03/07/2020 - 11:42
- Clarín.com
- Society
A porcelain canteen that belonged to the 18th-century Chinese emperor Qianlong, was sold for 4.1 million euros (4.6 million dollars) at an auction in Bourges, in central France.
With the expenses, the sale that was awarded to a Chinese buyer who bid on the phone, amounts to almost 4.94 million euros ( 5.53 million dollars ), according to Commissioner Olivier Clair, who described it as a "good sale ".
The canteen, in cobalt blue cameo with a white background, known as Bianhu , was cooked in the ovens of Emperor Qianlong in the second half of the 18th century, Clair said.
It represents an imperial dragon, with five claws, that seeks the sacred pearl. "There were several, but it is very rare. Most of these objects were taken from the Summer Palace" by a Franco-English expeditionary body in 1860, Clair recalled.
The canteen was used by Chinese pilgrims. (AFP)
"The canteen was used by the Chinese pilgrims. Little by little it became a decorative symbol, like the consecration sword. It is an object that interests the Chinese, since it is their heritage, " he added.
"We do not know how this object arrived in France, we have only known its history for three generations. It belonged to an old family of the paper industry, well connected politically in the nineteenth century," said the curator-appraiser.
The detail of the drawing. (AFP)
The imperial pieces of the Qianlong period are much appreciated. A pink porcelain bowl of the family sold for $ 30.4 million in April 2018 at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.
In June 2018, a Chinese porcelain vessel created by Emperor Qianlong reached 16.2 million euros in Sotheby's in Paris and a canteen of the same period, 5 million euros in a sale near the French city of Tours ( west center).
Source: AFP