Council-owned Chinese ceramics have sold for £8.2m at auction in Hong Kong.

The 24 most valuable items of the Riesco collection of dynasty ceramics, controversially put up for sale by Croydon Council, went went under the hammer today. 

Only 17 of pieces sold at auction but auction house Christie's said buyers had expressed an interest in the remaining seven.

The council, which has repeatedly said the auction was essential to raise funds to redevelop Fairfield Halls, initially expected the sale to fetch £13m.

Last month Christie's valued the 24 items it was selling at between £9m and £14.2m.

A Ming dynasty moon flask, sold for £2.2m, fetched the highest price.

The actual total received by the council for the 17 pieces sold is ikely to be around 20 per cent less than the £8.2m total, which includes buyers' premiums paid to the auction house.

A spokeswoman for Croydon Council said: "The council is pleased that 17 of the items sold at auction, some of these for more than was expected. This will provide significant investment for culture in Croydon.

"The amount we will make from the sales is still being collated, and a final total may be some days away yet as it is likely that some of the unsold items will sell over the coming days.”

The sale has been widely criticised by arts groups, including the Museums Association, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England, who warned it would be unethical and would undermine faith in museums.

Local campaigners had hoped to lodge a bid for a judicial review for the sale but could not raise sufficient funds.

Maurice Davies, head of policy and communication at the Museums Association, said today was "a tragic day for museums".

Coun Tony Newman, leader of the council's Labour opposition group, said: "The money that has been 'raised' doesn't even go anywhere near filling the financial black needed hole to repair the Fairfield Halls.

"So this scandal has left us without the boroughs treasured Riesco collection and with a Fairfield Halls in a state of disrepair. In a word, Croydon Tories act of cultural vandalism is now complete."

The Riesco collection, which has 206 remaining pieces, was bought by the council following local collector Raymond Riesco's death in 1959.

 

TODAY'S TOP CROYDON STORIES