of the Qianlong emperor, started at £500,000 and increased in increments of £1m during the sale’s finale, onlookers said. The vase was eventually sold for £43m, but with the addition of a 20 per cent commission levied for the auction house and tax, the final bill comes to more than £53m. It is believed to be the highest price paid for a ­Chinese artwork at auction.

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The vase had been discovered by a brother and sister when they were clearing their dead father’s attic in north London and they had little idea as to its value. Like the buyer, they have not been named.

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Experts speculated the fierce bidding was fuelled by agents commissioned by Poly Culture & Arts, a Chinese cultural agency co-owned by the state and one of the country’s largest defence companies.

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Nicolas Chow, international head of Sotheby’s Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, said: “Many of the top pieces in Chinese art, which were going to strong buyers in the US and Europe, are beginning to go back to China.”

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Mystery journey to London

No one knows how it came to be in the family’s possession. It dates from the period of the Qianlong dynasty, in the 1740s. It stands 16 inches high and the ovoid body is decorated with four circular panels each intricately carved and enamelled with frisky fish. The vase has a primrose yellow trumpet neck, also exquisitely painted, and a double-walled construction which means that an inner vase can be seen through the perforations of the main body.

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[pinto]

1. I love these stories. (Used to watch Antique Road Show all the time.. )

Or whatever it was called. :hi:

[xchrom]

2. I'd love to see it. Nt

[NV Whino]

3. It's the frisky fish that make it

:rofl:

[Warpy]

4. Well, it's certainly not my taste

and I imagine it ended up in the attic because one spouse bought it without consulting the other and paid a lot for it and there was a huge fight and the vase sitting on the mantle was a constant reminder to both of them, so it went.

[REP]

5. Or Chinoiserie went out of style and they put it somewhere where it wouldn't be broken

I bet the family has had it for quite a while.