Home / Arts and Entertainment / Hidden Gem: English Family's Vase Becomes Auction Gold
Hidden Gem: English Family's Vase Becomes Auction Gold
17 Oct
Summary
- An imperial Qianlong vase sold for £304,800, far exceeding its estimate.
- The vase features a rare sgraffiato technique carved through ruby enamel.
- It belonged to Dame Agnes Jekyll's family before surfacing at auction.
An imperial porcelain vase, crafted for the Qianlong emperor and previously owned by a single English family, achieved an impressive £304,800 at Sotheby's. This sum significantly exceeded its pre-sale estimate of £100,000 to £200,000 during the November 2025 auction. The vase's journey from a private collection to the auction block highlights the potential value hidden within family heirlooms.
Specialists at Sotheby's identified the vase as exceptionally rare, noting that the vast majority of Chinese art submissions are fakes. The vase is distinguished by the sgraffiato technique, involving intricate carving through ruby enamel to expose underlying white lotus patterns. This meticulous method, refined in the eighteenth century, was partly developed to satisfy the demanding Qianlong emperor.
This particular vase, thirty-seven centimetres tall, boasts a unique design with a classical yuhuchunping shape and baroque-inspired scrollwork. Its base features a six-character seal mark, and no other vase of this specific design is known to exist. Comparable pieces can be found in major museum collections, underscoring its imperial significance.
Its ownership history, or provenance, proved crucial, tracing back to Dame Agnes Jekyll, a notable figure from a prominent collecting family. The vase had been illustrated in a property brochure for a Cornish house, underscoring how remarkable objects can reside unnoticed in ordinary settings for extended periods before their true value is recognized. The sale serves as a compelling example of how accessible online submission portals can unlock the value of family treasures.
