Hotel and casino magnate Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts recently acquired an ultra-rare set of Four Empire Ormolu-mounted Chinese Porcelain Baluster Vases to grace his newest resort in China’s gambling mecca of Macau. The company announced on Friday that they shelled out $12,757,227 for four of the stunning porcelain vases last Thursday, July 7, from a private collection at Christie’s International Exceptional Sale.
A set of four enormous gaudy Chinese vases, four feet tall, with Empire gilt bronze mounts, said to date from around 1815. Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch and 10th Duke of Queensberry, owned the set and on his death in 1973 it was sold at Christie’s that same year on July 5 for £7,000. One vase had a hairline crack to the body. But the new billionaires aren’t that picky. The set brought almost £8 million, more than seven times the estimate courtesy of Wynn Macau Ltd.
The purchase of the historic artifacts is a part of Wynn’s efforts to bring Chinese art back to China. Roger Thomas, executive vice president of design for Wynn Design and Development, explains, We are delighted to return works of this extraordinary quality to the city of Macau and the People’s Republic of China. The company plans to display the gorgeous set of vases in their resort on Macau’s renowned Cotai Strip, slated to open in 2015.
