Liu Yiqian made another major acquisition today in Hong Kong. No Chinese ceramics sale would be complete without the Chinese collector leaving his imprint on the bidding:

In a crowded room at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday, bidding opened at 48 million Hong Kong dollars and quickly reached 100 million Hong Kong dollars, where it hovered briefly until the hammer finally came down on Mr. Liu’s bid, which was phoned in. The auction house charged an additional buyer’s premium of 13.9 million Hong Kong dollars. […]

It was the third-highest price ever paid at auction for a Song ceramic, after a brush washer that sold for 207.9 million Hong Kong dollars in 2012 and a basin that sold for 146.8 million Hong Kong dollars in 2014. Those two sales also took place at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong.

The vase is part of the guan, or official, ware that was made for the imperial court of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) in Hangzhou. It has a grayish-blue monochromatic glaze with threadlike crackles, which developed in the kiln during the cooling-down process after the piece had been fired.

Southern Song Dynasty-Era Vase Sells for $14.7 Million at Sotheby’s Auction  (WSJ)