Chinese vase discovered in an attic shoebox sells for £14m
An 18th Century Chinese vase , left for decades in a shoebox in France, has been sold for €16.2m (£14.2m) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Tuesday and sold for more than 20 times its estimated guide price -€500, 000 to €700, 000. It’s the highest price ever reached for a single item sold by Sotheby’s in France.
The vase formed part of a family inheritance and was recently discovered in an attic.
Oliver Valmier, Sotheby’s Asian arts expert said: “the seller took th train, Metro and walked on foot through the doors of Sotheby’s and into my office with the vase in a shoebox protected by newspaper.
When she put the box on my desk and we opened it, we were all stunned by the beautiful piece. This is a major work of art. It is as if we had just discovered a Caravaggio.”
The 30 cm, blub-shaped vase, painted in shades of green, yeloow, purple and blue was described as an exceptionally well-preserved vessel made for an emperor of the Qing Dynasty. It also decipts deer, birds and other animals in a wood and included gold embroidery around its neck. The Vase bears a mark of the Qianlong Emperor who ruled China from 1736 to 1795.
The vase was in perfect condition and is the only known example in the world bearing such detail.
The auction lasted some 20 minutes, a long time by usual standards with multiple bidders battling for the vase.
Sotheby’s has not revealed the name of nationality of the Asian buyer.