A pair of beautiful ceramic jars dating back to China's Ming dynasty were expected to sell for around $1 million at a Sotheby's auction in London on Wednesday. But the bids kept climbing, and when the hammer finally fell, the 16th-century artifacts had topped the $12 million mark. The jars decorated with golden carp and plants were the first pair of so-called "fish jars" to be sold at auction with lids included. Only one other pair with covers are kept together at the Musée Guimet in Paris, per CNN. "There are only three known single jars that still have covers, all of which are in private collections," the outlet adds.
The jars belonged to a German family for more than a century, and their survival alone is "nothing short of miraculous," Sotheby's says, noting the family whisked the jars and the rest of their art collection out of their home in Wiesbaden before it was destroyed during World War II. "Their reappearance from view after being hidden for a century provided an unmissable—and unique—opportunity, given the rarity factor," Sotheby's chairman of Asian art for Europe and the Americas, Henry Howard-Sneyd, tells ARTnews. Indeed, "from the moment our catalog was published, the response from collectors ... was swift and enthusiastic," he says, describing "tremendous buzz in the [salesroom]."
ARTnews describes "a 20-minute bidding battle" among 10 collectors. The jars ultimately sold to a private collector in Asia for $12.5 million, becoming the highest-priced Chinese artwork sold at any auction this year. They were made during the reign of Jiajing Emperor, 12th emperor of the Ming dynasty, and represent what Sotheby's describes as a "major breakthrough in the possibilities of porcelain production." The auction house noted the emperor was "a devout Daoist" (or Taoist) and that fish were considered a Daoist symbol of "freedom from restraints" and "a happy, carefree life in tune with nature." (More auction stories.)
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