Rare Chinese vase bought for a few hundred pounds and kept in kitchen sells for £1.2 million
WATCH: The moment the hammer goes down on the sale
A rare Chinese vase sold for £1.2 million at auction today, massively exceeding its estimate of £100,000 to £150,000.
The vase, created in the 18th Century for the court of the Qianlong Emperor, was purchased by a surgeon in the 1980s for a few hundred pounds and passed from the original owner to his son, who, not realising its true value, kept it in his kitchen.
It was only when a visiting antiques specialist spotted it that its true value and history was revealed.
The vase, which is two feet tall and bears the distinctive six-character mark of the Qianlong period (1736-1795) on its base, went up for sale in Dreweatts auction of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art in Newbury, Berkshire, today.
The vase is an extraordinary example of imperial Qianlong porcelain and is significant for its highly unusual enamelling techniques, with a striking palette of gold and silver against a vivid blue ground.
The vase was sold to an International buyer on the telephone.
Mark Newstead, Specialist Consultant at Dreweatts for Asian Ceramics and Works of Art, said: "We are delighted with this exceptional result.
"We saw widespread interest from China, Hong Kong, America and the UK which resulted in very competitive bidding. The result shows the high demand for the finest porcelain produced in the world.
He added: "I first saw it in the late 1990s. It was in a big house and it was in the kitchen and they thought nothing of it. I pointed out it might be something quite good, and the next time I went there it had been moved to a private place in the dining room.
"It is the sort of vase that would have sat very happily in one of the halls of the Forbidden Palace or another Royal palace."
The rich cobalt blue is often referred to as 'sacrificial blue', deriving from the use of vessels in this colour glaze being used during sacrifices at the Imperial Altar of Heaven.
It is extremely rare to see blue vases painted in both gilding and slightly raised silver, thought to be due to the medium being difficult to control.
Such a vase would require at least three times of firing in the kiln, of the three different glazes and enamels; first at over 1200℃ for the cobalt blue, then at a lower temperature for the turquoise green on the interior of the vase, finally the gold and silver enamels in a special kiln designed for enamels.