A fragile porcelain bowl with a diameter of less than 4.5 inches sold for more than $25 million in Hong Kong during a brisk week of Chinese art sales.
The antique, which Sotheby’s auction house has deemed “highly important,” is a part of a unique collection of ceramics decorated in Beijing’s imperial workshops in the 18th century.
The Yongzheng Emperor, who ruled China from 1722 to 1735, was in charge when the bowl was made (though the enamel was probably painted soon after his passing). It is a part of a custom known as “falangcai,” or “foreign colours,” which refers to porcelain made in Beijing’s Forbidden City but enamelled in Jingdezhen’s imperial kilns.
The bowl, which has two birds, an apricot tree in blossom, and a willow, brought in 198.2 million Hong Kong dollars ($25.3 million) last Saturday. The artwork also includes a passage from a poem that was allegedly ordered by Wanli Emperor, Yongzheng’s Ming dynasty predecessor.
