LOS ANGELES –Thousands of bidders from around the world participated in an extraordinary auction conducted by Brigitte Kruse and Kruse GWS Auctions on Jan 18. The Lunar Year Royal Family Auction brought astonishing results including record-breaking prices for century-old artifacts from the last royal family of Vietnam. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.
The world-record-breaking firm offered an extensive collection of some of the rarest artifacts ever offered at auction. The auction included 325 lots of prehistoric jades and magnificent porcelains that chronicled the imperial Vietnamese royal family history and pieces used for the principle palace shrine.
In a stunning result, an exquisite 14th-century celadon lotus bowl (above) from the An Dinh Palace originating from the estate of the last empress of Vietnam sold for $1,537,500, well over the estimate. The piece had been identified by a South Vietnam scholar Vuong Hong Sen, the director of Saigon Museum, and was sold by Brigitte Kruse, founder and lead auctioneer of Kruse GWS Auctions. Over 4,000 people watched online as the Lotus bowl sold. A Qing Dynasty imperial floor vase (below) commissioned by Nguyen Dynasty Emperor from Jingdezhen kiln and Tang Ying with Qianlong archaic seal mark from a Vietnamese royal family sold for $522,750.
Additional highlights included a Vietnamese Emperor Khai Dinh carved jade ink pad sold for $22,140 and a Vietnamese Van Tho Palace Bleu Hue charger (below) sold for $38,350.
The Lunar Year auction also featured exquisite fine jewelry and iconic designer accessories. Among those highlights was a 36.20-carat GIA tourmaline 4-carat diamond 18K necklace which sold for $159,900 and a rare Hermes 35cm Noir Novillo leather Birkin bag which sold for $22,100.
“As the only auction house to handle Royal artifacts out of the country of Vietnam, we take the sale of such items very seriously. The generations of wars and previous conditions in Vietnam makes the survival of these artifacts so much more significant. The history behind each piece and the exquisite craftsmanship dating back centuries is magnificent,” said Brigitte Kruse, founder and lead auctioneer of Kruse GWS Auctions.
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