This Ming dragon dish made 310,000 at Adams at Slane. (Click on image to enlarge).
A Chinese blue and white Ming dragon dish made 310,000 at the Adams Country House Collections auction at Slane Castle on October 11. It was bought on the telephone by a dealer in London. It had been estimated at 2,000-3,000.
Over the last few days the dish had attracted interest from buyers in London, Beijing and Hong Kong. The Ming dish, stamped with the mark of the Emperor Xuande who reigned from 1425 to 1435, is painted with images of a five clawed dragon.
The ten inch diameter dish had been brought to Ireland in 1905 by a member of a Derry family who served with the British Army in China during the Colonial era. In 1985 it was valued for probate purposes at around £1,000.
Around 70 per cent of lots on offer found buyers at an auction which brought in 960,000 at hammer.