After spending a century in storage, a collection of nearly 700 pieces of Chinese porcelain and works of art fetched over £1,000,000 at Roseberys Auctioneers on October 29th. The single-owner sale featured primarily 18th- and 19th-century painted enamels and porcelain, including rare Imperial ‘mark and period’ works. The collection was assembled by an Edwardian industrialist during travels across the Far East from 1905 to 1930—when Qing dynasty treasures were being widely dispersed.
A pair of rare Chinese Imperial famille rose "Eighteen Luohans" bowls, depicting the guardians of Buddhism, soared to £130,240, over 16 times the low estimate, after fierce competition among in-person, online, and phone bidders.. Produced in the early Xianfeng period, the bowls are considered rare due to their brief two year production window. An Imperial famille rose basin in Part II of the sale also achieved a strong result, reflecting an appetite amongst collectors for these wares.
Lot 25-28: A large Chinese Imperial yangcai yellow-ground 'floral' bowl Qing dynasty
A group of Imperial ‘yangcai’ yellow-ground floral bowls with a Daoguang mark (1820-1850) sold collectively for over £250,000. The vibrant enamelling, featuring the mythical flower known as "baoxianghua," demonstrates the exceptional craftsmanship of Qing artisans. A set of ‘wucai’ dragon and phoenix bowls also attracted significant bidding from American, Chinese, and UK collectors. They were likely used for Imperial dining and celebrations.
“It is likely that this is one of the last collections of this type remaining in the UK, so to be one of the first individuals to lay eyes on these pieces was an extraordinary privilege. Furthermore, to be entrusted with the sale of the collection years later was a great honour, and we were delighted to see that the collection received the global attention it truly merited,” commented Bill Forrest, Director and Head of Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian Art.
The sale spearheaded Roseberys’ autumn series of Asian Art auctions, to be held on the 29th October ahead of the department’s two-day auction of Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art on November 6-7. The sale is timed to coincide with the influx of buyers to the UK for the annual Asian Art in London event held in the venues around the capital from late October to November 8. Roseberys is among the 32 participants.
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