Rare Qianlong Dynasty Vase Sells for $9 Million

Rare Chinese Vase Found in Pet-Filled Home Sells for $9 Million

by Claire Bugos/Smithsonianmag.com

Porcelain vases and roaming pets can be a precarious combination. Luckily, a rare Chinese vase stored for decades in the open cupboard of a central European house inhabited by multiple cats and dogs remains intact—and more valuable than ever.

Last month, the vase, which dates to the Qianlong dynasty (1735–1799), sold in a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction for just over $9 million.

Per the auction house’s listing, “[T]his masterpiece ranks amongst the most complex and exquisite porcelains from the Qianlong period ever to have emerged on the market.”

The vase’s exterior features an intricate, celadon-green lattice. Its Western-style enamel and Rococo-style flowers were crafted in yangcai, meaning its “foreign colors” were inspired by contact with Europe. A second vase—painted to depict nine peaches in the traditional blue-and-white style—is visible through the holes in the outer vessel’s decorative screen.

Nicolas Chow, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, tells Atlas Obscura’s Karen Chernick that these kinds of interlaced vases were only made during the seventh and eighth years of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign.

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Carol Duff, MSN, BA, RN

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.

She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.

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