1000-Year-Old Chinese Bowl Sets Record After Being Sold For $37.7 Million

Bidding on the 900-year-old ceramic bowl started at a hefty 80 million Hong Kong dollars ($10.2 million).

The ceramic antique was originally estimated to reach a final price of 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.8 million), according to South China Morning Post.

After 30 bids, the price of the antique bowl rose to 294.3 million Hong Kong dollars ($37.7 million) and was eventually sold to a buyer who placed the winning bid by phone.

The record-breaking bowl that was primarily used as a brush washer, was part of the Northern Song Dynasty’s imperial court. It broke the last record for the highest-paid ceramic which was previously held by collector Liu Yiqian, who bought a cup from the Ming dynasty for 281 million Hong Kong dollars ($35.9 million) back in 2014.

Since Liu was the previous record holder, some are now speculating that he might be the one wealthy enough to break his own record.

According to The Guardian, Liu was a taxi driver who eventually became a financier and is now trotting the world for rare pieces of art, and is also among China’s richest people.

While one of the sources managed to get a hold of Liu’s wife to confirm if the collector indeed was the one who made the purchase, she managed to avoid the question altogether by responding with a general greeting.

 

There have been numerous instances of items that turned out to be more valuable than they appeared such as the Chinese vase which was sold for 10,000 times more than its original value, and the rare $800,000 vase which was only used as a doorstop.

However, the record-breaking bowl still proves to be more valuable even with its austere design compared to the more intricately designed vases mentioned above.

Images via Sotheby’s