Art expert fired over gross underestimation of artefact
<p dir="ltr">A French art expert has been fired after grossly undervaluing a Chinese vase at 4,000 times less than its sale price.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The vase in question, which was originally estimated at €2,000 ($3,119 AUD), sold for €9 million ($14,000,000 AUD) at French Osenat auction in Fontainebleau house in early October.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The original estimate reflected the expert’s view that it was a 20th-century decorative piece, however buyers suspected that it might date back further to the 18th-century.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Despite the date discrepancy, it is still unclear as to what drove the price so much higher. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“The expert made a mistake. One person alone against 300 interested Chinese buyers cannot be right,” auction house president Jean-Pierre Osenat told T<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/07/why-chinese-vase-valued-at-euros-2000-sold-for-euros-8m-france">he Guardian</a> last week. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“He was working for us. He no longer works for us. It was, after all, a serious mistake.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The anonymous seller found the Chinese ‘Tianqiuping’ style vase while clearing out her mother’s estate. </p>
<p dir="ltr">While the dragon and cloud motif is greatly sought after among Asian collectors, some believe to have spotted a stamp belonging to 18th-century Chinese emperor Qianlong on the vase.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We don’t know whether [the vase] is old or not or why it sold for such a price,” explained Cédric Laborde, the director of the auction house’s Asian arts department. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“The valuation corresponded to what the expert thought. In China, copying something, like an 18th-century vase, is also an art.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The unnamed and now-fired expert is reportedly standing by his original valuation of the Chinese vase.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Osenat</em></p>
