Here's an interesting little story. Many years ago in a galaxy far far away I bought a little "antique" Chinese bottle vase from the Tang Dynasty period (600s to 900s AD). I liked the Sancai glaze and had never bought anything quite that old. It wasn't some investment grade piece. It was only a few hundred bucks. The vendor had lots of amazing Tang Dynasty horse sculptures in immaculate condition with immense prices. This little bottle vase was something they were getting rid of, and it was on the discount shelf!

This is the one: (WTG, please resize this!)




Today I went online to see if small bottle vases like this are available, and what it might sell for today.

Surprise, surprise! I found this information on a Tang Dynasty bottle vase sold just this past May in London by Bonhams.

Bonhams Auction of Sancai-Glazed Bottle Vase



They are virtually identical. I mean TWINS. It's like they came from the same hoard when dug up in the 19th century.

Ummm, now what? Bonhams has a "sell with us" page, so I sent in information on the piece, including pictures, to begin the process of getting an appraisal.

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Many years ago in a galaxy far far away...

You certainly get around!

It's beautiful. I'd hold on to it. Well done!

Nice! What a lovely piece!

The antiques market as a whole (at least the stuff I like and follow) has been on a downward slide for years....according to the experts, the younger generations trend towards minimalism, value experiences over things, and hate brown wood furniture LOL. Everything is cyclical, so maybe it will turn around - I dunno. (I also dunno anything about Tang Dynasty pieces - they might be on a whole different trajectory!)

But I paid $4500 for a gorgeous early 1800s corner cabinet at an auction maybe 20 years ago and now I regularly see very similar pieces on Facebook Marketplace for <$500. I've heard a lot about similar price plunges at the top end of the market - the high end 5 and 6 figure priced things. In fact, Antiques Roadshow has recently started releasing "corrected with current prices" versions of its older episodes and almost every single item they talk about has significantly declined in value since the episode's original release. It's depressing actually. I mean, I bought all my antique stuff to use, I use it every day, and I love it, so I'm not sad about the investment side not working out -- it's just sad to think that tastes have changed and no one wants these beautiful handcrafted pieces anymore.

So I guess I'd contact the auction house and see what they say....it doesn't hurt to inquire. They can probably give you an overview of the market and what they expect prices to do in the near future. That's a good pile of cash - I'd be tempted to sell and take a nice vacation to Fiji or something. (Look at me out here valuing experiences over things LOL!)

Anyway, nice find - congrats!!!

I filled out the "sell with us" form. It asks for pictures and other information, and they say they will get back to you with a preliminary valuation. They also say that the preliminary valuation is just that, a first look. Things can change once they have the piece in their possession and can give it a more detailed examination.

I like the piece. 1400+ years old and yet very contemporary in its styling and glaze. But if somebody wants to pay around $13,000 for it, it's theirs!

There is, or used to be, a big market in Hong Kong for the antiques that left China 100+ years ago and them came back on the market in London or New York.

from the title of this thread, I assumed this was going to be another discussion of the presidential debate…

quote:

Originally posted by Doug:
from the title of this thread, I assumed this was going to be another discussion of the presidential debate…