Emperor's Treasure Qianlong Colorful Moon Holding Bottle with HKD 108 million, Leading Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction Antiques and Antiquities Section to Close Over HKD 376 million

 Auction recommendation     |      Network source    |    2023-06-02 11:47
On May 30, 2023, Christie's Hong Kong 2023 Spring Auction entered the auction of the antiques and curios section. The total transaction volume of the four special sessions exceeded HKD 376 million, resulting in a total of 1 billion yuan and 4 10 million level lots. Among them, the extremely rare Qing Qianlong Doucai Canglong Godson Tu Kui Long Ear Moon Embracing Bottle, which has been in secret storage since the auction by Hong Kong's Christie's in 1995, can be regarded as an imperial treasure.




 
At the auction site, the Moon Holding Bottle started at HKD 70 million, followed by fierce competition between two phone commissions, and ultimately ended up being hammered at HKD 91 million with a commission of HKD 108.025 million.


Qing Qianlong Doucai Canglong Jiaozi Tu Kui Long Ear Holding Moon Bottle Six Character Seal Script
Transaction price: HKD 108.025 million


The Doucai Canglong Godson Picture Embracing the Moon Bottle is one of the most outstanding works of the Qianlong Official Kiln. The shape of the Moon Holding Bottle appeared in the early Ming Dynasty in China, with blue and white designs. However, at that time, the size was only about 25 centimeters. By the 18th century of the Qing Dynasty, large-scale Moon Holding Bottles began to be fired, and this vessel was the largest and most impressive one among them. This lunar vase decoration is mainly composed of two flying dragons, with a 5-clawed red dragon hovering in the air on the left and a smaller green dragon looking up on the right. It is precisely the meaning of the godson of the dragon, visualizing the inheritance of the empire.

Qing Qianlong's Western Colorful Brocade with Ten Thousand Characters Pattern, Hundred Son Dragon Boat, Exquisite Carved Heart Bottle, Six Character Seal Script
Transaction price : HKD 40.3 million
 
 
Another important item in this special event is the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Ocean Colorful Brocade with a ten thousand character pattern, a hundred son dragon boat and exquisite heart turning bottle, which was hammered for HKD 33 million and sold for HKD 40.3 million.




 
The Zhuanxin vase was created and burned by Tang Ying, the governor of pottery, in the 8th year of the Qianlong reign. However, its firing cost was high, and even during the Qianlong Dynasty, which had strong national strength and abundant financial resources, it was not willing to burn in large quantities. The belly of this heart turning bottle is designed with a hollow out design, and the inner bottle depicts a lively dragon boat race. Turning the inner bottle, you can feel the intensity of the dragon boat race and the joy of the participants through the hollow out area.

 
The "Bright Window and Clean Table - Deng and His Wife's Collection of Chinese Classical Furniture" special session presents the rare yellow pear furniture and various literary treasures carefully searched by former Hong Kong judge Deng Guozhen for 30 years. The total transaction of this special session was HKD 83.6519 million.

 
In the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong sparked a wave of collecting Huanghuali furniture. As a senior collector, Deng Shi collected this batch of high-quality Chinese classical furniture with rich collection knowledge and guidance from good teachers and friends. The lead auction for this special event is a pair of 17th century yellow pear four headed official hat chairs. This subject was hammered at the scene for HKD 23 million, with a commission of HKD 28.205 million.

Seventeenth Century Yellow Pear Four Year Old Official Hat Chair (A Pair)
Transaction price: HKD 28.205 million
 
This pair of yellow pear four headed official hat chairs has a straight and dignified overall design. The most eye-catching feature of this pair of chairs is their back panel. The backboards of the two chairs have the same wood grain, which can roughly be inferred that they are made of the same piece of wood. Therefore, it can be speculated that this yellow pear wood has a large size. In addition, its carving is delicate and exquisite. One is a unicorn, and the other is a pair of auspicious beasts. In addition to the carvers on the back panel, there are also carved Kui dragons on the teeth, with carvings on the front, sides, and back, making it a pair of chairs that can be seen on all sides.
 
A pair of 17th century Huanghua Pear Pot Door with a three-layer frame at the mouth was sold for HKD 11.265 million, ranking second in the special event.
17th century Huanghua Pear Pot Door Ring Mouth Three Layer Frame (One Pair)
Transaction price: HKD 11.265 million


There is a legendary experience about this pair of frames. This frame was purchased and collected by Ms. Wu Jiaen in Jiamu Hall in 1989, and its biggest feature is the first floor railing. At that time, the trend of collecting Ming style furniture had already surged in Hong Kong, and shelves were also popular and practical furniture among collectors. Shortly after, Ye Chengyao, a member of the Hong Kong Yep Group, bought this frame. In 1991, the Chinese University of Hong Kong held the exhibition "Ming style Huanghua Pear Furniture: Chu Tan Room Dream Tour", which showcased a total of 68 pieces of Ye's collection, and this frame is one of the exhibits. In 1995, the Hong Kong Museum of Art held the "Good Gu Min Qiu - Min Qiu Jing She's 35th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition", which selected this frame from Ye Chengyao's collection. During the exhibition collection process, it was discovered that another roommate had hidden a similar frame, which immediately became a popular story at the time. And this roommate is Deng Guozhen. At that time, the catalog of the Hong Kong Museum of Art merged two frames and published them in pairs. At first, Deng bought a frame from Mr. Marco, and in 2002, he captured another frame at the Christie's Dr. Ye Collection in New York. Eventually, he made the current pair, which is particularly rare.
17th-century Huanghua Pear High Waistband Overlord Bin Horseshoe Foot Table
Transaction price: HKD 9.45 million
 

The 17th century Huanghua Pear High Waist King Cheng Horseshoe Foot Table was sold for HKD 9.45 million. Its concise appearance reveals balance, coordination, and dynamism. The overlord Cheng under the table and the hooves on the soles of his feet may seem simple, but they are actually extremely labor-intensive. The characteristic of working hard in inconspicuous places reflects the unique charm of Ming Dynasty furniture.

 
In addition, the Yellow Pear Crescent Table of the 17th/18th century of the Qing Dynasty was sold for HKD 8.19 million; In the 18th century of the Qing Dynasty, the four sided flat long square stool of Huanghuali was sold for HKD 6.048 million.
 

 
Qing Dynasty 17th/18th Century Yellow Flower Pear Crescent Table
Transaction price: HKD 8.19 million

Yellow Pear Square Bench with Four Sides Flat and Long in the 18th Century of the Qing Dynasty
Transaction price: HKD 6.048 million


A total transaction of HKD 27.4743 million was made in the later "Bogushao Qiu Palmer Family Collection" event. Among them, the Qing Emperor Kangxi's colorful landscape painting pen holder was sold for HKD 5103000; A pair of Qing Yongzheng's exterior rouge and interior pink Eight Immortals offering longevity pictures were sold for HKD 1.764 million; A pair of Qing Kangxi colorful immortals crossing the sea were sold for HKD 1197000.

Qing Kangxi Colorful Landscape Painting Pen Holder
Transaction price: HKD 5.103 million

Qing Yongzheng Outer Rouge Red Earth Pink Eight Immortals Offering Birthday Picture Plate (One Pair)
Transaction price: HKD 1.764 million


The "Important Chinese Porcelain and Craft Boutique" is a permanent special event held by Christie's, which gathers over 120 items from multiple categories such as porcelain, jade, and lacquer, with a total transaction of HKD 116923600. The highly anticipated Ming Xuan De Blue and White Ganoderma Lucidum Pomegranate Zun was hammered at the auction site for HKD 28 million, with a commission of HKD 34.255 million.
Ming Xuande Blue and White Ganoderma Pattern Pomegranate Zun
Transaction price: HKD 34.255 million


This pomegranate statue looks like a pomegranate, hence its name. The body of the vessel is painted with 6 Ganoderma lucidum patterns. Ganoderma lucidum patterns appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, but were used as auxiliary patterns at that time, while the main pattern was used during the Xuande period. This artifact has a rich blue and white hair color, with the inscription "Made in the Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty" at the bottom, which is very rare. According to global public and private collections, apart from this one, only three other books have the Xuande style pomegranate statue. One is in the Palace Museum in Beijing, one is in the National Museum, and another is in a private collection.
 
 
Qing Qianlong Blue and White Triple Fold Branch Flower and Fruit Pattern Six Square Zun
Transaction price: HKD 6.93 million


During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the Blue and White Triple Fold Flower and Fruit Pattern Hexagonal Zun was hammered for HKD 5.5 million and sold for HKD 6.93 million. This statue is adorned with rich patterns, including pomegranate, chrysanthemum, persimmon, peony, peach fruit, and lotus flowers on its abdomen. It also has patterns of echoes, rolling grass, folded flowers, ten thousand characters, and Ruyi cloud head. These exquisite works should be imperial porcelain fired to decorate the palace.

Qing Qianlong Huangwang Collage Decoration
Transaction price: HKD 6.048 million


This special high price auction also included the Qing Dynasty Qianlong topaz Xiezhi decoration, which was sold at 6.048 million Hong Kong dollars; The Qing Dynasty Qianlong Blue Glaze and Colored Blue Glaze were sold for HKD 5.796 million, with over two pairs of auspicious ears and octagonal statues; In the Wuxu year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1778), the imperial title Chengni Tiger Fu Inkstone with a red sandalwood bundle style box was sold for HKD 4.41 million.

Qing Qianlong Blue Glazed and Colored, Safe and Unobstructed, Auspicious Celebration, Surplus Double Ruyi Ears, From Fang Zun
Transaction price: HKD 5.796 million

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