A lost relic from the Yuanmingyuan Imperial Garden, also known as the Old Summer Palace, fetched 74 million yuan ($12.06 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on Oct. 8, according to gbtimes.
The celadon-glazed pot is understood to have been made during Emperor Qianlong's rule in the Qing Dynasty in the beginning of the 18th century. The jar features carvings of three Chinese dragons set against cloud and wave figures on its surface.
The jar was part of a huge collection of Chinese artworks by Alfred Morrison, a wealthy British commoner during the 19th century. He bought the jar relic, among many other valuable artifacts, through a British minister's secretary in 1861.
Morrison put the signature "Fonthill" and a serial number on the bottom of the jar, as on the others in his collection. "Fonthill" stood for his residence, the Fonthill House in Wiltshire, where he kept his Chinese art collection, according to China Daily.
Liu Yang, an expert from Yuanmingyuan Academic Committee, said that the artifact was confirmed to be from the garden, owing to the signature and serial number found on it.
The expert also said that the jar was first auctioned in 1971 at London's Christie's, when it was taken from the Fonthill House. It was again sold in 1988 at Christie's in Hong Kong.
The auction last week was the first time the jar relic was up for bidding since 1988. For fetching 74 million yuan, it became the sixth most expensive relic from Yuanmingyuan sold at auctions. A long-neck gourd bottle, also from the Fonthill House, has been sold at the highest price among the artifacts from the garden and palace complex.