乾隆御制花瓶以1900万美元在法国拍卖 Chinese vase found in shoebox sells for $19 million

A long-forgotten and rare Chinese imperial vase(花瓶) discovered in the attic(阁楼) of a family home in France was sold(卖) for 16.2 million euros ($19 million) at Sotheby's in Paris on Tuesday.

The sale was more than 30 times(倍) the estimate(估价) as experts set a guide price for the vase – decorated(装饰) with deer(鹿) and cranes(鹤) – at 500,000 euros.

Reuters reported that the buyer was Asian but the auction house(拍卖行) did not wish to reveal the name or nationality. The amount(总额) is the highest ever recorded for Chinese porcelain(瓷器) by the auction house in Paris.

Sotheby's said the vase is the only known example of its kind and it was produced by the Jingdezhen workshops for the magnificent courts of the Qianlong Emperor (1735-1796).

The 18th century porcelain vase was found by chance(偶然) among dozens of other pieces of Chinoiseries in an attic by its unsuspecting owners, who then brought the vase to the auction house in a shoebox(鞋盒) for valuation.

The vase had been left to the great-grandparents of the present owners by an uncle, and appears among the listed contents of his Paris apartment after he passed away in 1947.

词汇 Words:

[bèi] 倍 times
[pāi mài] 拍卖 auction
[huā píng] 花瓶 vase
[gū jià] 估价 estimate
[zǒng é] 总额 amount
[cí qì] 瓷器 porcelain
[ǒu rán] 偶然 chance
[gé lóu] 阁楼 attic
[zhuāng shì] 装饰 decorate

重点词汇 Key word:

倍

• <动词 v.> double
  E.g. Wǒmen yīnggāi jiābèi nǔlì。
  我们应该加倍努力。
  We must redouble our efforts.

• <数词 numeral word> time; fold
  E.g. 15 shì 5 de 3 bèi。
  15是5的3倍。
  Fifteen is three times as much as five.

• <副词 adv.> extraordinarily; extremely
  E.g. Hépíng lái zhī búyì,yīngdāng bèijiā zhēnxī。
  和平来之不易,应当倍加珍惜。
  Peace has not come easily and should be especially cherished.