The pair of Qianlong famille rose “butterfly” double-gourd vases at Christie’s London has become the talk of the antique world, specialists at The Value had examined them, The Review will be released soon. This time, we would disclose its estimate, amount of deposit, along with auction records of similar vases, make sure that our readers are well prepared before heading to London.

The Review of the current lot will be released soon.

According to reliable sources, this pair of vases is the only lot at “Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art” sale which requires the high-value paddle. The minimum deposit is £1m, and its estimate is £2m to 3m. Two vases had gone under the hammer at Christie’s Hong Kong, which are almost identical to the current lot.

The vase which broke the record was sold 17 years ago, the auction house does not provide the photo of it now.

One was auctioned in 2000, at “Important Qing Porcelain from the Yuen Family Collection” sale. It was sold for HK$33,045,000 (with buyer’s premium), set the world record price for Chinese porcelain at that time.

The other vase which was auctioned in 2007.

Another one was auctioned in 2003 and 2007, fetched HK$13,727,750 and HK$13,760,000 respectively (with buyer’s premium). One should notice that both vases were sold alone.

The auction house had considered whether to sell the current vases in pair, or separately. After consulting dealers and collectors, the auction house decided to offer them in pair, let’s see whether “one plus one is more than two” could be achieved this time.

A MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE ‘BUTTERFLY’ DOUBLE-GOURD VASES, QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARKS IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Auction House: Christie's London
Salesroom: King Street
Sale: Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Sale Date: 2017/5/9
Lot No.: 99
Height: 23cm
Provenance: Collected in the 1930s in London by an English lady from a noble family and thence by descent
Estimate: £2,000,000 - 3,000,000