Chinese Works of Art

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.

Duke’s latest Asian art sale had been headlined by items from a local resident and well-known auctioneer, academic and collector, Anthony du Boulay. The 249 lots from early classic wares to Cantonese enamels generated plenty of saleroom energy and a total of around £800,000.

Dismissed a generation ago as decorative export wares, Qing and later silver is today the focus of lively academic and commercial attention.

The most important example of Qing glassware to appear at auction sold for HK$180m (£18m) – the highlight of Sotheby’s recent series in Hong Kong.

A Qianlong period export plaque decorated after a scene by Louis-Marin Bonnet (1736-93) was among the Fine Art Asia highlight sales.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

A generation ago pieces such as this splendid 20in (50cm) famille rose ‘dragon’ charger from the Guangxu period (1874-1908) were valued chiefly as decorative objects. However, appreciation of the best quality porcelain produced in the last years of the Qing continues to grow.