Auction Surprises
Because of the time difference we did not think we
would manage to watch the auction live, it started at
10:00 am in Hong Kong which in Spain was 04:00.
However, that night I woke up and needed to go to the
toilet at 05:30 and I thought it might be all over,
but I decided to have a look.
Once connected I was delighted to be able to watch
about 30 of the last lots being sold. Most of
the bidders were in the room and the auction was
certainly fascinating and exciting to watch, so much
so, I couldn't go back to bed!
84
(out of the 88 lots) were sold at well over
the estimates, but what surprised us most was that one
buyer paid nearly 12 times the highest estimate!
Another surprise was that in this auction the highest
selling piece was not for a jade item!
There were some exceptional jade pendants, including
some Suzhou pieces in our collection that sold well, but
nothing like as well as an agate one, lot number 40.
This was a favourite of ours, a beautifully carved
Suzhou agate 'Quilin' pendant.
We are also feeling proud to know that this catalogue
will be regarded as the reference work for Chinese
Pendants of this period, for many years to come.
The 12 Day War
At last Israel decided to take action as Iran had
thousands of hidden rockets and drones aimed at Israel,
but worst of all they were very near to secretly
creating Nuclear bombs, whilst openly stating their
determination to kill all Jews and wipe Israel off the
map. So, 'Operation
Rising Lion' against the Iranian Ayatollah regime
began,
Very quickly air superiority was achieved, the chain of
command was eliminated, and with Trump's help the
Nuclear facilities were destroyed. The myth of the
powerful Iranian regime was shattered and the Ayatollah
remained in hiding under ground. Over sixty of his
senior military commanders, Nuclear scientists, and
other officials were killed and Khamenei did not dare to
go to their mass funeral. All the other Arab states have
now learned not to mess with Israel.
A Ceasefire
Now the IDF should have been able to concentrate on
finishing Hamas, but instead a ceasefire was agreed.
This was to release all the hostages dead and alive,
also for an international force to disarm Hamas, so that
Trumps plan to rebuild Gaza can start. But after far too
long there is still one dead hostage that has not been
returned, and Hamas now have declared they will not give
up their arms! Meanwhile, around the world the Muslim
brotherhood has infiltrated so many countries, planning
murder and disruption organised by Iran, with huge funds
from Qatar and Turkey that are also used to influence
education against Jews, spread propaganda, and fund
large demonstrations supporting Hamas. Approaching the
end of 2025 and I wonder what 2026 will be like.
I
hope to continue, so please do check back to see if
there is anything more.