Rare Chinese vase and wine pitcher to be auctioned

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.

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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