A beautiful Antique Chinese Vase from the Qing dynasty once sold for $56 realized over $9 Million at Sotheby’s

A unique Antique Chinese vase from the Qing dynasty found in a pet-filled home sells for over $9 million.

BY KAZAD

HONG KONG –An 18-century antique Chinese vase that spent the last 50 years in a home filled with pets just sold for $9 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring 2020 Sales.

Sotheby’s describes the ornate Chinese vase as a “lost masterpiece” and “technical tour-de-force.” Dutch art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal, found it while visiting an elderly client’s home. He identified the rare Chinese artifact as an 18th -century artifact.

The antique Chinese vase is an important example of Chinese cultural heritage from the Qing dynasty. Its usual design makes it unique. A mix of turquoise, purple and gold colors accentuated with lattice and floral detailing makes it outstanding.

The Chinese vase was originally made for the Qianlong Emperor, who ruled China over 60 years.  Sotheby’s says the object sat for more than 50 years in a remote home in central Europe. It is bewildering that this magnificent Chinese vase survived at all.

“It is a miracle this extraordinarily fragile vase survived half a century in a home surrounded by countless pets,” Nicolas Chow, Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said in a statement before the sale.

The intriguing story of the vintage Chinese vase rediscovery is in a video on Sotheby’s official YouTube channel. It began in 2019 when Johan Bosch van Rosenthal, an Amsterdam based art consultant was called to an 80 -year- old woman’s home to assess her art collection. Sotheby’s would only identify its location as central Europe.

“No Ordinary Chinese Vase”

“We reached a room with a number of Chinese works of art inherited many years ago, he said.”Her four cats walked around freely among these. She pointed out a … partly gilded Chinese vase on a cupboard-a cherished-object, which she knew to be something of special value,” van Rosenthal recalls.  He was immediately captivated by the unique object before him. While “not a specialist in the Chinese works of art,” he noticed that the object before him was “no ordinary Chinese vase.” He speedily sent photos of the object to Nicholas Chow, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia.

Excited, Chow followed up by visiting the woman’s home and confirmed that the vase was highly valuable. Sotheby’s experts soon matched the item to others in their Chinese imperial household archives, noting that it was once displayed in the Palace of Celestial Purity in Beijing’s Forbidden City.

Antique Chinese Vase

Provenance and Recovery

The provenance of the antique Chinese vase is as intriguing at its rediscovery. After deep investigation, Sotheby’s experts were able to trace back the vase’s history. It was first sold through the company for $56 (around $530 in today’s currency) in 1954. Later that year, it was resold for just over $101. It was and was passed down through a family until last week’s record-breaking auction price.

Known as the Harry Garner Reticulated Vase for the man who owned it prior to its 1954 auction. Also in the sale was another big item, a recessed leg table from the Ming Dynasty that went for $7,761.800.

Lost and Found

The discovery of the Harry Garner Reticulated Chinese vase continues a trend of auction houses stumbling upon ancient, big-ticket items that started a few years ago. In 2018, an 18th-century vase was found hidden in a shoebox in a French family’s attic. It sold for around $19 million. Just last year, a 13th-century painting by Italian artists Cimabue was found in an elderly woman’s home in Compiegne, France. It was appraised at $8.7 million

The Harry G Vase is the third Chinese vase to be sold for millions in the past decade. In 2010, another vase from the same time period sold for $68million.

Other Important Works Sold at the Auction:

• A Rare Huanghuali Recessed-Leg Long Table, Qiaotouan Ming Dynasty, 17th century $60 million HKD around $8 million.
• A Rare Huanghuali ‘Kui Dragon’ Couch-Bed, Luohanchuang Ming Dynasty, 17th Century. HK$48,765,000 (Around US$6 million.
• SANYU, QUATRE NUS.  HK$ 258,341,000 (About US$33.3 million)
• David Hockney’s “30 Sunflowers” HK$114.8 million (US$14.8 million), the second-highest sum ever paid for a Western artwork at auction in Asia.

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