“The Pavilion Sale: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art” has ended on 4 April. A bronze mirror of Tang dynasty was finally hammered at HK$3 million after 4 minutes of bidding. Its total purchase price reached 5 times beyond the estimate.

With a knob of a recumbent toad at the centre, the round shape of the mirror represents fullness and perfectness. The motifs on the mirror’s surface comprises three circles. The inner circle is finely casted with mythical animals including a marine horse, tianlu and bixie; the middle circle is thoroughly filled with dragonflies and butterflies. In the outer band, the mirror depicts pairs of luan birds, phoenixes, peacocks and hoopoes. All creatures are embedded in delicate decorations of grapevines and foliate scrolls.

The high relief carving technique adopted for this mirror first appeared during Tang dynasty. Not until that period in history, craftsmen were able to master such skill for bronze art.

The second and the third expensive lots of the sale are a Jizhou resist-decorated and carved brown-glazed meiping, and a huanghuali waistless recessed-leg table (PINGTOU’AN) respectively.

Top Lots

A VERY RARE LARGE “MYTHICAL ANIMALS AND GRAPES” BRONZE MIRROR
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

Lot No.: 82
Diameter: 26.8 cm
Estimate: HK$700,000-900,000
Sold: HK$3,660,000

A JIZHOU RESIST-DECORATED AND CARVED BROWN-GLAZED MEIPING
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)

Lot No.: 109
Height: 22.8 cm
Estimate: HK$400,000-600,000
Sold: HK$1,800,000

A HUANGHUALI WAISTLESS RECESSED-LEG TABLE, PINGTOU’AN
QING DYNASTY, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

Lot No.: 209
Size: 77 × 126 × 33 cm
Estimate: HK$400,000-600,000
Sold: HK$1,740,000

Auction Summary

Auction House: Christie’s Hong Kong
Sale: The Pavilion Sale: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Sale No.: 14608
Date:  2017/4/4
Total Sales: HK$33,500,000
Lots: 240
Sold: 155
Unsold: 85
Average Price per Sold Lot: HK$216,129
Selling Rate: 65%

(prices include buyer's premium, unless otherwise stated)