Late last week, an extraordinary bidding war broke out on a Chinese work of art offered in Italy:

The 28th October 2014 in Florence at Pandolfini Casa d’ Aste a Chinese Vase was auctioned at 7,445,000 euros . The auction started at 25,000 €. The winning bid came from China, via internet .

The winning bidder operated through ArsValue.com , a professional platform which provides Auction Houses with streaming technology with a minimum delay to broadcast video and bids over internet.

The vase is a “famille-rose twin fish and chime” yellow ground porcelain vase, Qing Dynasty, 19th century, Qianlong mark, H. 75 cm. The lady who owned it asked Pandolfini to sell it over 15,000 euros. Pandolfini’s expert T.Zecchini wasn’t able to discern if the vase is 18th century or 19th.

Bids suddenly rose over 1M, then the battle took fire from China and eventually the vase was sold for 7,445,000.

We operate under italian law that is very tight about Auctions. Our registered users/customers must give full personal identification and every Auction House decides wheter to admit the subject to the bidding section and the maximum authorized bid.

All involved now eagerly await a final consummation of the sale.