Pair of ‘egg cups’ valued at £50 auctioned for £10,500

A PAIR of rare Chinese cups that were valued at £50 have fetched more than £10,000 at auction after decades of being used as egg cups.

The private seller was said to be “absolutely thrilled” after being given a valuation of between £50 and £70 for the two cups and a bowl.

She thought the crockery was worthless and had been using them as egg cups at her home in Stamford, Lincs, for more than 70 years. The pair of 7cm (2.7in) tall stemmed Cloisonné cups and bowl, made in the 18th century during the Qianlong dynasty, feature Chinese decorative patterns.

They were originally thought to be 20th century copies, but they turned out to be authentic after being examined by experts. The elderly owner had received them from her grandmother who bought them at an auction in Norwich many years before, not knowing they were 300-year-old relics.

The family had only used them to hold boiled eggs, so the vendor was astounded when they caught the eye of serious collectors at the auction on August 5. The rare items sold for £10,500 after going under the hammer at Bateman’s Auctioneers, in Stamford.

Senior valuer Sophie Chapman said: “The vendor had them in her family and thinks they came from her gran who had a habit of going to auctions in Norwich. They had always been used in her family as egg cups, used for the odd boiled egg occasionally. She thought they were completely valueless.”