Qianlong Chinese porcelain vase sold for £43m

An 18th Century Chinese vase has fetched a record £43 million when it went under the hammer last week in the UK.

The Oianlong porcelain piece, found in a house-clearance in London is thought to have left China about 150 years ago, and sold for more than 100 times it original estimate. 

The auctioneers Bainbridge's don't know how the vase made its way to the house in north-west London, but it is understood the vase left China in about 1860 and was acquired by an English family during the 1930's.

The vase is yellow and sky blue in colour with a fish motif on the front and a perforated outer wall. The ceramic vase was made during the reign of the fourth emperor in the Qing dynasty, Qianlong, who ruled the empire from 1735 to 1796.

The private buyer - who is thought to have come from the Chinese mainland - paid £43m, with an additional premium of £8.6m to go to the auctioneer.

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