Chinese Dragon Dishes Sold for DKK 1 million

The summer's international auction at Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen has begun. This time around we started out with Asian art, where we managed to achieve the auction's first million kroner hammer price with twelve Chinese dragon dishes from the period between 1723 and 1735.

"We had great expectations for the Chinese dragon dishes, which were estimated at DKK 500,000-800,000 (€ 67,000-108,000), but they ended up making it past the one million kroner mark, which was absolutely wonderful. The dishes are from an exciting period, where the Emperor Yongzheng led a culturally progressive and diverse period in China's history. The Emperor himself was very much absorbed with art and became a leading figure in promoting a refined and innovative idiom that drew on inspiration from both former dynasties as well as styles from other cultures. Especially when it comes to decorative art made of porcelain, the period can be characterized as one of the culturally richest in China’s history. This is reflected in the beautiful dishes depicting the five-clawed dragon in pursuit of the flaming pearl," says Ralph Lexner, Head of the Asian Art Department.

The dishes previously belonged to the Dane Ludvig Stenersen Münter, who was stationed in China for the Great Northern Telegraph Company during the first three decades of the 20th century.

Chinese Porcelain Is a Hit

At Tuesday afternoon's Asian auction, the three highest hammer prices were all achieved by Chinese porcelain from the productive period between 1723 and 1735. As a contrast to the decorated dragon dishes, the monochrome expression also found its way to the porcelain of the period as can be seen in a pair of lemon-yellow porcelain cups sold for DKK 460,000 (€ 80,000 including buyer’s premium). The yellow colour was favoured in the Yongzheng period and also proved very popular at Tuesday’s auction, which surprised our experts since the cups were both chipped and cracked. The lemon-yellow cups came from the collection of the late Karl Theodor Nielsen, who became director of both the East Asiatic Company and Nordisk Fjer (Northern Feather) in China during the first half of the 20th century.

In an impressive third place came a Chinese bowl decorated with green celadon glaze and a pattern of chrysanthemums and tendrils that went for DKK 360,000 (€ 63,000 including buyer’s premium). The bowl was brought to Denmark by the civil engineer Carl Gimbel, who worked as a math professor at the Imperial University of Beijing between the years 1908 and 1928.

Top 3 Sales of the Auction

1) A set of 12 porcelain "Dragon" dishes, decorated in underglaze blue and iron-red with the five-clawed dragon chasing the flaming pearl. 11 dishes labelled Yongzheng from the period between 1732 and 1735, one dish labelled Yang He Tang from the 18th/19thcentury. Estimate DKK 500,000-800,000 (€ 67,000-108,000). Sold for DKK 1 million (€ 175,000 including buyer’s premium).

2) A Chinese pair of small porcelain cups with deep-rounded sides, the exterior with a lemon-yellow glaze. The bottom marked Yongzheng in double circle, 1723-1735. 10 cm. H. 6 cm. Estimate: DKK 40,000 (€ 5,500). Hammer price DKK 460,000 (€ 80,000 including buyer’s premium).

3) A Chinese porcelain celadon bowl, the exterior with mould-made decoration of chrysanthemums and tendrils. Marked Yongzheng 1723-1735 and of the period. Diam. 22.5 cm. H. 8.5 cm. Estimate: DKK 100,000-150,000 (€ 13,500-20,000). Hammer Price: DKK 360,000 (€ 63,000 including buyer’s premium).