:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OJTBUJJF2WUV7WLRCEK4VSPDDE.jpg)
A Chinese vase with a guide price of €1,200 was sold at auction in Co Laois on Saturday for €740,000, a new record for a public auction in Ireland.
The Qing Period Blue and White Double Gourd Vase with scroll handles was offered for sale at a Sheppard's auction in Durrow, Co Laois on Saturday.
The vase, with a guide price of between €800 and €1,200, was offered for sale by a Dublin-based man.
Eleven telephone bidders contested the sale with a Paris-based bidder winning out after seven minutes.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ETMQY7WOCQQCYRC7WTEXUT2VMA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/3FQZNKD35G3ZECWFXHCCWHAX34.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/CJDEISOLB7B3HG3T2VLDOVYNS4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EI35W4ZBTBXEW5DK6BUHSXKAII.jpg)
The 18th century, 23cm-tall and 18cm wide vase is painted with floral patterns and shou decorations. It has the mark of Qianlong, a Chinese emperor from the 18th century, on the base.
The €740,000 sale price is believed to be the highest for an art object at a public auction in Ireland.
The previous record was set in 2012 when a matchbox-sized piece of carved Chinese jade, dubbed the Durrow Dragon, made €630,000 at auction.
Sheppard's auctioneers had expected this "Qing period white jade seal" – used to stamp documents in imperial China – to sell for between €4,000 and €6,000.