PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Lyon & Turnbull, Scotland’s Oldest Auction House, will partner with Freeman’s, America’s Oldest Auction House, for their inaugural auction in Hong Kong at the Liang Yi private museum on May 31. Following their 2015 sponsorship of Asia Week Hong Kong, along with their successful 15-year transatlantic marketing alliance, an auction in Hong Kong was the next step for the two auctioneers.

This specially curated debut sale of Chinese Works of Art, will include approximately 150 lots ranging porcelain, jade, bronze, lacquer, furniture and early wares. The sale includes many highlights from private American and British collections. Of particular note from Lyon & Turnbull, a magnificent blue and white ‘Dragon’ dish Chenghua dish from a private English collection, estimated at $340,000-560,000 HKD and a rare pair of 17th century huanghuali ‘Southern Officials Hat’ Chairs from the Collection of Mr. J. Ritchie. From Freeman’s is an important private collection of fine Chinese huanghuali furniture and various ceramics estimated at $6,4000,0000-11,800,000 HKD.

The renowned Thornhill Stem Cup is tipped to be the star lot of the sale. This 600-year-old technically brilliant Ming blue and white cup is virtually unseen outside of museum collections and famous in the Chinese art world for its quality and rarity. Enjoyed by the Xuande Emperor during his reign (1425-1435), this Imperial masterpiece is considered by experts to be the most important piece of porcelain to come out of the UK in the last decade.

“In our industry, it is a privileged position when one is charged with selling an item of such historical importance, and I am thrilled at the prospect of offering this on the behalf of Staffordshire University during Asia Week Hong Kong 2016. There is no doubt that Hong Kong was the only choice in selecting a location to offer for sale such a masterpiece; anticipation from collectors in the region and indeed worldwide continues to mount.”—Lee Young, Head of Asian Art.

The Stem Cup was the most valuable of 270 items bequeathed to the Staffordshire University by Mr. Ernest Thornhill in 1944, having originally been sent there during wartime to safeguard the collection. Upon rediscovering the collection, which has been hidden away in storage for a significant number of years, the University appointed Lyon & Turnbull to sell the Stem Cup so that it can raise funds to build a permanent new home for the remainder of the collection at its Stoke-on-Trent campus. This resource centre will enable student access to the collection for their study, complying with the original bequest and wishes of Mr. Thornhill.

Deputy Vice Chancellor at Staffordshire University Rosy Crehan continues: "The Thornhill Collection is an important part of the University’s heritage and an exciting part of our future. The sale of the Stem Cup is enabling the University to tell the story of the Thornhill collection to a global audience. The journey began at Asian Art in London in November when the Stem Cup was publically exhibited in the UK for the first time in 20 years. Its exhibition in America in March and then in Hong Kong in May ahead of the sale, will provide the first international platform for this important piece and will spread the story of the Thornhill Collection far and wide."

Sale highlights have been on tour internationally in the month’s leading up to the sale, in London, Philadelphia (home of Freeman’s) and New York during New York Asian Week, prior to its final preview at the Liang Yi Museum in Hong Kong on the 28th, 29th, 30th May, before the sale on the 31st May 2016.