This 18th-Century Vase That Was Once Purchased for $56 Just Sold for $9 Million
For the last 50 years, a rare Chinese vase dating back to the 18th century has been surrounded by cats and dogs in an elderly woman's remote country house. Once purchased for about $56, the vase just sold for 70.406 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $9 million.
Dutch art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal happened to find The Harry Garner Reticulated Vase in the European home of his elderly client, who had inherited it along with other pieces of art. Sotheby’s Asia Chairman Nicolas Chow confirmed the rarity of the yangcai reticulated vase, discovering that it's from the Qianlong period. According to the auction house, a court record from 1742 reveals that it was made specifically for the Qianlong Emperor, who praised the vase as a master work of art. Sotheby's notes that the records reveal that the vase was to be stored at the Qianqinggong, the palace where the Emperor held audiences and banquets. The vase later belonged to Sir Harry M. Garner and Henry M. Knight, two major collectors of Chinese art. It remained in the family for more than sixty years.
Sotheby's describes the vase as "a lost masterpiece of Chinese porcelain" rediscovered. Created through complex processes, the intricate details of the pear-shaped vase reflect "the culmination of centuries of ingenuity in Chinese crafts." The porcelain features archaic bronzes and jades and Rococo flower design. The neck is flanked by gilt dragon handles, and the body features a reticulated wall of interlaced dragons, mixed with bird and bat-like motifs.
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