This rare Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, meiping form, from the Chenghua period (1465-1487), sold for $6,500 at Ahlers & Ogletree, June 28th. Photo: Ahlers & Ogletree

ATLANTA, Ga. – A rare Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain vase dating to the Chenghua period (1465-1487), 8 ½ inches tall and with a milky white glaze, sold for $6,500 at a Summer Estates Auction held June 28th by Ahlers & Ogletree, in the firm’s gallery located at 715 Miami Circle (Suite 210), in Atlanta. The vase was one of more than 600 exceptional lots that came up for bid.

The event featured items from prominent local estates and collections, to include original works of art, Asian objects, estate jewelry, European and American period furniture, decorative items and more. In addition to a robust in-house crowd and numerous telephone and absentee bids, many people participated online via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Bidsquare.com.

The Chinese vase was the top achiever of the Asian category. It was a meiping vase, meaning it was a tall, high-shouldered vase with a small neck and narrow mouth, used to display flowering branches. This example had a body and neck with incised and carved design showing a dragon chasing a flaming pearl amidst cloud scrolls. A Chenghua mark was incised to the vase’s bottom.

Following are additional highlights of the auction. All prices quoted are hammer, exclusive of a sliding scale buyer’s premium.

The top lot of the auction overall was a 2006 BMW M5 sports car, Interlagos metallic blue with a black Merino leather interior and just a little over 11,000 original miles on the odometer. The car, which cost over $90,000 new, featured many upgrades, including an AC Schnitzer exhaust ($4,000) and Schnitzer springs ($1,761). The clean and beautiful BMW sped away for $32,000.

A pair of figural blackamoor polychrome painted plaster stands (or side tables), made sometime in the 20th century by the American artist Josephine “Jo” Mead (Atlanta/Chicago, 1919-2000), each stand having a removable square lacquered and parcel gilt tray top, with the four corners hung with gilded tassels and supported by a seated blackamoor with legs crossed, made $4,250.

A German Stobwasser lacquered papier-mâché snuff box, made circa 1820s and painted with a historical portrait of George Washington, in its original presentation red and green box, gaveled for $4,250. Also, two French 19th century Louis XVI-style carved and gilt wood light sconces with hand-painted figural scenes within the frames, both about 19 ¼ inches tall, fetched $1,100.

Two very different lots hammered for identical selling prices of $3,250. One was an oil painting by the Hungarian artist August Theodor Schoefft (1809-1888), titled Portrait of Man in India (1840), signed and measuring 60 inches by 50 inches (framed). The other was a gorgeous hand-woven Persian Mashad wool rug, made in Iran and measuring 9 feet 3 inches by 12 feet 4 inches.

Returning to Asian lots, a pair of Chinese Imperial yellow monochrome glazed porcelain dishes of circular and shallow form, each identical plate carrying the blue six-character Guangxu mark and of the period (1875-1908), brought $4,000; and a Chinese square porcelain bowl with the Ming Dynasty Xuande period mark (1424-1435), but likely made in the 20th century, hit $3,250.

A matched pair of Chinese baluster form famille rose Qing Dynasty urns with flared rims from the Guangxu period (1871-1908), both nicely decorated with phoenixes and chrysanthemum blossoms against a yellow background, breezed to $3,250; while a Chinese fan form silk embroidered Qing Dynasty fragrance purse, likely made in the 19th century, sold for $1,200.

Ahlers & Ogletree’s next big auction will be held Aug. 8-9, also in the firm’s Atlanta gallery on Miami Circle. The Saturday, Aug. 8 session will feature Mid-Century Modern Art & Design; the Sunday, Aug. 9 session will feature premier lots from outstanding Atlanta estates, including the Sam and Florence Inman and Henry G. Muecke, Jr. estates. Start times both days will be 11 a.m.

More than 1,200 exceptional lots will come up for bid over the course of the two days. The Aug. 8 session will feature creations by Philip Standish Read, Russell Woodard, Vernor Panton, Dusty Griffith and Fernando Botero. The Aug. 9th session will feature names such as Alex de Andreis, Matt Moulthrop, John Frederick Kensett, and many fine lots from the Muecke and Inman estates.