Time and again, paltry estimates were smashed 10- and 20-fold, but contributing most to an aggregate of more than £800,000 from just 40 lots was the Jiaqing pale green jade table screen pictured here. Measuring 11in high x 61/2in (23 x 16.5cm) and raised upon a pierced and carved wood stand, it is carved to one side with boys playing in a mountainous landscape and prunus to the other. Estimated at £5000-7000, it sold to a US dealer at £200,000 (plus 19.5/12.5 per cent buyer's premium).
Valentine’s Day massacre… of estimates
The hotels of Newbury were full of lovers on Valentine’s Day – lovers of Chinese jade. A packed room and a full bank of telephones were buzzing as Dreweatt Neate sold Chinese jade from the collection of the late June, Lady Horlick, including many pieces acquired from the London trade in the 1960s and 1970s and not seen on the market since then.