Sold for £3m, the ‘old pot’ given to university that turned out to be Ming cup
A RARE Chinese cup from the Ming dynasty once dismissed as a ‘dusty old pot’ and kept in an unlocked cabinet fetched more than £3million at auction yesterday.
The four-inch vessel had been in a cabinet ‘cluttering up’ a corridor until it was put into storage at Staffordshire University in 1984 and forgotten about.
It was only when staff had the items revalued in 2013 that they realised the Stem Cup’s value had ‘skyrocketed’.
A decision was later taken to auction the cup – thought to have been made for an emperor in 1425 – because the university was unable to house it securely.
It fetched £3.1million, plus a £300,000 commission, yesterday in Hong Kong when it was bought by a Chinese private collector. It had been expected to go for at least £2million.
The cup was found in a collection of 270 antiques donated to Staffordshire University, then known as North Staffordshire Technical College, in 1944. Little is known about donor Ernest Thornhill, other than he was a chemist from Clapham, South London, eager to save his collection from being bombed in the Second World War.
Professor Flavia Swann, the then head of art and design history at the university, said the antiques had been discovered in the 1970s after a chance conversation with the head of the ceramic technology department. She told how they said to her: ‘I’ve got some dusty old pots cluttering up my corridor, would you like to have a look?’
She added: ‘They were just in unlocked cabinets – sliding doors that when you slide them back they literally fell out on to the floor. Nothing broke, fortunately.’
The professor quickly realised the significance of the find.
It was part of a campus exhibition, where it remained on display until it was put into storage with the rest of the collection the following decade.
The money raised will be used to fund a national ceramics centre – which will house the rest of the Thornhill Collection – based in Staffordshire.
The pieces are currently stored at a secret location.
Rosy Crehan, deputy vicechancellor at the university, said: ‘It is clear from the bequest that Ernest Thornhill intended his collection to be used as a study resource. However, the value of the entire collection has increased significantly to the point where the university was not able to house it securely.’
She added: ‘The funds raised will allow the remaining 269 pieces of Chinese Oriental Ceramics to be curated, conserved and enjoyed in a specially designed Ceramic Education and Research Facility.’