A stunning Ming Xuande period piece, the 600 year old Thornhill Stem Cup, sold on behalf of Staffordshire University soared to a premium inclusive HK$ 41,560,000 (approximately £3.6million) after a long bidding battle in our 2016 Chinese Works of Art auction in Hong Kong.
The Stem Cup was the highlight of a specially curated sale of Chinese Works of Art produced in-conjunction with our sister saleroom Freeman's of Philadelphia, America's oldest auction house. The Stem Cup's journey to Hong Kong began at Asian Art in London in November 2015 - with its first public exhibition for 20 years - followed by a trip to both Philadelphia and New York in the USA in March before travelling to Hong Kong in perfect time for the prestigious Asian Week Hong Kong festival this May. A tour that provided an international platform for this important piece that spread the story of the Thornhill Collection around the world.