The vase, consigned by a Dublin-based man who inherited the object from his father, was sold by Sheppard’s auction house in Durrow, Co Laois at its Chinese Ceramics, Asian Works of Art & paintings sale in Kilkenny Castle on Saturday 17 June.
Catalogued as 'Qing period, blue and white double gourd vase with scroll handles, the body with painted floral and shou decoration, mark of Qianlong to base', the vase is 23cm high and 18cm in diameter.
Eleven phone bidders vied for the vase, which was eventually hammered down to a Chinese dealer who was visiting Paris. The price sets a new record for a work of art (excluding paintings) at auction in Ireland.
Auctioneer Philip Sheppard said the low estimate was due to uncertainty over whether the piece was imperial.
“If I can’t be certain it’s an imperial piece, then we estimate based on what it’s worth when it’s not. My job is to connect these pieces to the world of experts via the internet. They come and form opinions and that’s what happened here.”
Army provenance
The seller had inherited the vase from his father, who is understood to have had connections with the British Army.
"At the time when this vase came to Ireland, the country was very much part of the UK, with a number of Irish men serving in senior positions in the British Army," Philip Sheppard told ATG. "Imperial objects made their way back to Ireland as loot or war booty."
Sheppard's is one of the few Irish auction houses to host dedicated Asian sales and this auction was timed to coincide with Asia week in Paris. Sheppard's said buyers from Japan and China were among those who came to view the sale of 146 lots, which included ceramics and paintings, of which 140 sold.
Other highlights included a pair of Qing period white jade seals, estimated at €400–600 which sold for €80,000 hammer.
