700-year-old Chinese vase expected to fetch at least $7.7m

A 700-year-old Chinese vase from the Southern Song Dynasty is expected to fetch over $7.7m (£5m) when it goes under the hammer in an upcoming auction in Sotheby's Hong Kong.

The vase comes from the same collection as a 900-year-old bowl which smashed world auction record for Chinese Song Dynasty ceramics when it was sold in 2012, according to Sotheby's.

The auction house's Director of China and Southeast Asia, and International Specialist at Chinese Works of Art Department, Julian King, said its octagonal shape, inspired by archaic bronzes, required a high level of technique to make.

"It's got a very very attractive beautiful glaze. the shape, this rare octagonal shape would have been very very difficult to fire and produce during the Southern Song Dynasty. So actually technically, to create this at the time it would have been very very difficult," King said.

He also said a "guan yao" vase, an official ware specially created for the imperial court during the Southern Song Dynasty, has not been seen in the auction market for 40 years.

Because of the vase's rarity, King said he would not think Chinese President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption, which has generally hampered the Chinese appetite for luxurious goods, would affect its sales.

"I don't think this will have any affect. For a Song Dynasty vase, this is your one chance in forty years to collect it. And this is something worth for the wealthiest collectors in China who are building museums which can be open to the public. I think they (the Chinese) will have a very positive reception to buy this back. If they want to showcase it in a private museum in China (it) will raise the kudos of not only their museum but say the cultural heritage of China as a whole," King said.

Apart from the vase, Sotheby's is offering over 250 lots with a total estimate of about $76m.

Among the highlighted items were two items from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) - a vase depicting playing children which bears an estimated value of $6.4m - $9m, and an imperial white jade seal that is expected to sell for $3.8m - $5m.

Sotheby's Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring Sales will take place on 7 April.