Chinese jar sold for GBP15,688,000 at Christie’s
|
|
Blue and white jar. Yuan Dynasty, mid 14th century. Diameter 33 cm. Sold for GBP15,688,000
[zoom (22k)]
|
An exceptionally rare and important blue and white jar, Yuan Dynasty, 14th century was sold at Christie’s London on July 12, for a record GBP15,688,000 ($27,679,100 or ˆ22,731,912), thus, becoming the most expensive Asian Work of Art ever auctioned. Six bidders were fiercely battling over the telephone and in the room, and finally the jar was purchased by Eskenazi Ltd for a private buyer. This is the highest price paid for any work of art sold at Christie's this year.
The jar is preserved in exquisite condition. Dating from the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), previously unrecorded, blue and white guan jar is finely decorated with a narrative scene in vibrant underglaze cobalt blue. The jar is considered to be one of only eight to have survived to the present day. It has vividly painted scenes from the story of the conflict between the states of Yan and Qi in the Warring States period (AD 475-221). A figure in a cart, pulled by a tiger and a leopard, follows two foot soldiers running by a stream. Over the bridge is a scholarly figure on a horse looking across a rocky landscape to another horseman. This extremely rare item was acquired in China by Captain Baron Haro van Hemert in the period from 1913 to 1923.
äÏÂÁ×ÉÔØ ÏÔÚÙ× 
