Rare Chinese antiquities from Heathfield collection to be auctioned

Hsin-Yi Lo

BBC News, South East

The red and white vase and the yellow-glazed pitcher are from the reign of Kangxi Emperor in China (1661 to 1722)

Woolley & Wallis A red and white vase with lotus head motifs. It is next to a yellow-glazed wine pitcher which is designed in a combination of three Chinese characters. — The red and white vase and the yellow-glazed pitcher are from the reign of Kangxi Emperor in China (1661 to 1722)

Two rare Chinese antiques that had been in an East Sussex home for more than 100 years could fetch up to £36,000 at auction.

The vase and wine pitcher were from the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1661 to 1722) and were purchased by art connoisseur and philanthropist William Cleverley Alexander in 1907 and 1913.

Both items had been in Mr Alexander’s private collection in his country home in Heathfield Park and his descendants are putting them up for auction for the first time, according to auctioneers Woolley & Wallis.

John Axford, chairperson of the auction house, said it was an “honour to be entrusted to sell the two pieces” and they anticipate interest from around the world.

The auction house said the Kangxi era was a time of renewed stability in China, following the fall of the Ming Dynasty, which prompted a surge in artistic creativity.

It added ceramics from this particular era are “regarded as some of the most exquisite ever produced”.

The vase is a rare underglaze decorated with two squirrels hiding in a fruiting grapevine.

It features stylised lotus flowerheads and leaf scrolls with red flower motifs against a white background.

The auction house said it carried an estimate of between £20,000 and £30,000.

The yellow-glazed pitcher is fashioned in the shape of the Chinese characters which translate as good fortune (Fu), prosperity (Lu) and longevity (Shou) and carries an estimate of between £4,000 and £6,000.

The blue and white vase was in the collection at William Cleverley Alexander’s country home in Heathfield Park and was auctioned at Woolley & Wallis for £3m

Woolley & Wallis A Chinese vase from the Yuan Dynasty with blue plant motifs against a white background. — The blue and white vase was in the collection at William Cleverley Alexander’s country home in Heathfield Park and was auctioned at Woolley & Wallis for £3m

Mr Alexander was credited for popularising Asian art in Britain during the Victorian era.

Back in 2005, Woolley & Wallis sold one of Mr Alexander’s collection in Heathfield Park, a blue and white vase from China’s Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368), for £3m following an initial estimate of between £200,000 and £300,000.

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