Rare Porcelain Vases Purchased by Wynn Macau Limited for Record Amount at Auction

The set of Historical Baluster Vases will permanently reside in the new Cotai resort as part of the company's ongoing cultural commitment to China

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Wynn Resorts

Jul 08, 2011, 07:00 ET

LAS VEGAS, July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Wynn Macau Limited acquired an extraordinary group of important Jiaqing period (1796-1821) vases at CHRISTIE'S London sale on July 7, 2011. An invaluable part of Chinese culture, the set of four ormolu-mounted Chinese Porcelain Baluster vases were purchased at auction for more 7,993,250 pounds, including buyers premium (more than $12.7 million), far exceeding twice the current world auction record for ormolu-mounted porcelain.

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The pieces are distinctive in scale, quality and number with matched pairs being rare and matched quartets of this age and size never seen. The only known similar examples are in the collection of the British Royal Family.

These exceptional examples will be displayed exclusively in the company's Cotai resort scheduled to open in 2015. The purchase was inspired by Steve Wynn's ongoing commitment to return artistic treasures to the People's Republic of China.

"We are delighted to be able to return these extraordinary examples of Chinese culture to the People's Republic of China, and place them on display in the city of Macau, which we are so fortunate to be a part of," said Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts.

Wynn initiated the company's cultural commitment with the acquisition of a Ming glazed copper-red pear-shaped vase, Yuhuchunping, produced during Emperor Hongwu's reign (1368-1398). The vase was later donated to the Macao Special Administrative Region and is exhibited as part of the permanent collection of the Cultural Affairs Bureau's Macao Museum.

Other important examples of historic Chinese art, including examples of ceramics, cloisonne and textile Arts can be seen in the collections currently within Wynn Macau and Encore at Wynn Macau.

About Wynn Resorts:

Wynn Resorts, Limited is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol WYNN and is part of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 Indexes. Wynn Resorts owns and operates Wynn Las Vegas (www.wynnlasvegas.com), Encore (www.encorelasvegas.com) and Wynn Macau (www.wynnmacau.com). Wynn Las Vegas, a luxury hotel and destination casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip features 2,716 luxurious guest rooms and suites, an approximately 111,000 square foot casino, 22 food and beverage outlets, an on-site 18-hole golf course, approximately 223,000 square feet of meeting space, an on-site Ferrari and Maserati dealership, and approximately 74,000 square feet of retail space.

Encore, an expansion of Wynn Las Vegas, on December 22, 2008. Encore is located immediately adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas and features a 2,034 all-suite hotel, approximately 72,000 square foot casino, 12 food and beverage outlets, a night club, a spa and salon, approximately 60,000 square feet of meeting space and approximately 27,000 square feet of upscale retail outlets.

Wynn Macau is a destination casino resort in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and currently features 600 deluxe hotel rooms and suites, an approximately 205,000 square foot casino, casual and fine dining in six restaurants, approximately 46,000 square feet of retail space, a health club, pool and spa, along with lounges and meeting facilities.

Encore at Wynn Macau on April 21, 2010. This resort is an expansion of Wynn Macau which adds a fully-integrated resort hotel with approximately 410 luxury suites and four villas along with restaurants, additional retail space and gaming space.

SOURCE Wynn Resorts