Suburban family's old vase fetches $83 million

A Chinese vase discovered during a routine house clearance in a London suburb sold for 51.6 million pounds on Thursday, said to be an auction record for any work of art from Asia.

November 12, 2010 05:45 pm | Updated 05:46 pm IST - London

A vase that sat, little—noticed, in a modest suburban home has become one of the most expensive Asian artworks ever sold, and underlined the rapid rise of the Chinese art market.

The 18th—century Chinese vase fetched 51.6 million pounds ($83 million) at a sale by a small auction house near London.

It was sold by a woman clearing out her late sister’s house, and had been valued at 1.2 million pounds. But after fierce competition, it was bought on Thursday by a Chinese bidder for many times more.

Auctioneer Peter Bainbridge, whose 8.6 million pound premium is included in the sale price, said on Friday that the outcome was “a fairy tale, really.”

The market for Chinese art and antiquities is buoyant, with wealthy buyers keen to repatriate treasures from their heritage.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.