Qing panel including four Qianlong imperial poem porcelain plaques, $440,000 (£359,000) at Regency Auction House.
The winning bid on November 7, over $540,000 (£450,000) with the 23% buyer’s premium, was taken in the room against an internet bidder from LiveAuctioneers.
The famille rose panels, each 6½ x 9in (16.5 x 23cm), were the main attraction. They are 18th century (the seals read Qian and Long for the emperor Qianlong, 1735-96) and painted in a flamboyant blue-green style, with highlights in yellow, rose-pink and red, in the manner of Tang Ying, the famed supervisor of the imperial kilns and a central figure in the development of Chinese porcelain. Two depict landscapes and two botanical specimens.
A detail of one of the four Qianlong imperial poem porcelain plaques that were sold at Regency Auction House.
The inscriptions to the panels are imperial poems eulogising the subject matter. The emperor was a prolific poet and essayist with over 40,000 poems and 1300 pieces of prose recorded in his collected writings. Although few are literary masterpieces, inscribed pieces like this have an emotional resonance with Chinese buyers and command a big premium in the market.
A detail of one of the four Qianlong imperial poem porcelain plaques that were sold at Regency Auction House.
The carved and painted frame is not of the period – it is probably a late Qing confection crafted in the late 19th to early 20th century – but the additional porcelain elements applied in relief are probably 18th century too.
They included two fish (a common symbol for wealth and prosperity) and models of playful children (expressing the desire for a prosperous family). Some of these were damaged but the panels were in perfect condition.
