A 250-year-old vase made for the Emperor of China discovered in a kitchen in England has sold for a staggering £1.5million, ten times its estimate. The 18th Century vase was bought by an English surgeon in the 1980s for a few hundred pounds and passed down to his son who had no idea it had such value and history.
It was only when a visiting antiques specialist spotted it in their kitchen that he realised what was sitting in his home. The vase had an estimate of £100,000 to £150,000 but after fierce bidding eventually went for £1,449,000 including buyers' premium.
The hammer price was £1.2million, a record for the auction house Dreweatts. One onlooker said: "The atmosphere was electric. The bidding on the phones went backwards and forwards. It was crazy."
It eventually went overseas to an international buyer. Commenting on the extraordinary result, Mark Newstead, Specialist Consultant at Dreweatts for Asian Ceramics and Works of Art, said: “We are delighted with this exceptional result.
"We saw widespread interest from China, Hong Kong, America and the UK, which resulted in very competitive bidding. The result shows the high demand for the finest porcelain produced in the world. A fabulous result and we are privileged to have sold this at Dreweatts.”
Created for the court of the Qianlong Emperor, the colossal vase is two feet tall and bears the distinctive six-character mark of the Qianlong period between 1736 and 1795 on its base. It is an extraordinary example of imperial Qianlong porcelain and is significant for its highly unusual enamelling techniques, with a striking palette of gold and silver against a vivid blue ground.
Known as the "heavenly globe vase", the creation would have been extremely difficult to master. The name of this shape of vase in Chinese is ‘Tianqiuping’, meaning ‘heavenly globe vase’, which alludes to Chinese iconography, where heaven is represented as a sphere.
This explains the large globular shape of the vase, which references heaven. It would have required at least three times of firing in the kiln, with three different glazes and enamels, showing the skills and creativity during the Qianlong period.
It was fired first at over 1200℃ for the cobalt blue, then at a lower temperature for the turquoise green on the interior of the vase, finally the gold and silver enamels in a special kiln designed for enamels.
The rich cobalt blue is often referred to as 'sacrificial blue', from the use of vessels in this colour glaze being used during sacrifices at the Imperial Altar of Heaven in Beijing. This vase therefore, is a testament to the skills and creativity of craftsmen working during the Qianlong period in exploring and perfecting enamelling techniques, to cater to the Emperor’s taste for the innovative and exotic.
Experts say that it is "extremely rare" to see blue vases painted in both gilding and slightly raised silver, thought to be due to the medium being difficult to control. The exceptional quality, monumental size, and imposing presence of this vase, as well as its fine and auspicious decoration, would have rendered it suitable for prominent display in one of the halls of the Qing palace.
No other porcelain decorated with the same subject in gold and silver appears to have ever been documented. As a devout Buddhist, the Qianlong Emperor was also a follower of Daoism with a wish for longevity.
This desire is expressed in the sliver cranes on the vase, which hold an emblem for each of the eight immortals associated with Daoism including: a flower basket, flute, fan and castanets on the vase’s body. The flying cranes and bat also carry auspicious messages for longevity and prosperity. The vase sold at the Dreweatts auction of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art.
