Qing dynasty bowl sells for record $19.5m

HONG KONG: Hong Kong art dealer Robert Chang sold a Qing Dynasty porcelain bowl, the pride of his collection, for a record HK$151.3 million ($19.5 million) at Christie’s International’s Hong Kong auction. The buyer was his sister.

Alice Cheng, a collector and member of the Chinese Communist Party’s top advisory body, paid more than twice Christie’s high-end estimate of HK$60 million, including commission, the company said. The bowl, which bears the mark of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795), was the centrepiece of 20 ceramics offered by Chang, who bought the item in 1985 from another dealer for HK$1.1 million.

Demand for porcelain from China’s Qing (1644-1911) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties has driven pieces to records at auctions worldwide. In October 2005, Hong Kong art dealer William Chak paid HK$115.5 million for a 16.5-centimetre Qing vase, according to China Daily.

Christie’s five-day auction began on November 26, offering a total of 2,502 paintings, ceramics, gems and watches. On the first day, the company sold a 1924 Xu Beihong painting ‘Slave and Lion’ for HK$53.9 million, a record for a Chinese oil. Zhang Xiaogang’s 1993 ‘Tiananmen Square’ went for HK$18 million, including commission, six times the top estimate.