A Chinese vase found during a house clear out in London has sold at auction for what is believed to be a world record $68 million (Rs 307 crore). The elaborately decorated 16 inch (40 cm) ceramic vase, which dates from the mid-18th century Qianlong period, was bought by a private buyer from mainland China on Thursday in Bainbridges, a small west London-based auction house. After the addition of the 20 per cent fees on its hammer price the final bill for the buyer was $85,176,578 (Rs 380 crore) It is thought to be the highest price ever paid for any Chinese artwork say Bainbridges, who auctioned the vase on behalf of a brother and sister who inherited it. The pair, who want to remain anonymous, were clearing out a house in Pinner, a leafy suburb of north-west London, when they came across the dusty vase on a shelf. They had no idea what it was says Helen Porter, a researcher at Bainbridges: "They were hopeful but they didn't dare believe until the hammer went down. When it did, the sister had to go out of the room and have a breath of fresh air." The vase was believed to have been acquired by an English family during the 1930s although how it came to reside on a shelf in Pinner is not known says Porter. The vase was made in the mid to late-18th century during the reign of the fourth emperor in the Qing dynasty, Qianlong. It would have resided in the Chinese Royal Palace and was almost certainly fired in the imperial kilns, say Bainbridges. There is an inner vase that can be viewed through the perforations of the main body. "It is a piece of exquisite beauty and a supreme example of the skill of the ceramicist and decorator. It is a masterpiece. If only it could talk," said Bainbridges on its website. Most expensive Sotheby's on September 9 auctioned off a rare John James Audubon tome, Birds of America at $9.2 million (Rs 41 crore), making it the most expensive book to be sold ever. However, the most expensive item ever sold on eBay was a 405-foot, steel mega-yacht (marketed as a Gigayacht) from Florida at $85 million (Rs 380 crore).

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A Chinese vase found during a house clear out in London has sold at auction for what is believed to be a world record $68 million (Rs 307 crore).

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