Revealed: The million-pound doorstop
A vase used as a doorstop in a Black Country home could fetch a staggering £1 million at auction.
The antique has since been found to be a Chinese artefact from the 18th century.
The rare blue and white vase was discovered propping a door open in a home and has been described as 'the find of a lifetime' by auctioneers.
But the address of the owner will remain a secret until the artefact is sold on July 1.
The vase was unearthed by Hanson's Auctioneers associate director, Mr Adrian Rathbone.
Mr Rathbone said: "On examining it I was quite surprised at how big it was at 66cm high.
"I was particularly mesmerised by the character mark on the base of the vase."
After a careful period of assessment by the auctioneers, a guide price for the vase has been set at £300,000-£500,000.
"It is the dream of a find for auctioneers," said Charles Hanson, of Hanson's Auctioneers.
"It was owned by a great aunt Florrie who acquired it in Cornwall in the 1920s, and the couple who now own it used it as a doorstop. They have a grandchild who remarkably didn't damage it at all. It's the find of a lifetime, it really is, and has the chance of topping £1 million, if a battle between the Far Eastern heavyweight collectors takes off."
Made in China during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-99), experts believe the vase was possibly manufactured by the Imperial kilns for the Emperor's Summer Palace. Of hexagonal outline it is brilliantly painted in tones of cobalt blue. With boughs of pomegranate and peach alternating with flowering branches, it is a work of art, painted with the Qianlong mark to the base.
"The manner of the vase's decoration was inspired by artists working on porcelain in the Yongzheng period (1723-1735)", commented Mr Hanson.
"The design became one of the most favoured designs for all the noble Palaces in the period by his son Emperor Qianlong.
"A similar vase can be found in the Nanjing Museum in China and important other collections. I have always dreamed of bringing my gavel down on a £1 million lot, and this could perhaps be the one."
