Antiques with Adam Partridge: Ming Vase

Known for regular appearances on Flog It!, Bargain Hunt, Dickinson’s Real Deal and Cash In The Attic, and one of the UK’s finest antique experts and auctioneers – Adam Partridge shares tales of finding the elusive Ming vase…

Those who were there certainly recall with a combination of apprehension and delight the events of November 2010, when Peter Bainbridge of Bainbridge’s Auctioneers brought his gavel down, not literally, on the 18th Century Qianlong porcelain vase for the incomparable sum of £43m (before fees!). None were more surprised that the brother and sister who had brought it in, in a carrier bag, no less, to be valued at the longstanding and well-respected auction house in Ruislip.

The auction world watched on with bated breath as the bids kept coming and coming, few with more interest than a North West based auctioneer who had relatively recently opened his own saleroom. Adam was immediately whisked back to his youth back in Ealing and his experiences as a visitor to Peter’s auctions.

“Peter Bainbridge was probably the first auctioneer I ever saw live and was definitely a major influence on my future career choice. He had a great reputation and over 40 years of successful trading as the leading and longest established auction house in West London”

As ambitious as he was, even as a child, Adam could never have foretold that one day, he would become the proud owner of Bainbridge’s, following Peter’s retirement at the end of his distinguished tenure but Adam is now thrilled to count the West London premises amongst one of his branches, and with auction rooms in Macclesfield and Liverpool, offices in Altrincham, Preston and Torquay, his nationwide business continues to expand.

‘The auction world watched on with bated breath as the bids kept coming and coming’

Here, Adam shares with us his top tips for spotting a real Ming vase against a minging one! When most people think of a priceless antique most would say a Ming vase but most Ming period vases are less than £1,000. This is because the Ming dynasty ran between 1368 to 1644, that’s 276 years – can you imagine how many porcelain vases were made in that time? Only in the last couple of decades have the prices for Chinese vases soared. ‘I can remember a time when you would find half a dozen in a box lot under the table because there wasn’t much demand for them,’ says auctioneer Steven Parkinson of the Catterall valuation office, but now the same mass produced blue and white vases are offered individually and can often achieve high hundreds if not thousands.

If the vase says ‘made in China’ or even just ‘China’ on the base then we know this is modern but still has a value, even if only less than £100. You will often see either four or mainly six character marks to the base, most people look up these marks on google and find similar ones and get excited because they suggest an antique.

However some character marks can be in respect of previous emperors so a mark on a 20th century vase may be in respect to a 17th century emperor. Big is always an advantage, look for yellows and turquoise colours, the decoration must be hand painted and not printed and look for extra detail like script to the front, cut-outs in the body like a lattice design where the front has a cut out pattern and also simple designs which are well executed. The finest vases were fired in the Imperial kilns and marked with the Imperial seals – these are the ones you want to find. Oh… and the best place to start looking is on top of a wobbly wardrobe, that’s where the £53m vase that was sold at our London auction room in November 2010 had been kept. If you have any Chinese porcelain get in touch with Steven Parkinson Auctioneer at the Catterall valuation office 01772 347380 steven.parkinson@adampartridge.co.uk

NorthernLife Mar/Apr 23