A pair of rare Chinese famille rose vases from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) sold for 13 million pounds at Christie's auction¹ house in London last Tuesday, making it one of the top 10 most-expensive Chinese ceramics² sold at auction.

上周二，一对罕见的清代（1644-1911年）粉彩花瓶在伦敦佳士得拍卖行以1300万英镑拍出，成为拍卖价最高的10件中国陶瓷器之一。

"The buyer of the vases wishes to remain anonymous," said Katy Griffiths, communications officer at Christie's London.

伦敦佳士得的传讯部经理凯蒂·格里菲思表示：“花瓶的买家希望保持匿名。”

The telephone bidder³ will pay 14.73 million pounds, once commission and taxes are added.

加上佣金和税，这位电话竞拍者将需支付1473万英镑。

The vases, made in the 18th century for the court of the Qianlong Emperor, were purchased in the early 1930s by an English buyer who passed them on to the current owner.

这对18世纪乾隆宫廷御制花瓶于20世纪30年代初被一名英国买家买下，传给了现在的所有者。

It was the first time a pair of such Qianlong vases had been offered. Only four other single vases of a similar type have been sold at auctions⁴ to date.

这是乾隆粉彩对瓶首次出现在拍卖场上。迄今为止，只有四件类似的单只瓷瓶曾被拍卖。

The vases are elaborately decorated with butterflies partially⁵ hidden and partially visible among flowers glazed⁶ with bright colors. Such intricate design, bearing royal hallmark colors such as yellow and red, imparts auspiciousness⁷ and long-lived wealth.

这对经过精心装饰的花瓶，上面的蝴蝶在鲜艳的花丛中若隐若现。这样复杂的设计，搭配上表示皇家标志的颜色--如黄色和红色，意欲带来幸运和长久的财富。