Stop everything you’re doing and go look around your house – you may just have something lying around that’s worth a fortune.

Earlier this week, a blue and white vase, which for years had been used as a doorstop by a family in Birmingham, England, was sold at an auction for £650,000 (about $1.12 million). The vase itself holds quite a remarkable story, with a now fairytale ending. It was inherited by the family from a great aunt who was an antiques dealer in the 1920s. Unaware of its value, they had considered selling it at a local car boot sale, but decided at the last minute to get it valued by Hansons Auctioneers & Valuers.

As it turned out, the item was in fact a rare 18th century Chinese artifact. Associate director Adrian Rathbone said on examining the item: “I was quite surprised at how big it was at 66cm high. Painted in blue, I was particularly mesmerised by the character mark on the base of the vase.”

Charles Hanson with the blue and white vase. Photo: Hansons

After a careful period of assessment, a guide price was set at £300,000 – £500,000, but the sale price ended up topping those predictions, after the auction received significant interest from across China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

“It is a quite spell-bounding vase,” said Charles Hanson, managing director of Hansons, before the auction, adding it was “possibly manufactured by the Imperial kilns for the Emperor’s Summer Palace”.



A close-up of the Chinese artifact. Photo: Hansons

“Our country is awash with fascinating treasures languishing in homes,” Mr Hanson’s statement continues, “and sometimes such remarkable finds can be life-changing for a client.”

The buyer’s identity has not been revealed. Now if only we could stumble across such an item in our own homes…