Chinese Works of Art

The famous Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba once owned this pair of ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ bottle vases which were sold at auction from her estate in 2015.

The May 14-16 Interiors series at Bellmans of Wisborough Green, West Sussex, features a substantial Asian section.

Duke’s Asian sale on May 20 includes this Wanli (1572-1620) mark and period wucai ‘zun’ altar vase.

James Ware (1859-1913), a merchant navy captain, turned to missionary work following his arrival in Shanghai.

On May 21 Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury will offer 'The Grand View of Chao Mountain' by Zhang Da Qian (1899-1983) estimated at £100,000-150,000 as part of its sale of Chinese paintings and works of art.

Chiswick Auctions’ May 20 sale in west London titled 'Wood Speaks: From Chinese furniture to Scholar’s Treasures' includes a collection of 200 Qing dynasty carved wood displays.

This Chinese export charger, measuring 15in (40cm), is one of two from the service made for Captain Matthew Martin, captain of the 32-gun East Indiaman Marlborough.

Pook & Pook’s next American and International sale in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, on May 4 will feature a selection of Chinese export porcelain.

The boom in all things Chinese does occasionally make one marvel as to how and why some material finished up in the West.

Sotheby’s spring Hong Kong auction series generated a grand total of HK$3.78bn (£367m) – the second highest in the company’s 46-year history in the territory – and a combined sell-through rate of 90%.

A monumental cloisonné vase – the previously missing element to a triptych made for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago – sold for $110,000 (£85,000) in California.

This Chinese export porcelain punch bowl will feature in a large two-day sale of more than 750 lots of Americana and international interest at Pook & Pook in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, on January 11-12.

Did the final days of 2018 provide the year’s greatest discovery? Bidders who pursued a bronze dragon head from €20,000 to €2.4m (£2.2m) at the Drouot in Paris on December 17 certainly thought so.

Estimated at £40-60, this unusual Chinese scholar’s object took £32,000 (plus buyer’s premium) at a recent auction at Rogers Jones in Cardiff.