On March 18 a Qianlong white jade marriage bowl from the collection of the late Commander Paul Bridgeman (1888-1930) of Dowdeswell Manor, near Cheltenham, sold at Chorley's of Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire, for £260,000 (plus 17.5/15% buyer's premium). It will now be returning to China.
The 11in (27cm) bowl, with ring handles suspended from auspicious phoenix masks, is of a type popular at the Imperial Qing court and carved in a pale celadon stone prized by the market today. It has two very small chips.
The bulk of the Bridgeman collection, sourced from the best London dealers of the late 19th and early 20th century, was destroyed by fire at the Pantechnicon in London on October 8, 1939.
This piece, with a Bluett & Sons label to its underside, was one of 11 lots in the sale representing the last holdings of the family. The estimate was £200,000-250,000.
