Old vase found in attic goes for $83 million

Auctioneer Peter Bainbridge holds catalog featuring Qing dynasty vase that sold for $83 million at his auction house.

The popular PBS television series “Road Show” features people who find old things: kick knacks, artifacts and brick-a-bracs. Sometimes the value of the items–valued by an expert appraiser–are disappointing, while other times what looks like an old shoe turns out to be worth $20,000.

No one appearing on that American TV show, though, ever found anything to match what two relatives recently stumbled upon.

When the sister and nephew of a deceased woman relative rummaged about the old lady’s attic, they discovered an antique Chinese vase. Both remember seeing it when they were kids. The vase had been kept in the West London suburban house for years and had been owned by the family since the 1930s.

Although the two had no idea who first acquired the vase, experts say most Asian art from China came into the hands of British collectors after the second of two opium wars. Chinese dishes, figurines, statues and vases back then were regularly stolen and taken back to Europe by French and English troops after 1860. Many art objects were pilfered from what was then Peking’s Royal Summer Palace.

The vase the two found in the attic of the suburban London home must have been acquired after the Second Opium War, but no one can say for sure.

What can be said for sure is the 16-inch vase–a pale blue and Chinese imperial yellow with leaping goldfish–was crafted during the Qing dynasty, an era when porcelain art had reached its peak in China.

Experts were able to trace the lineage of the vase directly back to the Emperor himself. It came from the personal collection of ruler Qianlong and bore the intricate marking of the royal imperial seal.

Everyone that studied the vase agreed it was exceptional. Most thought it could fetch $15 to $20 million at auction–an exciting prospect as the all time record sale at Bainbridge’s auction house was for a relatively paltry $161,000.

When the piece finally did go on the auction block, auctioneer Peter Bainbridge called the atmosphere in the room “electric.” Quite a number of very wealthy Asians had attended the auction and when the Qing dynasty vase was brought up for bids, the offers escalated far beyond the pre-auction estimates.

When the dust settled, the vase went for more than 40 times what it had been expected to get setting a new record for the sale of a Chinese art piece. And far surpassing any sale at Bainbridges–a small auction house located in suburban London.

“I’m an auctioneer, so at that point I’m just doing the professional job I’m paid to do. But once the hammer’s down you do take stock slightly and think, ‘Oh, wow, that’s really rather a lot of money,’” Bainbridge bubbled enthusiastically to the press. He’s receiving almost $14 million buyer’s premium on the record smashing sale.

Auctioneer Bainbridge admitted he broke his gavel when slamming it down on the final, stunning bid.

As Chinese collectors are becoming more wealthy, they are eagerly repatriating the artistic masterpieces to their homeland. The Qing vase was purchased by a Chinese agent on behalf of an anonymous buyer.

In October of 2010, rival auction house Sotheby’s successfully auctioned another Qing dynasty vase. That one was sold in Hong Kong for a winning bid of $32 million.

Original Helium article.

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