Couple stunned as vase that sat on their mantelpiece sells for £192,000

Couple stunned as vase that sat on their mantelpiece sells for £192,000

A rare Chinese vase that had sat on a couple's sideboard gathering dust has sold at auction for a staggering £192,000.

The husband and wife, in their 70s, had put the vase in a plastic shopping bag and taken it to their local auction house in Derby to be valued.

They told auction house staff they would be happy to get £25 for the 30cm high vase which they had inherited from a great uncle about 45 years ago but have earned a fortune after collectors from around the globe bid for the antique.

A rare find: A Chinese vase which sat on a sideboard for many years gathering dust has sold for £192,000 in Derby after auctioneer Charles Hanson (pictured) valued the antique for a pensioner couple

The porcelain vase, painted with foliage and rock work, was made for the home market of China and dated to the reign of the Quing Dynasty and carried a mark for the daoguang period (1821-1850).

Auctioneer Charles Hanson examined the piece when the couple, from south Derbyshire, brought it in to be priced during a Saturday morning valuation day.

‘The couple first pulled out of the bag an old teapot which I told them they would be lucky to get £10 for,' he explained.

 

More...

• The £53m Qing sting? Mother and son who sold vase for millions haven't received a penny and fear they could be victims of 'auction sabotage'

‘They then pulled out the vase which they hoped might fetch £25. But I immediately knew it was quite valuable and after making some quick inquiries told the couple that at auction the vase could easily fetch £10,000.

‘They couldn't believe their old vase was worth that much. It had been left to them by a great uncle who they knew had once worked in the Far East.’

Collectors from across the world called up to bid for the vase when it went under the hammer at the Mackworth Hotel in Derby yesterday.

The final price was a record for sellers Hansons Auctioneers.

Life-changing discovery: Auctioneer Charles Hanson, pictured with the porcelain vase, said the item attracted interest from around the world

Mr Hanson said: 'The atmosphere was electric and tense in the packed saleroom.

‘Bidding for the vase started at just £1,000 but the price soared with bids from callers in London, America and China. One representative even flew in from the Far East to bid for a Chinese collector.

‘Bidding quickly rose past £10,000 and by £145,000 it was a two-way battle between a UK buyer and a Hong Kong gentleman.

'With bidding at £190,000 and the room holding its breath, a phone line from the UK secured the vase at a hammer price of £192,000.’

The couple, who do not want to be named, held hands during the bidding.

When the hammer went down on £192,000 the room burst into applause and the couple cried and hugged each another. They plan to use some of the money for a new car and a holiday abroad.

Mr Hanson added: ‘The market for such Chinese porcelain is exceptionally buoyant with the citizens of China investing heavily in acquiring back their heritage.’