China 18th century bowl sells for P1.3 billion at an auction
A porcelain bowl from 18th century China sold for over $25 million (P1.3 billion) at an auction in Hong Kong.
Sotheby's said the "highly important" antique hails from a rare group of ceramics during the time of the Yongzheng Emperor who ruled China from 1722 to 1735, CNN International reported.
The bowl, measuring under 4.5 inches in diameter, is part of the falangcai or foreign colors tradition, which refer to porcelain originating from the kilns of Jingdezhen city in northeastern Jiangxi province but enameled by artisans in the Forbidden City in capital Beijing.
The bowl depicts two swallows, a blooming apricot tree, and a willow—a popular motif during the Yongzheng period according to auction catalog written by ceramics expert Regina Krahl.
It also has an excerpt from a poem, which is thought to have been commissioned by the Wanli Emperor, Yongzheng's predecessor during the Ming dynasty.
The bowl is also among a small group of items representing "the peak of painting on porcelain, an artistry that was never surpassed," Krahl said.
It was also once part of a pair, and was first recorded by Captain Charles Oswald Liddell, a Shanghai-based shipping merchant, in a collection he assembled in the late 19th century.
The two bowls were split up in 1929, each sold for £150 at the time (£7,600 or $9,400 or P514,000 in today's rates).
Sotheby's said the other bowl is at the British Museum in London, while the one that was recently sold went to several owners over the decades, including American socialite Barbara Hutton.
Its last owner was Alice Cheng, a businesswoman and collector, who purchased it for $19.3 million (P1 billion) in 2006.
