The 16-inch high Qing Dynasty vase was sold by Bainbridges auction house to a private buyer from mainland China. The antique was believed to have been made around 1740 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and was brought to London in the 1930s, when the Second Opium War ended. A brother and sister found the vase while they were clearing out their parents’ house in Pinner, a suburb in north-west London.
A researcher for Bainbridges said the siblings who found the vase never thought that the piece would sell for such a huge price. “They were hopeful but they didn’t dare believe until the hammer went down. When it did, the sister had to go out of the room and have a breath of fresh air,” Bainbridges researcher Helen Porter said. The double-walled, sky blue and yellow-colored vase with intricate fish and floral designs was estimated to sell for around $2 million.
