kenb
Bronze Member
Dusty vase a $6m treasure
Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font November 9, 2007
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AN 18TH-CENTURY Chinese vase that had been gathering dust in the bottom of a wardrobe has been sold for £2.8 million ($6.3 million), Sotheby's London auction house said.
The blue-and-white "dragon vase" from the Qing dynasty was discovered by chance when its owner remarked to a Sotheby's expert, Alastair Gibson, that she thought she had a vase similar to one on display at a London exhibition.
"Her description of it piqued … Gibson's interest and he asked if he could take a look," the auctioneers said in a statement. Gibson visited the woman's house and saw a piece almost identical to the one at the exhibition and later established that the two were closely related.
Wednesday's sale set an auction record for a piece of blue-and-white porcelain from the Qing dynasty, Sotheby's said, and far exceeded the pre-sale estimate.
Sotheby's said the seller was Swiss and the buyer was the fine art advisory group Littleton and Hennessy Asian Art.
kenb
Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font November 9, 2007
Advertisement
AN 18TH-CENTURY Chinese vase that had been gathering dust in the bottom of a wardrobe has been sold for £2.8 million ($6.3 million), Sotheby's London auction house said.
The blue-and-white "dragon vase" from the Qing dynasty was discovered by chance when its owner remarked to a Sotheby's expert, Alastair Gibson, that she thought she had a vase similar to one on display at a London exhibition.
"Her description of it piqued … Gibson's interest and he asked if he could take a look," the auctioneers said in a statement. Gibson visited the woman's house and saw a piece almost identical to the one at the exhibition and later established that the two were closely related.
Wednesday's sale set an auction record for a piece of blue-and-white porcelain from the Qing dynasty, Sotheby's said, and far exceeded the pre-sale estimate.
Sotheby's said the seller was Swiss and the buyer was the fine art advisory group Littleton and Hennessy Asian Art.
kenb
