A rare 18th-century porcelain bowl sold for HK$198 million ($25 million) at Sotehby’s in Hong Kong last week.
The vessel, which measures less than 4.5 inches in diameter, was produced in imperial kilns during the time of Emperor Yongzheng, who ruled China from 1722 to 1735, and was then glazed in the workshops of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is a striking example of Falangcai (“foreign colors”) porcelain, now considered one of the rarest and most valuable materials of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
The creamy white bowl depicts intertwined apricot and willow trees and a pair of swallows. Inscribed on one wall is a poem believed to have been commissioned by Emperor Wanli, whose reign – from 1573 to 1620 – predated the Yongzheng dynasty. “Jade scissors cut flowers / Like rainbow garments brought back from the moon,” it read.
The object was once part of a pair, but it and the other bowl were split up and sold for £150 each in 1929, according to CNN. The other dish now lives in the British Museum.
The Alice Cheng Falangcai bowl. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
This time it was Hong Kong-based art collector and philanthropist Alice Cheng who bought it at a Christie’s auction in 2006 for HK$151 million ($19 million). dollars), a record price for Chinese art.
No such record was broken this time. The bowl was offered in a single lot sale on Saturday morning at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. It was purchased by an anonymous private Chinese collector for less than the object’s pre-sale estimate of HK$200 million ($25.4 million).
The event was one of nine auctions held as part of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Spring Sales series. Six have taken place so far, grossing a total of HK$3.7 billion ($472 million). The sales mark the 50th anniversary of the auction house’s operations in Asia.
“Reaffirming Sotheby’s continued leadership in Chinese art and witnessing outstanding results this season is particularly poignant in a year in which we celebrate our 50th anniversary in Asia,” said Nicolas Chow, Chairman of Sotheby’s. for Asia. “When we first entered the region in 1973, we did so with sales in this category and they have remained at the forefront of our business ever since.”
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