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Charity Shop Donation makes £360,000 at Asian Art auction
24 May, 2012
A 300 year old Chinese bamboo brushpot, which had been donated
to a West Country charity shop, sold at Woolley and Wallis Asian
Art sale yesterday for £360,000. The full proceeds will go to the
Bristol-based charity.
When workers in one of the charity's shops accepted another
donation from the public, they had no idea of the treasure they
were about to uncover. As they unwrapped the items one piece caught
the eye: what appeared to be a very old carved wooden pot. Unsure
of what they had, the charity contacted Clevedon Salerooms where
research by Mark Fraser, Senior Valuer, revealed the potential
importance of the Chinese bamboo brushpot. Marc Burridge of
the Bristol based salerooms then showed the piece to one of the
country's leading experts in Asian Art, John Axford of Woolley
& Wallis. Mr Axford confirmed that it was in fact a rare carved
'landscape' bitong, or brushpot, made in China between 1662 and
1722 by one of the most famous artists of the period. He also told
the charity that it could be worth a significant sum. The charity
decided to consign it to the next specialist Asian Art auction at
Woolley and Wallis.
When the hammer finally fell at the auction yesterday, bidding
on the brushpot had reached £360,000. The winning bidder was a
collector from Hong Kong, who was amongst bidders from around the
world keen to acquire this rare piece.
Head of Asian Art at Woolley and Wallis, John Axford, said:
"We are delighted with this result for the charity - we hope
such a significant sum will really make a difference to their work.
The brushpot is a very fine and rare example and generated a lot of
excitement at the auction."