The hammer will come down on over 200 ancient Chinese treasures at an auction in Hong Kong on October 26.

Entitled "Art Treasures of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties," the sale consists of 226 rare and exquisite ceramic items, paintings, calligraphy and other artworks.

A public viewing will be held at the Conrad International Hotel in Hong Kong from October 23 to 25 before the auction. The sale, organized by Hong Kong Auctions International, will take place at the hotel from 10:30 am to 3 pm on October 26.

The upcoming auction will display a wide array of superior artworks from ancient China, most of which rarely appear on the global market, according to the auction firm.

The auctioneer claimed the carefully selected lots were contributed by overseas art collectors and connoisseurs.

It said the company's committee of consultants includes world-famous Chinese, European, and American art experts such as Ye Peilan and Zhang Guangwen with the Palace Museum, Karel Appel, Robert Morgan and Kwong Lum.

"We hope, through our regular auctions, to meet the ever-increasing demand for rare and exquisite art treasures of ancient China either from Chinese art museums or individual connoisseurs. We hope to help save at least some of ancient China's art legacy from further loss and damage," said Jia Chen, a member of the Committee of Expert Consultants.

The ancient Chinese calligraphy and paintings on the lots include works by Shi Tao (1642-1718), Jin Nong (1687-1763), Zhu Da (Ba Da Shan Ren, 1626-1705), among others.

Of the lots to be auctioned, one of the most outstanding is a famille rose enamel purple-grounded globular vase bearing motifs of bats and cranes.

The vase, with a golden rim, is elegantly glazed in purple. Two blooming chrysanthemums decorate its neck.

Between the neck and the shoulder of the vase is a band of varied ruyi - heads with patterns of gems and a pink floral frieze with golden double lines.

At the bottom of the vase there is the mark "Daqing Qianlong Nian Zhi" (Made in Qianlong's reign of the Qing Dynasty).

The 33-centimetre tall vase, with a starting price of HK$880,000 (US$112,800), is probably the only remaining purple-grounded globular vase of its era. It forms part of the refined famille-rose enamel porcelain ware made during the reigns of Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1722-36) and Qianlong (1736-95) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), said the auctioneer's pamphlet.

Another eye-catching item is a famille-rose tri-legged incense-burner.

The 29.5-centimetre tall burner, glazed in white, has one handle on each side.

The body is decorated with rosette-lotus flowers and two vivid phoenixes.

The bottom of the burner bears a mark which reads "Daqing Jiaqing Nian Zhi" (made in Jiaqing's reign of the Qing Dynasty).

The auction house, which sets a starting price of HK$250,000 (US$32,051) for the item, says it is characteristic of the famille-rose porcelain made in Emperor Jiaqing's reign (1796-1820).

The ceramic work likely to fetch the highest price in the auction is a blue and white plate of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The mark at the bottom of the plate reads "Daming Xuande Nian Zhi" (made in the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty). Its starting price is HK$900,000 (US$115,384)

Blue and white porcelain made in the 10-year Xuande period (1425-35) of the Ming Dynasty is famous for its craftsmanship and coveted by collectors.

(China Daily October 8, 2003)