March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Melted down, a gold Ming Dynasty bowl would sell for about $30,000, twice as much as four years ago. At a Hong Kong auction next month, the imperial vessel may fetch more than HK$60 million ($7.7 million), Sotheby's said.

Inscribed with dragons and set with pearls, turquoise, rubies and sapphires, the three-legged vessel -- made with 1.3 kilograms of 18K gold -- is the highlight of Sotheby's auction of more than 25 gold and precious-metal objects in Hong Kong on April 11, the New York-based auction house said. The lots may raise a combined HK$100 million, said Sotheby's.

Gold prices reached a record $1,032.70 an ounce earlier this month as investors bought the precious metal to hedge against declines in equities. Gold has gained 14 percent this year while the Dow Jones Industrial Index has dropped 6.4 percent.

``Timing couldn't be better,'' said Tian Kai, a Beijing- based art dealer. ``Gold is all the rage right now.''

Sotheby's Hong Kong was offered the consignment in mid- January, days before the cut-off date for assembling lots for the auction, said Nicolas Chow, the auction house's head of Chinese ceramics and artworks. He declined to identify the seller. Several European and Asian private collectors have inquired about the consignment.

``Gold is the most comprehensive marker of luxury in ancient cultures, including the Ming Dynasty,'' said Chow. ``If fine porcelain from these eras could fetch record prices, there is no reason art made with costlier material couldn't fare better.''

Stanley Ho's Gift

The record for a Qing ceramic was set in November 2006 when Hong Kong businesswoman Alice Cheng paid HK$151.3 million for a porcelain bowl at a Christie's International auction. Several private collectors, including casino magnate Stanley Ho, have bought imperial artifacts at auction and donated them to China in the past few years.

Chow said some of the inlaid gems on the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644) bowl are pierced, suggesting they might have been taken from the jewelry pieces of court ladies, Chow said. The 18.5 centimeter (7.25 inch)-wide vessel -- a lidded bowl with two handles -- might have been used for imperial rites.

Another rare piece is a Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) ewer decorated in high relief with peony scrolls and with filigree work, embellished with gems and pearls. The ewer, which bears the mark of the Emperor Qianlong, is carved in a similar fashion as a gold cup in Beijing's Palace Museum, Chow said.

Neither the Beijing nor the Taipei museum features many Ming or Qing dynasty gold objects, said Chow. The consigned collection was first assembled by the Swedish industrialist Johan Carl Kempe in the early 20th century, Sotheby's said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 26, 2008 23:16 EDT