A CHINESE QING DYNASTY VASE SOLD FOR £20. MILLION IN A SOTHEBY'S SALE IN HONG KONG ON THURSDAY, A WORLD RECORD AT AUCTION FOR ANY CHINESE PORCELAIN. 'THIS IS DEFINITELY A MILESTONE', NICOLAS CHOW, THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF SOTHEBY'S ASIA TOLD REUTERS. 'CHINESE WORKS OF ART TOOK THEIR PLACE ON THE WORLD AUCTION STAGE TODAY.' WHILE SEGMENTS OF THE CHINESE ART MARKET COOLED SUBSTANTIALLY DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, ESPECIALLY ONCE THE MUCH SOUGHT AFTER CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART, OLDER PAINTINGS AND IMPERIAL ANTIQUES CONTINUED TO GENERATE SOLID DEMANDS AND PRICES, THOUGH FEWER QUALITY WORKS SURFACED AS SELLERS STAYED AWAY ON STILL FRAGILE SENTIMENT. IN SOTHEBY'S CURRENT AUTUMN SALES, HOWEVER, A SELECTION OF RARE WORKS FROM FOUR MAJOR PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND A FLOOD OF FREE-SPENDING CHINESE MILLIONAIRES, CONTRIBUTED TO WHAT MANY CALLED ONE OF THE BEST SALES OF CHINESE CERAMICS IN RECENT YEARS. IN A PACKED AUCTION HALL FILLED WITH APPLAUDING MAINLAND CHINESE BUYERS, A BIDDING WAR SAW THE RARE QING VASE FINALLY GO TO ALICE CHENG, A HONG KONG COLLECTOR AND SISTER OF RENOWNED OCTOGENARIAN CHINESE ART COLLECTOR AND DEALER ROBERT CHANG. 'I'M VERY HAPPY', SAID CHENG. 'AS LONG AS YOU LIKE SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT'S EXPENSIVE IT'S WORTH IT', SHE TOLD REPORTERS. THE PRICE WAS MORE THAN THE ABOUT £17 MILLION PAID FOR A 14th CENTURY BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN JAR SOLD BY CHRISTIE'S IN 2005, THOUGH LESS THAN A CALLIGRAPHY SCROLL BY SONG DYNASTY HUANG TINGJAIN THAT SOLD FOR AROUND £37 MILLION AT A JUNE BEIJING AUCTION BY CHINESE AUCTIONEERS BEIJING POLY. THE GLOBULAR YELLOW-GROUND QING VASE, DECORATED WITH FLOWERS AND GOLDEN EMBLEMS FOR LONGEVITY, IS AN EXEMPLAR OF THE SO-CALLED 'FAMILLE ROSE' FAMILY OF QING VASES THAT HAVE BEEN AMONG THE MOST HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER WORKS AMONG THE WEALTH CHINESE IN RECENT YEARS. FIRED IN THE 18th CENTURY DURING THE QIANLONG PERIOD OF THE QING DYNASTY, THE GOURD-SHAPED VASE HAS AN IMPECCABLE PROVENANCE AND PUT UP FOR SALE BY LONGTIME COLLECTOR JT TAI.
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