HONG KONG (voa) – A rare porcelain vase from the Qing Dynasty has been sold in Hong Kong for $5.3 million, a record amount for porcelain from that dynasty.
At an auction Tuesday, Chinese art collector and businesswoman Alice Cheng purchased the peach-patterned vase from the Yongzheng period (1723-1735).
A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said the vase is rare because of its unique pastel colors. She said most porcelain during that period is blue and white.
The vase previously belonged to former U.S. ambassador to Israel and former publisher of the International Herald Tribune, Ogden Reid, who inherited the vase from his mother. He flew to Hong Kong for the auction. The vase spent several decades unprotected in his home.
Bidding for the Qing vase was disrupted when one some protesters shouted to the auctioneer to “stop selling looted goods” and demanding that the stolen works be returned to China. There were minor scuffles with police but no injuries and no arrests were reported.
Some information for this report provided by BBC and AFP.
