A pair of exceptionally rare Ming Dynasty fish jars, dating back to the 16th century, sold for a record-breaking £9.6 million ($12.5 million) at a Sotheby’s auction, far exceeding their estimated value of £1 million ($1.3 million). Created for the Jiajing Emperor, the porcelain jars ignited a 20-minute bidding war among over ten collectors before selling to a private Asian buyer.
Sotheby’s announced that this sale marks the highest-priced Chinese art auction globally this year. The appeal stemmed from the rarity of a complete, covered pair of fish jars, as only one other pair exists, housed in Paris’s Musée Guimet. Three other single jars with covers are known to exist, all held in private collections.
The jars, intricately decorated with golden carp swimming among lotus and aquatic plants, had been preserved in a German family’s collection for over a century. Remarkably, they were safely stored during WWII before the family’s Wiesbaden home was destroyed.
These “fish jars” reflect significant advancements in Ming Dynasty porcelain and embody Daoist ideals of freedom and harmony with nature. Sotheby’s Nicolas Chow noted that demand for Chinese ceramics has surged alongside China’s economic growth, with collectors seeking to reclaim their heritage through rare historical pieces. Chow emphasized that China’s ceramics tradition, refined over thousands of years, remains unmatched worldwide.