A WOMAN from Chester who had been offered just £375 for a rare Chinese vase was left stunned when it sold for a massive £228,000 in Flintshire.
The lucky owner decided to get a second opinion from experts at Byrne’s Auctioneers in Saltney after being offered a fraction of the selling price from a dealer down south.
The amazed woman, from Chester – who wishes to remain anonymous – said she had no idea of the value of a little vase that had been in her family for generations.
The colourful miniature vase was in fact a rare 18th century Chinese Imperial gilt bronze and cloisonné vase – worth thousands of pounds to collectors around the world.
Adrian Byrne, auctioneer, said: “The dealer down south seemed so keen that she wondered if she was doing the right thing and decided that even though the money would have been very useful to her at the time, she would not sell it there and then.
“Fortunately, she decided to seek a second opinion and brought it to us.”
On Wednesday the vase, which transpired to be a creation of the most skilled craftsmen in the Forbidden City, during the Ming Dynasty, was sold for a record breaking £228,000 at the city auction house.
The amazing windfall came as a complete shock to the owner, who was wondering whether to put it up for sale at all.
“It was obviously an object of some importance and we set about researching it so that our sale catalogue reflected that, but when the catalogue went live on the internet, we were swamped with inquiries,” said Mr Byrne.
“With that amount of pre-sale interest, we knew the vase would do well, but the price it achieved was just staggering.
“On sale day there were internet bidders from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and 14 phone bidders.
“They were from New Zealand, Belgium, Paris and London.
“We had to draft in people to handle the calls.”
The vase was purchased by a London dealer bidding on the telephone who acquired it for a collector client.
The price was a house record for Byrne’s, beating their previous best set in September 2007 when an 18th century carved giltwood wall mirror sold for £98,000.
The sale of antiques, pictures and desirable objects on Wednesday was also their highest grossing auction since the saleroom moved to new premises at Pullman House, Saltney.
Mr Byrne added: “When I spoke to her a couple of days after the sale she said it hadn’t really sunk in yet but that she is determined to keep her feet firmly on the ground, although she will certainly be having a larger Christmas tree this year!”