Chinese Chicken Cup sells for $36.05 million at Sotheby’s

The Meiyintang Chenghua “Chicken Cup”
Sold for HK$281.24 million ($36.05 million)
At Sotheby’s Hong Kong

Chinese ‘Chicken Cup’ sells for £19.6 million at auction

Chinese Cup sells for $36.05 million at Sotheby’s The Meiyintang Chenghua Chicken Cup -one of the most important Chinese porcelains ever to appear at auction- sold for HK$281.24 million ($36.05 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, setting a new record for a piece of Chinese porcelain.]]>

April 9th, 2014, source: Sotheby’s

Nicolas Chow, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and International Head ofFine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, said: “We are thrilled that The Meiyintang Chenghua ‘Chicken Cup’ isreturning to China where it will take its place at the heart of the collection of Mr. Liu Yiqian. This Chicken Cup issure to become a destination piece drawing visitors to Mr. Liu’s Long Museum. This is indeed the crowning glory ofthe finest collections of Chinese porcelain. The price of HK$281.2 million / US$36.05 million makes the Chicken Cupthe most expensive piece of Chinese porcelain in the world – a record entirely befitting this illustrious masterwork.”

First created in the Chenghua reign (1465 – 87), “Chicken cups” have been praised, desired and reproduced by Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) emperors and other discerning literati collectors. With a legendary aura that goes well beyond their immediate arthistoricalimportance, “chicken cups” have in modern days set record prices for Chinese art in 1980 and 1999.

Chenghua “Chicken cups” were produced in extremelysmall quantities. Apart from the present example, onlythree others are preserved in private hands and no morethan a few of the world’s most prestigious museums canboast an example among their collections, includingThe National Palace Museum, Taipei; the BritishMuseum, London; the Victoria & Albert Museum,London; the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; theMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and theCollections Baur, Geneva.

In addition to the Chicken Cup, the Clark Ding Basin from the Collection of Sakamoto Goro(expected to fetch in excess of HK$60 million / US$7.7 million) sold for HK$146.8 million / US$18.8 million to an Asian Private Collector. It is the second highest prince for Song ceramics.

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