The Guiguzi Xiashan Picture Jar is famous for its good quality and high price.
And after that, it was also because of its mysterious life experience.
Before the auction, this large blue and white jar from the Yuan Dynasty was exhibited in Shendu and the sea, attracting great attention from the collecting community.
At that time, people estimated that it might set a world record for Chinese porcelain auctions.
Personnel from Christie's estimated that its worth would reach US$10 million, but the reality far exceeded people's expectations.
The "Ghost Valley Descending Mountain" pattern on this large jar is a unique piece of blue and white porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty handed down from generation to generation.
If you have never seen this Yuan blue and white piece, it will be difficult to copy the pictures on it.
The picture on it is Gui Guzi, riding down a mountain in a cart pulled by a tiger and a leopard.
The story comes from the Yuan Dynasty print "Le Yi Tu Qi Seven Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Collection". It shows the story of Sun Bin being imprisoned by Yan during the war between Qi and Yan during the Warring States Period, and his master Gui Guzi went down the mountain to rescue his apprentice.
The pictures on the jar are lifelike and the painting work is delicate. It is from the hands of a painter rather than a craftsman, which makes the porcelain jar extraordinary compared with ordinary blue and white porcelain.
This point is also reflected in other pots, such as the same Yuan blue and white "Jinxiang Pavilion" pot, which is not satisfactory.
This picture jar also sold for a high price of 49 million yuan at Christie's in Hong Kong in 2005.
The scene painted on the jar comes from the drama "Meng Yuemei's Hate of Jinxiang Pavilion" by Wang Zhongwen, a famous playwright of the Yuan Dynasty.
The picture shows the tortuous love story of the talented and beautiful Chen Gui and Meng Yuemei during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.
These two jars must be rare treasures, and they are also two of the eight blue and white jars with stories about people from the Yuan Dynasty.
Although the themes and characters in the two pot paintings are different, the height and diameter of the objects are roughly the same.
For example, the neck and shoulders are also painted with similar patterns.
Unfortunately, the mouth of the "Jinxiang Pavilion Picture" jar has been repaired, and its value is much lower than that of the "Guiguzi Descending Mountain Picture".
The decorative patterns of Yuan blue and white porcelain are mostly peonies, bamboo plums, dragon patterns, lotus patterns, flowers and birds, etc.
Therefore, the appearance of stories about historical figures on blue and white porcelain is even more precious.
The former collector of the Yuan blue and white jar with Guiguzi descending the mountain was a Heniu man. His great-grandfather purchased this jar when he was serving as the commander of the escort force of the Heniu envoy in the capital city of Shenzhou.
This blue and white jar has been passed down in this family for 4 generations.
In recent years, that family has used this large can to hold DVDs.
Christie's went to his home a few years ago and saw it, and at the time they only thought it was worth about $2,000.
It wasn't until Christie's experts visited again that they discovered that this porcelain was extremely rare.
What can be determined now is that there are only eight blue and white antiques of the same type that have been handed down from generation to generation with the same characters and stories as this jar.
The wavy pattern painted on the neck of the jar can be seen on six other pieces, all of which are collected by the David Foundation.
Three of the eight treasures have lotus patterns painted on their shoulders, including this one.
The jar in the Boston Museum does not have stripes on its shoulders or feet.
This jar is the only one among the eight antiques with auspicious patterns painted on the lotus petals at the feet.
This is very similar to the blue and white vase collected by the David Foundation. The other six lotus petals all contain drooping wishful patterns.
It is worth mentioning that the peony pattern on the jar is very similar to the one painted on the jar in David's collection.
Based on the wavy pattern, peony pattern and auspicious pattern, which are very similar to the porcelain vase collected by the David Foundation, it is inferred that the jar was most likely made around 1351.
Porcelain jars, usually with stories about characters, are mostly custom-made and fired in China, while other varieties are exported to the Middle East and other regions.
The number of local orders is very small, and the blue and white patterns are beautiful and the painting skills are exquisite. They are among the best in the world. Many of them are collected in museums.
It is worth mentioning that two or three months after Christie's received the porcelain jar, its staff accidentally found prints printed between 1321 and 1323 during research in the library.
The decoration on the cans was largely influenced by prints.
Moreover, there is no other porcelain with the same scene painted on it.
In this way, the porcelain jar has "all the qualities" that collectors value, and for this reason, the London auction is particularly valuable.
Rare is rare, but this jar does not have the twists and turns that many rare works of art have.
The porcelain jar was purchased in China in the early 20th century by the Dutchman Baron Van Hemmert.
It was World War I and he served in the Dutch Navy from 1913 to 1923.
Later, he was stationed in Shendu as the commander of the Dutch envoys' escort force, and was responsible for the security of the envoys and territories of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Hemet loved art and had an extensive collection. His love for Chinese porcelain can be seen from the photos of his old house in the capital of China.
Interestingly, when he purchased the jar, the Yuan Dynasty had not yet been recognized as capable of producing such fine porcelain, so he always thought the jar was a Ming Dynasty work.
During the Mongolian and Yuan rule, the number of blue and white porcelain items was small and easily forgotten.
Western collectors did not begin to favor Yuan Dynasty porcelain until 1968, when the Cleveland Museum of Art held an exhibition of Chinese art under the Mongol and Yuan rule.
Since the 1970s, blue and white in the Yuan Dynasty has gradually attracted attention.
But not many Yuan Dynasty blue and white flowers have been discovered, which can be said to be handed down from generation to generation.
Like him, Hemet's descendants did not know how valuable the porcelain jar was.
Therefore, over the years, I have not paid any special attention to it.
In the 1960s, the porcelain jar was valued by Hemet's first generation descendants, but experts also mistakenly thought it was blue and white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty.
When it was passed down to the third generation, his family asked Christie's auction house for an appraisal, and the precious value of the porcelain jar was discovered.
Interestingly, the jar was never taken seriously in the general's home. It was placed in the corner as a container for many years to hold sundries.
Even the staff at Christie's were very surprised, because antique dealers have always been very interested in the origin of objects.
The origin of this jar is clear and it has been in a family collection since 1913.
And it has never been known to the world before, and it is a "new product" in the eyes of experts.
Therefore, once it is disclosed, market interest is very high and it is highly valued by collectors.
In addition, the porcelain jars have been touring exhibitions in New York, Neon, Xiangjiang, Dahai, Shendu, Wanwan, Heniu, France and other places.
As people's perceptual understanding of collections continues to increase, valuations will naturally increase.
Before the auction, experts valued the porcelain jar at 1 million pounds, and some people said there was no problem in selling it for more than 5 million pounds.
Even Christie's expert appraisal experts only estimate the price to be between 6 million and 8 million pounds.
Although the porcelain jar was finally won by London antique dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi, the bidding process was not smooth sailing.
Especially the addition of Chinese bidders has made the bidding even more dangerous, causing the price to rise again and again.
On the day of the auction, there were at least 7 or 8 people participating in bidding on the cans.
Among them are many collectors from China, including Wang Dingqian, the general manager of Wanwan Humble House, Zhang Zongxian, a leader in the collection industry in Xiangjiang, and Zhai Jianmin, secretary-general of the Xiangjiang Art Chamber of Commerce, who has been engaged in the appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain for 30 years.
George Li, a collector of Chinese descent, was also present, and there were also collectors bidding over the phone.