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Teapot Serves Up $3.5M Bid, Chicagoans Raise a Glass to Oilman’s Wine Cellar, and More Fresh News

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Qianlong Seal mark and period rare turquoise-ground famille-rose ‘Hui Mountain Retreat’ teapot and cover, beautifully painted with a garden scene on one side and inscribed with an imperial poem on the other. Sold by Sotheby’s for $3,490,000 against a high estimate of $500,000. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s
Qianlong Seal mark and period rare turquoise-ground famille-rose ‘Hui Mountain Retreat’ teapot and cover, beautifully painted with a garden scene on one side and inscribed with an imperial poem on the other. Sold by Sotheby’s for $3,490,000 against a high estimate of $500,000. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s

News and updates from around the arts and auction community:

  • Tea is apparently much more enjoyable when poured from a $3.5 million pot. That’s what one buyer paid for one of only two known Qianlong Dynasty teapots of its type. [Read more from The Irish Times]
  • The best argument for buying contemporary art because you like it and not because it might increase in value is this: it might go DOWN in value. [Read more from Bloomberg News]
  • The late billionaire oil and gas magnate Aubrey McClendon drank no wine before its time. His astute knowledge of rare vintages was acknowledged by fellow collectors at an $8.4 million auction of his wine collection in Chicago. [Read more from The Chicago Tribune]
  • When a landlord in England closed a pub and reopened it as an antique shop, locals reacted swiftly. But the owner says his antiques venture will be more profitable than serving up lager and pub grub. Read more from the Brighton & Hove Independent]

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