Rare pair of Ming dynasty vases smash all auction estimates, selling for $12.5 million

CHINA: A pair of Ming dynasty vases have sold for more than USD 12.5 million at an auction. The fish jar vases dating back from the 16th century were originally estimated to be worth just USD 1.3 million.

CNN reported that auction house Sotheby’s had sold the jars after a 20-minute bidding war among 10 collectors. The jars were eventually purchased by a private collector in Asia. The appeal of the jars, which were made for the Jiajing Emperor, was that they came complete with lids.

The only other pair of jars with lids are held by Musee Guimet in Paris.

“This remarkable result makes it the highest priced Chinese work of art sold at auction worldwide this year,” said Sotheby’s.

The jars feature golden carps floating through ponds brimming with lotus flowers and other plants. They were made sometime between 1522 and 1566.

Newsflash: These rare Ming dynasty Chinese ‘Fish Jars’ soared over their estimate to sell for £9.6m / $12.5m.

This is the highest priced Chinese work of art to be sold anywhere in the world this year.@Sothebys#AsianArtInLondon #ChineseArt #Auction pic.twitter.com/WSojBbSzZy

— Asian Art in London (@AsianArtLondon) November 7, 2024

“Their survival is nothing short of miraculous, as the jars were removed to safety together with the family’s art collection during the Second World War, before the family home in Wiesbaden was destroyed,” said Sotheby’s.

“The Emperor was a devout Daoist, and fish as an image of freedom from restraints played an important part in Daoist thought – they were considered symbols of a happy, carefree life in tune with nature,” the auction house added.

Nicolas Chow, chairman of Chinese works of art at Sotheby’s Asia, told CNN in an interview in 2017 that the wealth in the Chinese economy had resulted in a rise in prices of ceramics such as these.

“You have all this new wealth in China and very high net worth individuals who are extremely hungry to reclaim their past.

“Ceramics has always had an important place in China and although you’ve got traditions elsewhere – in the Middle East, in Europe – this history in China goes back thousands of years,” he said.

Chow explained that the Chinese people had refined the technology over time and their advances are unmatched anywhere else in the world.