Chinese teapot heading for charity shop is worth £100,000
A HOMEOWNER was gobsmacked after his teapot which was destined for a charity shop after spending decades in a loft turned out to be a Chinese relic worth £100,000.
The imperial Beijing-enamelled pot had been gathering dust in a garage and attic for years after being boxed up by its owner who never realised its true value.
But after unearthing the object during a lockdown clear-out at his home, the 51-year-old owner decided to take it to be valued by auction experts.
And he was stunned to be told the pot, also known as a wine ewer, was a rare imperial Chinese antique dating back to the Qianlong period between 1735 and 1799.
It is now expected to make as much as £100,000 when it goes under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers, in Etwall, Derbyshire, on September 24.
Owner Charles Hanson said ewers and teapots of this type were fashionable at court during the period and may have been handled by Emperor Qianlong himself.
He added: “This has to be the best lockdown find ever.
“It is such an exciting discovery, an imperial 18th century wine ewer which would have graced a palace in China and was, perhaps, handled by Emperor Qianlong, considered by some to be the greatest Chinese emperor.
“Two almost identical teapots, both with Qianlong reign marks, exist in the National Palace
Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, and the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.
“It’s truly astonishing to find an emperor’s wine ewer in a Derbyshire home, an object used to serve warm wine during important ceremonies.”
Its 51-year-old owner, a semiretired manual worker, said: “The teapot has been in my family as long as I can remember. My mum used to display it in a cabinet.
“We believe it was brought back to England from China by my grandfather who was stationed in the Far East during the Second World War and was awarded a Burma Star medal. Mum passed away nearly 20 years ago, then dad nine years ago and the teapot ended up in a loft in Newhall.”