Poly Xiamen officially put an end to its autumn auction, in which the leading lot of the sale, a pair of blue glazed with golden colour vases, was hammered down for RMB 29m, surpassing its pre-sale estimate RMB 16m-20m.
We invited a veteran ceramic dealer, William Chak, to give an in-depth review of this winning lot. “It is rare to have both vases kept intact in a pair. The excellent gilding on the vases is also well-preserved with no sign of scratches. Gold is a low-temperature glaze and it is easily worn out by constant touching.” commented Chak.
Estimated at RMB 16m-20m, the pair of vases was offered an opening bid of RMB 13m and elicited strong interest from potential buyers. The bid soon rose to RMB 20m and further pushed up to RMB 25m before the pace slowed down. At this point, there were mainly two bidders staying in the bidding battle, one was a bidder in the room and another one was a client represented by Guo Zhonghua, the helmsman of Poly Xiamen.
Guo Zhonghua
Lan Chen
When the bid reached RMB 28m, a bid made by Guo’s client, the auctioneer asked for a subsequent bid and waited for almost two minutes. Just when he was about to put the hammer down, the bidder in the room offered a higher bid. The lot was hammered down for RMB 29m and sold for RMB 33.3m, double its estimate RMB 16m.
A Pair of Blue Glazed with Golden Colour Vases
Jiaqing Period, Qing Dynasty
Lot no.: 936
Six-character Seal Mark of Jiaqing Period
Height: 28.5 cm
Provenance:
- Alfred Morrison Collection, Fonthill Heirlooms No.519
- Christie’s, London, Nov. 9 2004, Lot.51
- Sungary International,Aug.20 2007, Lot.1609
Estimate: RMB 16,000,000 - 20,000,000
Hammer price: RMB 29,000,000
Price realized: RMB 33,350,000
Auction house: Poly Xiamen
Sale: Important Chinese Works of Art
Auction date: 2018/1/8