An imperial pottery vase, engraved with patterns of flowers and dragons and produced during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), fetched 8 million yuan (about US$1 million) here at the recent 2001 Autumn Auctions.
Bidding for the vase claimed to be used by emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty began at 5 million yuan (about US$625,000).
The successful absentee buyer bid through his agent and declined to disclose his name.
Statistics show that the Autumn Auctions attracted a great number of collectors from China and overseas. Sales at the auction reached 109.6 million yuan (about US$13.7 million) and four traditional Chinese artistic treasures were retrieved from overseas at a cost of 20.75 million yuan (about US$ 2.59 million).
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2001)
