Porcelain jar bought for £9.10 before it was left to gather dust in a spare room set to sell for more than £200,000
Vessel was identified as an incredibly rare Chinese 'heaven' jar dating back nearly 300-years
A TINY porcelain jar bought for £9.10 before it was left to gather dust on a shelf in a spare room is now set to sell for more than £200,000.
The owners of the 4in jar had no idea of its worth until they invited an expert to look at some other pieces when they were trying to raise cash to pay for flood damage to their home.
The blue, white and green vessel was identified as an incredibly rare Chinese “heaven” jar dating back nearly 300-years.
Several were made for the Chinese Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty.
But only three other pieces are known of and they are all in museums in the Far East.
The vessel now for sale is even better than one held in London's Victoria and Albert Museum which has no lid.
The jar was bought as a present for the owner's parents from a London antique shop in May 1946 for £9.10 - £200 in today's money.
Although they had no appreciation of Chinese art they kept the piece and passed it down the family.
It was discovered by Asian art specialist John Axford of Woolley and Wallis auctioneers of Salibsury, Wilts, on a shelf in a room being used for storage in a property in northern England.
Mr Axford said: "It had a label on the bottom of Bluett & Sons - a dealer in London that no longer exists but their archive does.
"The records show the jar was bought as a present on May 1, 1946 for £9.10.
"That was quite a large sum in those days but relatively cheap compared to what it is worth now.
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"It has been passed down one generation. The current owners had a big flood and needed to raise some money for some repairs.
"They had a local and general antiques dealer look at some items and he advised them to get a specialist in Chinese art to have a look at this jar.
"I found it on a shelf in a room on the ground floor that was being used for storage."
The jars were made sometime between 1723 and 1735. It is painted in underglaze blue with two winged dragons in flight amongst scrolling clouds.
The design is actually a replica of a jar dating back to the Ming Dynasty in the 15th century but was brought back 300-years later at the command of the Imperial palace.
Mr Axford said: "It is a replica but it is still of fantastic quality. There are very few around."
The jar is being sold on November 15 in Salisbury.