Rare Pair of 16th-Century Ming Dynasty Jars Hammers for $12.5 M
On Wednesday in London, Sotheby’s sold a pair of rare 16th-century Ming Dynasty Chinese jars decorated with orange fish for $12.5 million, blowing the house’s $1 million high estimate out of the water. Ten collectors, most of whom competed by phone, were locked in a 20-minute bidding battle for the jars, which appeared in an auction of Chinese art. They eventually sold to a private Asian collector. The result, which is the first ever auction appearance of a complete pair of such “fish jars” with covers, also marks the highest priced Chinese artwork sold at auction worldwide this year. The porcelain jars were part of a German family collection for more than a century before going under the hammer today. Only one example of similar jars with covers is known to exist in a pair, and they’re held in the Musée Guimet in Paris. What’s more, only three other single jars in private hands are known to have kept their original covers. “From the moment our catalogue was published, the response from collectors to this …