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Attic Treasure: £19 Box Fetches £288,000!
11 Oct
Summary
- A 15th-century Chinese enamel box bought for £19 sold for £288,000.
- The rare box dates to the Ming dynasty's Xuande reign (1426-1435).
- Only five such Xuande-marked pomegranate boxes are known to exist.
A Chinese enamel box, originally acquired for £19 in 1946, has achieved a sale price of £288,000 after being discovered in a family attic. This 15th-century cloisonné pomegranate box, dating to the Ming dynasty's Xuande reign (1426-1435), was sold at Dreweatts auction house.
Experts recognized the box's rarity, noting that examples from the Xuande period bearing the imperial mark are particularly scarce. The box features intricate designs of pomegranates, branches, and blossoms, symbols associated with fertility in Chinese culture.
This rediscovered piece is one of only five known Xuande-marked pomegranate boxes; three are in institutional collections, and one is in another private collection. The box was previously exhibited in South Africa in 1953 but was believed to have been lost from public view until its recent reappearance.
