An old vase, which had been kept by a working-class family from London for about 40 years, went under the hammer for 520 thousand pounds (53 million rubles). This is reported by the Daily Mail.
In the early 1980s, the vase owner's father was a dismantler. One of the clients could not pay for his work and instead of money offered two jade Buddhas and a porcelain vase about 30 centimeters high. He agreed and brought them home. Neither he, nor his son, who inherited the relics after his death, had no idea about their value.
Recently, the owner of the vase decided to put it up for sale and showed it to an expert. It turned out that it was made about three centuries ago for the Chinese emperor Qianlong, who ruled from 1736 to 1795, and was probably kidnapped from the palace during the Ihetuan Uprising. The vase is well preserved, so it was valued at 15 thousand pounds (1.5 million rubles).
Seven participants in the auction were traded for the lot. As a result, the victory was won by an anonymous buyer from China, who is ready to pay 36 times more for the vase than the original estimate. Taking into account the additional fees, he will have to pay 550 thousand pounds (56 million rubles).
Earlier it was reported that in the English county of Derbyshire, an old broken vase went under the hammer at a price that was 20 times higher than experts' expectations. It was also made during the time of Emperor Qianlong.
