In February 2014, Christie's in New York was buzzing with people, including a Chinese bronze labeled 1888, which attracted the attention of major collectors around the world. However, the bronze caused museums in two provinces and cities in China to compete with each other for purchase, and eventually the Hunan Museum successfully won the commercial vessel for $20 million. (Dish Tianquan as the father of his own honor Yi)
Speaking of business, we have to go back 96 years. In 1924, an antique dealer named Shi Yuzhang spent 400 silver dollars to buy the bronze body, but the bronze had a lid on the top. Shi Yuzhang could not manage this, and he transferred the body to two antique dealers in Shanghai for 1 million oceans. Subsequently, two antique dealers in Shanghai contacted Lu Qinzhai, the largest cultural relics dealer in modern China, through Lu Qinzhai operation, this bronze was sold to the American oil tycoon Rockefeller for about 900,000 US dollars, this bronze is the shang dish Fangwei.
The height of the shang dish is 63.6 cm, the body is rectangular, the diameter, the high circle foot, and the surface is decorated with cloud thunder patterns. The upper part has a beast face pattern, a dragon pattern, and a phoenix pattern, which is the largest and most exquisitely made bronze square in the mainland so far. This national treasure was dug up with a hoe in 1919 by a farmer somewhere in Taoyuan, Hunan Province, while working in the fields. The merchant vessel fangyi went around and was acquired by the Japanese collector Shinda Dongichi. Since the Shang Dish Fang Wei is one of China's most precious national treasures, since the beginning of the new century, many patriots and museums around the world have hoped to raise funds to buy this treasure back.
In 2001, Christie's official auctioneer Fang Fangwei was successfully auctioned by a Frenchman for $10 million. In 2014, the merchant vessel fangmu returned to the New York Christie's auction, by which time the price of the commercial dish fangqi had reached the reserve price of $40 million. According to the analysis of authoritative cultural relics appraisal experts, the final transaction price of Shangcai Fangyi should not be less than 60 million US dollars! Chinese bronzes have become famous all over the world, and major European and American collectors have already received news and raised funds in advance to buy this Chinese national treasure.
In February 2014, Christie's In New York was held as scheduled, and the finale of the auction was the business dish Fangyi. Two participants had special statuses, namely the Hunan Museum and the Shanghai Museum and the Beijing Poly Art Museum. As early as the 1980s, the Hunan Museum actively contacted Japanese collector Shinda Dongichi, hoping to buy this piece of commercial vessel back but was rejected. The Shanghai Museum and the Beijing Poly Museum also wanted to successfully auction the collection, and finally Ms. Mary, vice president of Christie's, believed in the Hunan Museum, begged her to see the cultural origins and sell the commercial dishes to the Hunan Museum at a low price.
The Shanghai Museum and the Beijing Poly Art Museum also came to the scene to bid for double insurance. Assuming that Christie's did not accede to the Request of the Hunan Museum, the three Chinese museums would jointly fund the return of Shangcai Fangwei. In the end, Christie's executives temporarily cancelled the auction of Shangcai Fangyi and sold it to the Hunan Museum for a minimum price of $20 million. In June 2014, Shangli Fangmu returned to Changsha, China, and this treasure officially returned to the embrace of the people of the motherland after 96 years of turmoil. It turned out that christie's auction attracted two Chinese museums to "fight a big fight", because we wanted to invite this dish back again.
The Hunan Museum first believed in the president of Christie's and hoped that she could sell the commercial dishes at a low price. If not, the other two museums will also help to auction with the funds raised earlier. All in all, at this Christie's auction in 2014, the three museums in the mainland are bound to win, and they must win the business dishes. After the operation of many patriots and relevant departments, this national treasure has finally returned to its homeland. The Shang dish fangmu is now preserved in the Changsha Museum, and its long-lost lid was collected by the Hunan Museum as early as 1956. When the body and the lid are combined, it also makes countless friends who love Chinese culture burst into tears, and the return of Shang Cai Fang to the museum is also his best home. This top national treasure of China no longer needs to travel to the world's major auction houses.
Reference: The Past and Present Lives of Shang Dish Fang