£130 vase sells at auction for £100,000
A Chinese vase with a presale estimate of £130 has sold at auction for nearly £100,000. The ornament, which stands at 12 inches and is ornately decorated with blue and white banana and bamboo trees, eventually went for £99,990 after two international antique collectors became embroiled in a bidding war.
Recognising that the piece was in fact a genuine imperial artefact, the experts were determined to secure the asset and more than happy to bid beyond the presale estimate.
Richard Peters, an antiques dealer from Kensington and the winning bidder, said that he was satisfied with the price.
He told the Daily Mail: "I got a bargain. The vase had probably been looted from the Imperial Palace in Peing by French, British or American soldiers sometime during the 19th century."
The losing bidder revealed that her husband, who had been on the phone during the bidding frenzy, advised her to drop out at £100,000.
The auction took place at Sheppards Irish Auction House.
