Once Sold For $56, Chinese Vase Found In A Pet-Filled House Goes For $9M
来源：CNN
A long-forgotten Chinese vase, once sold at auction for just ?44 ($56), went under the hammer for over 70 million Hong Kong dollars ($9 million) on Saturday after being discovered in an elderly woman's country home.
上周六，一个被遗忘已久的中国花瓶在一位老妇人的乡下家中被发现，拍卖会上曾以44英镑(56美元)的价格成交，但在上周六拍出了7000多万港元(900万美元)的高价。
Described by Sotheby's as a "lost masterpiece," the rare 18th-century artifact spent the last 50 years in a remote house in central Europe surrounded by the owner's pet cats and dogs, according to the auctioneer.
苏富比拍卖行称，这件罕见的18世纪艺术品被称为“遗失的杰作”，在过去50年里一直被放在中欧一处偏远的房子里，周围都是主人的宠物猫和狗。
The highly unusual vase -- in which a blue-and-white floral design is visible through the object's lattice-like body -- was made specifically for the Qianlong Emperor, who ruled China for more than 60 years.
这个极不寻常的花瓶是专门为统治中国60多年的乾隆皇帝制作的，透过花瓶的花格可以看到蓝白相间的花朵图案。
It is a miracle that this extraordinarily fragile vase survived half a century in a home surrounded by countless pets, said chairman of Sotheby's Asia, Nicolas Chow, in a press statement prior to the sale.
苏富比亚洲区主席仇国仕在拍卖前的一份新闻声明中说，这只极其易碎的花瓶在一个有无数宠物的家中保存了半个世纪，真是一个奇迹。
The "double-walled" item is just one of a handful of similar designs, which were only attempted under the guidance of imperial kiln supervisor Tang Ying in the years 1742 and 1743. Described by Sotheby's as a "technical tour-de-force," the pear-shaped vase is an example of a style of porcelain known as "yangcai," or "foreign colors," that saw artisans incorporating Western-style coloration and enamels into their craft.
“双壁”只是为数不多的类似设计之一，但只在1742年和1743年间在御窑主管唐英的指导下尝试制作。苏富比将这只梨形花瓶称为“技术之旅”，它是一种被称为“洋彩”的瓷器，工匠们将西方色彩和珐琅融入到自己的工艺中。
Her cats 'walked around freely'
她的猫“在周围自由活动”
'Sotheby's credits the discovery to Amsterdam-based art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal, who found the vase at a country home. (Sotheby's has not specified in which European country the house is located). The owner, who is in her 80s, is believed to have inherited the item.
苏富比将这一发现归功于阿姆斯特丹艺术顾问约翰·博施·范·罗森塔尔，他在一处乡村住宅中发现了这只花瓶。(苏富比并没有说明该拍卖行位于哪个欧洲国家)。据信，80多岁的主人继承了这件物品。
In a video posted to the auction house's official YouTube channel, Van Rosenthal recalled uncovering the dust-covered object after being invited by the woman to assess her collection.
在拍卖行YouTube官方频道上发布的一段视频中，范·罗森塔尔回忆说，她是在受邀对自己的藏品进行评估后，才发现了这件满是灰尘的物品。
We reached a room with a number of Chinese works of art inherited many years ago, he said. "Her four cats walked around freely among these. She pointed out a ... partly gilded Chinese vase on a cupboard -- a cherished object which she knew to be something special and valuable."
他说，我们来到一个房间，里面摆放着许多年前继承下来的中国艺术品。她的四只猫自由地在它们之间走来走去。她指着一个……一个橱柜上的半镀金的中国花瓶——她知道这是一件珍贵的物品，很特别，很有价值。”
The vase was inspected by Sotheby's experts who matched it to an item in the Chinese imperial household's archives. Previously kept in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, part of Beijing's Forbidden City, the item was once praised by the emperor for its design.
这只花瓶被苏富比的专家检查过，并与中国皇室档案中的一件物品进行了比对。这件物品之前保存在北京紫禁城的一部分——天清宫里，它的设计曾受到皇帝的称赞。
Sotheby's records also showed that the vase had passed through its London auction house in 1954, selling for just ?44 ($56), worth around $1,500 in today's money. The auctioneer's research found that it was sold again later that year for ?80 ($101). The object is known as the Harry Garner Reticulated Vase, named for the collector who owned it prior to the 1954 auction.
苏富比的记录还显示，这只花瓶曾于1954年在伦敦拍卖行拍卖，当时的价格仅为44英镑(56美元)，相当于今天的1500美元左右。拍卖商的调查发现，当年晚些时候，这幅画再次以80英镑(101美元)的价格售出。这件物品被称为哈利·加纳网纹花瓶，以它在1954年拍卖前的拥有者的名字命名。