London’s auction house Bainbridges
A Chinese vase accidentally discovered in a London suburb home during a routine house cleaning sold for 43 million pounds ($69 million) at West London’s auction house Bainbridges.
The vase broke the record as the most expensive Asian artwork ever auctioned and fetched a price 40 times its estimate on Thursday, according to Helen Porter of Bainbridges. The price did not include the 20% tax and fees.
Porter said that the auction house was full of Chinese bidding against each other. The vase was part of an auction at the end of Asian Art week. Porter added that the bidding extended for 30 minutes and that the final buyer is not known but presumed to be Chinese.
The Chinese vase dates back to 1740 from the Qianlong period and would have no doubt come from the Chinese Royal Palace, fired in the imperial kilns. It is unclear how the vase ended up in London. It can only be presumed that the vase was acquired by an English family during the 1930s as part of a family collection.
The sale intensifies growing interest among wealthy Chinese for rare artworks from their heritage particularly for pieces from imperial China.
On Thursday, A buyer from Beijing bought a white jade dragon seal belonging to the Qianlong Emperor sold for 2.7 million pounds at an auction at auction house Bonhams.
Sotheby’s also sold a Chinese vase belonging to the Qing Dynasty for $32.5 million. Their auction in Hong Kong also raised $400 million for a wine, art, and watches auction.
