One vase that was rejected by a antiques expert went on to sell for an incredible £53million after sitting in an attic for 40 years.
Back in the 70s, the launched its antiques game show Going for a Song – thought to be an early version of . A panel of customers and experts were tasked with examining a set of antiques to determine their authenticity and their value.
When one working-class British couple brought their vase onto the show to be appraised, the curator in charge determined the 16-inch tall porcelain ornament was a “very clever reproduction” – but not the real thing. The ornate vase was an heirloom, so they kept it in their dusty attic for 40 years.
The couple passed away, and it was their relatives who eventually rediscovered the vase while cleaning out their house.
It was “sitting on the bookcase doing absolutely nothing” – and Bainbridges Auction House manager David Reay knew it was something special.
A precursor to Antiques Roadshow rejected a £69million find (Image: BBC)
He explained back in 2010: “They told me it had been valued at just £800 two months earlier. They also told me the owner had taken it on Going for a Song on the about 40 years ago. He was told it was a very clever reproduction.”
The vase was sent to the Arts Club of London, where more experts examined it. The vase was made around 1740, for the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty in China. It had been passed down through the family by a relative who travelled abroad
It had likely been looted from a Peking imperial palace by British and French soldiers during the Second Opium War, when British troops were permitted to loot Emperor Xianfeng’s Summer Palace of Gold before setting fire to it.
The hammer fell at £43million – but with VAT and commission, the vase was worth £53million (Image: Bainbridges Auction House)
Valued again at around £1million, the bidding soon began – and the price eventually reached £43million. With commission and VAT, the price was £53,105,000.
Auctioneer Peter Bainbridge said: “There was a silence that wrapped it self around the sale as the figure grew slowly but surely up to the sky. I’m an auctioneer, so at that point, I’m just doing the professional job I’m paid to do. But once the hammer’s down, you do take stock slightly, and think, Oh, wow, that’s really rather a lot of money.”
The owners were so shocked they had to run out of the room to collect their thoughts, while Peter pocketed around £10million as commission for the sale.