Magnificent Famille rose dragon vase tops at Bonhams Asian art sale in Paris

A magnificent and incredibly rare Famille rose ‘dragon’ vase was the top selling lot of the Asian Art sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris yesterday (10 December 2024). It sold for €1,161,600 against an attractive estimate of €300,000-500,000. Originally collected by William Dederich (1872-1926), an English businessman and patron of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s arctic expeditions, the vase had been handed down in the family over several generations. Unaware of its rarity and value, it had been sitting in the hallway of a home in central London for many decades before it was discovered only recently by Bonhams experts on a visit to the house. The vase is an exciting discovery as it is the exact pair to a vase of the same subject and size sold in Bonhams Hong Kong in 2011. That vase had been in an American collection and was then acquired in the first quarter of the 20th century before being handed down in the family.

Caroline Schulten, Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art department in Bonhams Paris, commented: " In a highly selective market, the sale results prove the strength of the Chinese art market for works of the rarest and finest quality with appealing provenance and fresh to the market. Once again excellent results were achieved in this sale for pieces across different categories, all from private European collections.”