Market dispatch·San Francisco
Moon Flask Estimated at $3,000 Sells for $87,500 as Bonhams San Francisco Asian Sale Exceeds $2.15M
Bonhams' San Francisco Asian Decorative Arts sale on 9 October 2026 brought in more than $2.15 million with 84 percent of the 500-plus lots sold. The top lot was a Qianlong-mark blue-and-white famille rose enamelled moon flask deaccessioned by the Portland Art Museum, which fetched $87,500 against a $2,000–$3,000 estimate.

Bonhams' San Francisco saleroom delivered a strong Asian Decorative Arts sale on 9 October 2026, taking more than $2.15 million with 84 percent of the lots sold. The catalogue of over 500 lots drew heavily on fresh-to-market material from private collections and institutions, and bidders responded across jade, porcelain, bronze, furniture and painting. The porcelain session produced the sale's headline result. A blue-and-white glazed famille rose enamelled moon flask bearing a Qianlong mark, consigned by the Portland Art Museum of Portland, Oregon to benefit its collection, climbed past a $2,000–$3,000 estimate to reach $87,500. A massive famille rose enamelled vase added $61,250, while a Ming dynasty Longquan celadon charger made $22,500 against a $3,000–$5,000 estimate. Jade opened the sale with several over-estimate results. A yellow jade pendant from the collection of General and Mrs. John K. Singlaub, acquired in China in the late 1940s and off the market for nearly 70 years, sold for $50,000. A group of three jade pendants reached $31,250 against a $3,000–$5,000 estimate. In the decorative session, a gilt bronze figure of Amitayus from the Qianlong period, inscribed 1770, rose to $56,250 on a $3,000–$5,000 estimate. Chinese paintings also ran hot: a 19th-century landscape painted after Zhao Mengfu, estimated at $5,000–$7,000, was chased by multiple telephone bidders to $35,000. A Canton enamelled snuff bottle sold for $50,000, and the Japanese session closed with a carved wood cabinet at $10,000 against a $1,000–$2,000 estimate, also benefiting the Portland Art Museum. Bonhams is now taking consignments for its next San Francisco sale, scheduled for 17–18 December.

