Chinese Works of Art

This Yongzheng (1722-35) mark and period Eight Immortals bowl sold for £26,000 at the Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) auction in Teddington last month.

Long unseen material from the country home of an ancient English family brought some estimate-demolishing five-figure bids at Morphets (17.5% buyer’s premium) including a genuine sleeper.

Among the most recognisable of all the famille rose porcelain designs produced in China for export to Europe are the so-called ‘Scotsmen’ or ‘Highlander’ plates.

A pair of doucai ‘dragon’ dishes that was entered for sale by a local vendor sold for over 25-times estimate at East Yorkshire saleroom Hawley’s.

This Ming ink and colour on silk painting of Shakyamuni Buddha, offered for sale by Rob Michiels (27.5% buyer’s premium) in Bruges on February 15, is thought to be part of an imperial order made in the short reign of Emperor Jingtai (1449-57).

A remarkable piece of Qing porcelain sold for $270,000 at Pook & Pook in Downington, Pennsylvania.

With an Irish silver ‘seal salver’ gleaming at the first Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (23% buyer’s premium) sale of the year (ATG No 2427), Italy, China and Russia provided other highlights.

Shirley Mueller is a US neuroscientist, author and Asian art collector focused on Chinese export porcelain. Her book 'Inside the Head of a Collector: Neuropsychological Forces at Play' has recently been published.

A Yongzheng (1723-35) mark and period falangcai enamel bowl sold for €3.25m (£2.8m) to lead the recent round of Asian art sales in Paris.

This 12in (30cm) cong form vase with elephant-head handles is decorated in qianjiangcai enamels by Cheng Men (1833-1908) – one of the best known of the late Qing period porcelain painters.

The relatively short reign of the Ming emperor Xuande (1425-35) was considered a high point in the production of bronze works of art.

This group of late-19th century Chinese export bowls and saucers was made for the Middle Eastern market – specifically for the Qajar prince Mas’ud Mirza Zill al-Sultan (1850-1918).

The sale at flood-hit Bamfords (21% buyer’s premium) on October 30 included chattels from the estate of Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Alice Cavendish (1926-2018), daughter of the 10th Duke of Devonshire of nearby Chatsworth House.

After a 17-minute bidding battle, a Chinese blue and white bottle vase with a Daoguang (1820-50) six-character seal mark was hammered down for £270,000 at Gorringe’s in Lewes, East Sussex.

A Qianlong teapot which made £800,000 in Dorchester provided the stellar result among some exceptional Asian art lots offered for sale in the UK regions and Ireland last week.