A man doing a bit of a lockdown clear-out unearthed a Chinese teapot worth £100,000 gathering dust in the loft.
The imperial Beijing-enamelled wine ewer was sat around in a garage before being moved to a loft in a box by its owner who had no clue how much the colourful item was worth.
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But the 51-year-old rediscovered at his Derbyshire home and decided to take it to an expert at an auction house to find out how much it was worth.
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And he was shocked when he was told the 15cm pot was actually a super rare imperial Chinese antique dating back to the Qianlong period between 1735 and 1799.
It’s expected to sell for as much as £100,000 when it goes under the hammer later this month at Hansons Auctioneers.
Auctioneer owner Charles Hanson said ewers and teapots like this were very fashionable at the time and this one may have even been handled by Emperor Qianlong himself.
Hanson said: “This has to be the best lockdown find ever.
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“It is such an exciting discovery, an imperial 18th century wine ewer which would have graced a palace in China and was, perhaps, handled by Emperor Qianlong, considered by some to be the greatest Chinese emperor.
“Two almost identical teapots, both with Qianlong reign marks, exist in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, and the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.
“It’s truly astonishing to find an emperor’s wine ewer in a Derbyshire home, an object used to serve warm wine during important ceremonies.
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“He was fascinated by European enamel and the new method of enamel painting and the style was replicated in his imperial workshops.
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“During Emperor Qianlong’s reign this art form reached heady heights of perfection with designs reflecting the emperor’s extravagant taste.
“The delicate wine ewer is a fine example of the perfect combination of an elegant shape, lavish colouration and technical perfection.
“Emperor Qianlong must have been especially fond of this vessel as a number of them were made, hence the existence of two similar examples in important museums in Taiwan and China.”
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The ewer could have ended up in a charity shop with several other items had it not been for lockdown.
The man who found it said: said: “The teapot has been in my family as long as I can remember. My mum used to display it in a cabinet.
“We believe it was brought back to England from China by my grandfather who was stationed in the Far East during the Second World War and was awarded a Burma Star medal.
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“Mum passed away nearly 20 years ago, then dad nine years ago and the teapot ended up in a loft in Newhall.
“Later it was boxed up and moved to a relative’s garage in Church Gresley. I admit, we’d been thinking of sending everything to a charity shop.
“But then lockdown came along and I finally had time to go through the boxes in the garage.
“I’d always thought the teapot, which is what I’ve always called it, was special. I spent time looking for information about it on the internet.
“One day I came across a similar item on a famous auction firm’s website and the Chinese writing looked identical.
“Even so, when I took it to Hansons I was still unsure so dug out a few other bits and pieces for them to value in case they laughed at me when I pulled out the teapot.”
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