$4.2M Korean Jar breaks auction World Record at Bonhams in San Francisco

The Warren Family Korean Jar

$4.2M Korean Jar breaks auction World Record at Bonhams in San Francisco

A rare Joseon Dynasty Korean blue and white porcelain jar set a world record at auction in the San Francisco salesroom of Bonhams & Butterfields

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December 10th 2008 – A rare Joseon Dynasty Korean blue and white porcelain jar set a world record at auction in the San Francisco salesroom of Bonhams & Butterfields. Sold over the telephone to an undisclosed Asian buyer, the crowd burst into applause after a hotly contested bidding war among more than 12 clients – bidding from the salesroom floor and via telephones.

The mid-Joseon Dynasty (circa 1800) jar was discovered by Asian Art Department Director Dessa Goddard in a monthly appraisal event held at the company’s Sunset Blvd. gallery in Los Angeles. The jar was formerly within the collection of Mrs. Fiske Warren of Boston, MA, part of the Mount Vernon Street Warren family, living there at the turn of the 19th century. The vase became a family heirloom and has been in a family member’s Southern California home for decades.

Collectors, dealers and aficionados of Asian art came to San Francisco from across the globe to vie for Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Southeast Asian works offered by the fine arts auctioneers during the company’s bi-annual auction of Fine Asian Works of Art. Competitive bidding was seen throughout the daylong sale. The jar, the auction’s top lot, was offered this afternoon and its sale breaks the existing auction record for a Korean blue and white porcelain jar — the new owner paid $4,184,000 on Tuesday for the rare, elegantly painted masterpiece.

Since its discovery in late August, the jar has toured internationally – on exhibit in September at Bonhams’ sumptuous new Madison Avenue gallery in New York City, and more recently on view during Bonhams sales’ preview in Hong Kong, prior to the San Francisco previews. It was estimated at $200,000/300,000.

“We recognized that the subject matter of the Warren jar is unique,” said Mrs. Goddard. “One other jar in the Osaka Museum has a depiction of San Shin (mountain spirit) and his tiger; the Warren jar shows a bearded San Shin in the act of pulling the tiger’s tail while basking under a pine tree, sun and clouds. The subject of the vase, together with its masterfully executed brush work, makes the jar of great importance to collectors of Korean art worldwide.”

The bidding began with the two banks of telephone bidders vying for Chief Operating Officer and auctioneer Patrick Meade’s attention. Within minutes the bidding quickly climbed to $2-million. From that point on, only two parties remained in contention, a gentleman seated in the crowded auction room and a telephone bidder who became the ultimate buyer. Patrick Meade ended the suspense, hammering down the lot at the winning bid of $3.7-million (with buyer’s premium, the official selling price is $4,184,000).

Mrs. Fiske Warren, born Gretchen Osgood (of the Back Bay/Beacon Street Osgoods, descendants of John Quincy Adams) was a great beauty and traveler. She married Frederick Fiske Warren, the youngest of five Warren children, in 1891. The Warren parents, Samuel and Susan Cornelia, owed and ran paper mills in the Boston area and were major philanthropists — the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was one of several institutions supported by the Warren family.