Wreck sale raises over €3m

THE three-day auction of 76,000 pieces of Chinese export porcelain from the Ca Mau shipwreck at Sotheby’s in Amsterdam raised €3,046,716, more than double the pre-sale estimate.

The early wreck was discovered off the Ca Mau peninsula in Vietnam and proceeds will be used by the Vietnamese government to fund further operations.

Among the highlights were a 69-piece tea service with the Boy on a buffalo pattern which made €49,200, 12 times the estimate. An Imari pavilion pattern tea service was sold to a Russian buyer for €31,200, 10 times the estimate. A boy on a buffalo tea service made €28,800, 10 times the estimate.

Eight Lady feeding a deer dishes (estimated €300-€500) went for €9,000, 12 Chrysanthemum bowls for €10,200 (est. €500-€700).

A collector in the USA obtained 11 Lotus flowers bowls for €12,000 (est. €400-€700) and lot 231, eight Deshima Island (Scheveningen) dishes went to France for €14,400 (est. €1,600-€2,400).

Lot 703, 12 symbol and trigrams dishes were bought by a Chinese collector for €5,760 (est. €500-€700), and a buyer in Australia was successful in acquiring lot 811, a sea sculpture for €4,800 (est. €500-€700).

The British Museum acquired a rare biscuit ewer and cover in the form of a seated monkey and a boy on the buffalo tea service.

Auctioneer Mark Grol, managing director of Sotheby’s Amsterdam said: “We are absolutely delighted with the results of this sale.

“The buyers appreciated the quality of the porcelain that was produced in the Imperial kilns of Jingdezhen. The wonderful opportunity to be the first owner of this 18th century Chinese porcelain had a strong appeal, as was demonstrated by the exceptional competition from bidders crowding in the room or participating by telephone”.

Sotheby’s evening sale of impressionist and modern art in London broke all records for a European sale and raised £95 million. In the sale, 30 paintings were sold for over £1 million.