On the 28th of February, Australian auction house Mossgreen will re-offer five Chinese antiques after the highest bidder, a Chinese client, failed to pay for the five items  purchased for more than AUD$630,000 during an auction held on the 21st of November 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. 

The items in question, bought at the company’s sale of "Important Chinese Art and a Private Collection of European Art and Antiques," include two 16th-century Chinese gilt-bronze figures of Buddha, two 17th-century Chinese blue and white transitional brushpots, and a 17th century blue-and-white tall-waisted Chinese traditional vase.  

After submitting the winning bids of AUD$329,400 and AUD$268,400 for the two bronze figures that were estimated to fetch only AU$25,000-50,000, and bidding several times over the estimate provided for each of the ceramic items, the buyer failed to submit payment, causing the auction house to re-offer the lots during a special fine Chinese art auction dedicated to the sale of the unpaid-for antiques. 

The two Buddhas had impeccable provenance having come from a collection that was formed by descendants of the Australian vendor whose great-great grandfather was based in Peking and Shanghai between 1850-1870 where he held a high diplomatic position. It would have been at this time that he acquired the important Chinese artworks in this collection.

When asked about the Chinese non-payment issue, Paul Sumner, managing director of Mossgreen Auctions and former managing Ddrector of Sotheby’s Australia, said, “In regards to the Chinese non-payment issue, which has become such a big international issue for all auctioneers who sell Fine Chinese art, we are taking a very hard line and we now immediately re-offer items that don't get paid for straight way and we keep the non-refundable deposits that we require for all buyers not known to us before they are allowed to bid."   

A note attached to each of the re-offered bronze figures, both estimated to fetch between AUD$100,000-150,000 this time round, states that “this Lot is subject to a $10K AUD Bidding Deposit if you have not previously registered and bought with Mossgreen Auctions”. 

An online catalogue of the re-offered items can be viewed here