This spring, Christie’s Hong Kong brought three museum-worthy masterpieces of Ming and Qing dynasty blue-and-white porcelain to the auction block – each unique to the market, with parallels found only in museum collections. Offered in a single-owner sale on 2 May, the trio achieved a white-glove result: 100% sold, with a total of HK$163 million (US$21 million).
Titled Ravishing Blue: Imperial Porcelains from an Important Private Collection, the sale now ranks among the top three Chinese ceramics single-owner auctions in Christie’s history. It follows a string of landmark results for the house, including the celebrated sales of the Au Bak Ling, Tianminlou, and Wang Xing Lou collections.
Spanning nearly four centuries, the three works, belonging to an important North American private collection, tell a sweeping story of Chinese imperial porcelain – from the Yongle period (1403-1425) through the Yongzheng (1723-1735) and Qianlong (1736-1795) reigns. Ranging from naturalistic landscapes to imperial symbols of power, the pieces chart the evolution of blue-and-white craftsmanship, techniques, and artistic styles across dynasties.
Auctioneer Liang-Lin Chen holding a pair of white gloves
Lot 801 | A fine and very rare blue and white ‘bamboo, rock and plantain’ vase, meiping | An Important North American Private Collection
Yongle period (1403-1425)
Height: 35 cm
Provenance:
- Eskenazi Ltd., London
- Chang Foundation, Taipei, prior to 1990
Estimate: HK$50,000,000 - 80,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$65,000,000
Sold: HK$78,125,000
Leading the sale was a Yongle-period “bamboo, rock, and plantain” meiping vase. Bidding opened at HK$45 million, with two interested buyers vying for the piece – represented by Chi-Fan Tsang (International Director of the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Department) and Charmie Hamami (Deputy Chairman of Asia Pacific and Managing Director of Indonesia).
In the end, auctioneer Liang-Lin Chen brought the hammer down at HK$65 million, with the winning bid placed by Tsang’s client, paddle number 8226. Including buyer’s premium, the final price reached HK$78.1 million (US$10 million).
Chi-Fan Tsang (second right) won the lot for her client with paddle number 8226
Marco Almeida | Head of Department, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Few Chinese ceramics are as iconic as blue-and-white porcelain, and those produced during the Yongle and Xuande (1425-1435) periods of the Ming dynasty are widely regarded as the finest – so much so that, for a time, they were practically synonymous with China itself.
Among them, Yongle-period meiping vases stand out as timeless classics, celebrated for their refined craftsmanship and elegant silhouette. While rare on the market, most known examples feature floral or fruit motifs. A comparable piece of similar size sold at Christie’s in 2016 for HK$50.5 million.
This example, however – decorated with a garden landscape of bamboo, rocks, and plantain – is the only one of its kind ever seen on the market. Only two other known examples with similar decoration (and with covers) are held in museum collections: one at the Palace Museum in Beijing, the other at the National Museum of China.
The present meiping also boasts a prestigious provenance. It was previously handled by Giuseppe Eskenazi, one of the most prolific and respected dealers in Chinese art, before entering the renowned Chang Foundation Collection in Taipei.
A similar example with a cover at the Palace Museum in Beijing
Giuseppe Eskenazi
The meiping (literally “plum vase”) is distinguished by its elegant, flowing profile: a narrow-waisted neck, well-rounded shoulders, and a gently tapering body that flares at the base. In Chinese connoisseurship, this form is often likened to the ideal male physique – its broad shoulders symbolizing strength and responsibility, while its narrow mouth suggests restraint in speech, a highly valued Confucian virtue.
The jewel-like blue of the porcelain comes from Smalt or Samarra cobalt, a scarce pigment imported from Persia and used in limited quantities. Rich in iron oxide, these pigments tend to run and blur into the underlying body, giving rise to the renowned “heaped and piled” effect – where darker, inky blotches appear across painted areas.
Due to this characteristic, blue-and-white porcelains from the Yongle period were seldom decorated with human figures. Instead, they were more often adorned with floral and animal motifs, where the varying shades of blue evoke the wash-like textures of ink painting. On this vase, the design unfolds like a handscroll, revealing a serene garden scene.
The motif of the plantain traces back to the Tang dynasty, where it was often paired with rocks to symbolize the philosophical balance of softness and hardness. In garden settings, this combination commonly accompanied scholarly figures, reflecting metaphysical ideals.
Over time, the plantain evolved from a secondary element into a primary subject. By the early 15th century, the motif of bamboo, rock, and plantain had gained prominence in porcelain design – not only for their visual harmony, but for their auspicious connotations: longevity, health, peace, loyalty, and scholarly spirit.
Though Qing dynasty potters revived and reinterpreted this motif under imperial commission, no other meiping featuring this specific design appears to have survived – making this example a singular masterpiece of its kind.
Lot 802 | A fine and extremely rare large blue and white ‘nine dragons’ vase, tianqiuping | An Important North American Private Collection
Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue in a line and of the period (1723-1735)
Height: 51.5 cm
Provenance:
- Herbert G. Squiers (1859-1911) collection
- Sold at The American Art Association, New York, The Noteworthy Collection formed by the late Herbert G. Squiers, 9-12 April 1912, lot 526
- John B. Trevor (1878-1956) collection
- John B. Trevor Jr. (1909-2006) collection
- The property of an American gentleman; sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 593
Estimate: HK$70,000,000 - 90,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$62,000,000
Sold: HK$74,675,000
If the Yongle meiping embodies elegance, this Yongzheng-period “nine dragons” tianqiuping makes a bold statement of imperial power. It was hammered at HK$62 million, selling for HK$74.6 million (US$9.6 million) with fees to Charmie Hamami’s client, paddle number 8224.
Previously part of an American diplomat’s collection, the vase was sold at The American Art Association in 1912. It is painted in vivid shades of blue – a tone achieved only in the finest imperial wares – with nine writhing dragons, both three- and five-clawed, in pursuit of flaming pearls, interspersed with fire scrolls. Beneath them churns a band of crashing waves, a motif echoed again at the neck.
Only one other similar tianqiuping is known: a piece in the Tianjin Museum, decorated with nine dragons in a comparable style and arrangement, and bearing a six-character Yongzheng mark below the mouth rim. It is highly plausible that the present vase and the Tianjin example were originally conceived as a pair.
Charmie Hamami (middle) won the lot for her client with paddle number 8224
A nearly identical piece in the Tianjin Museum
Considered one of the most striking forms in Qing imperial porcelain, the tianqiuping (literally “celestial sphere vase”) is also among the rarest shapes produced for the court. While the form originated during the Yongle and Xuande periods – drawing inspiration from Persian and Central Asian metal wares – it was revived and refined under the Yongzheng emperor, who deeply revered classical forms and Ming aesthetics.
Exemplifying the superior craftsmanship of the Yongzheng imperial kiln, each of the nine dragons on the vase is rendered with expressive individuality and ferocious energy, their scales delicately shaded in various tones of blue. The dragons embody majestic might and solemn dignity, while the number nine, traditionally associated with the Emperor, represents long life and reign.
In a further nod to Xuande-period innovations, the Yongzheng reign mark on this vase is an unusual single-line horizontal inscription on the neck, rather than the more typical two or three vertical columns on the base. This experimental format was first introduced during the Xuande reign but was rarely continued in later dynasties.
Lot 803 | A fine and very rare blue and white ‘bat and peach’ vase | An Important North American Private Collection
Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)
Height: 25.3 cm
Provenance:
- Sold at Christie’s London, 12 July 2005, lot 168
Estimate: HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$7,800,000
Sold: HK$9,813,000
Distinguished by its unique and unusual shape, this Qianlong-period “bat and peach” vase has only one known comparable example – nearly identical in shape, size, and decoration – held in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Blending auspicious symbols of longevity and good fortune, the vase is decorated with five bats and nine peaches. Five bats symbolize the number five, which is believed to be lucky and is associated with the Five Blessings. The peach motif, a symbol of longevity, was especially popular during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, with Yongzheng designs typically featuring eight peaches and Qianlong examples nine.
According to Qing court archives, on the seventh day of the eighth month in the 38th year of the Qianlong reign (1773), “a pair of Xuande-style blue and white ‘eternal blessings and longevity’ vases was submitted.” This entry is believed to refer to the present vase and the one in the Palace Museum, suggesting that they were created as a pair, specially commissioned to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday.
Bidding for this vase was fervent, with strong competition from both the saleroom and phone lines. After a flurry of bids, it was hammered down at HK$7.8 million – 2.6 times its pre-sale estimate – selling to a gentleman in the room holding paddle number 155 for a final price with fees of HK$9.8 million (US$1.2 million).
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie's Hong Kong
Sale: Ravishing Blue: Imperial Porcelains from an Important Private Collection
Date: 2 May 2025
Number of Lots: 3
Sold: 3
Sale Rate: 100%
Sale Total: HK$162,613,000 (US$21 million)