Chinese crackers rule art auction

China’s new money showed its power, driving up prices at a Chinese art sale in London this week

DURING a week when the possibility of Chinese banks taking over distressed Irish financial institutions was publicly aired, the sheer power of China’s new money was on display in London.

By far the most intriguing sale of the week was the latest twist in the saga of what has become known as “The Carlow Vase”.

The 18th century blue-and-white porcelain piece, made in China during the reign of 18th century Emperor Qianlong, sold at Bonhams Fine Chinese Art auction on Thursday afternoon for £240,000 (€281,406) to a Chinese buyer.

But hours later, by extraordinary coincidence, another Qianlong vase – discovered during a house clearout in suburban London – sold at a separate auction for an astonishing £53.1 million (€62.25m).

A torrent of Asian money flowed through London as Chinese collectors splurged to buy back their lost imperial heritage.

A tiny white jade seal, made for Emperor Qianlong, the size of a matchbox, sold for £2.7 million (€3.17m).

The Carlow vase had originally gone on sale in March at Sheppard’s auction House in Durrow, Co Laois with a nominal estimate of €100-€150.

But it sparked an unexpected bidding war from bidders who had spotted it on the internet and travelled to Ireland for the auction. The vase was bought for what he called the “bargain” price €110,000 by London dealer Richard Peters.

A Co Carlow family, who have retained strict anonymity, inherited the vase and some 100 other pieces of porcelain from two sisters who emigrated to the United States in the 1940s. The family had no idea of the vase’s value and were reportedly stunned by its sale.

A second lot in the Durrow auction, a pair of Chinese famille rose vases – also offered at nominal value – sold for €41,000. One of this pair also resurfaced at Bonhams and sold for £102,000 (€119,572).

A spokesman for Bonhams said “the moral of the story is: go into your attic and check what is there”.

The Carlow family has now decided to sell the remaining items in the collection at Sheppard’s next month. Hotels in Co Laois may want to consider printing room rates and menus in Mandarin.

Also on Thursday, Christie’s held a sale of 20th century British and Irish Art featuring two paintings by Jack B Yeats which had been bought for his Paris apartment 60 years ago by the late British novelist Graham Greene.

A Horseman Enters a Town at Night sold for £349,250 (€410,310), the low end of its £300,000-£500,000 (€352,000-€587,000) estimate while the smaller Man In A Room Thinking comfortably exceeded expectations.

It sold for £66,050 (€77,560); its estimate was £30,000 (€35,000).

Christie’s could not say if the pain-tings had been bought by an Irish collector. There was disappointment that a portrait by Sir William Orpen – of the socialite Gertrude Sanford – failed to sell on its market debut.

The saddle used by the late jockey Pat Taaffe for all his victories on Arkle, Ireland’s most famous racehorse during the 1960s, was bought by an un-named Irish collector during a sale of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions in Mayfair on Tuesday.