Man Discovers Old Chinese Teapot in Garage Worth Tens of Thousands of Pounds
A 51-year-old construction worker in Derbyshire has hit the jackpot after he discovered an old wine ewer while cleaning his garage during the lockdown.
A 51-year-old construction worker in Derbyshire has hit the jackpot after he discovered an old wine ewer while cleaning his garage during the lockdown.
It is a 15 cm Beijing enamelled; yellow in colour with beautiful pink and blue flowers embossed in it which resembles a teapot.
The construction worker who wishes to remain anonymous said that he had this wine ewer in his home for as long as he can remember. He believes that it was brought back to England from China by his grandfather who was stationed there during the Second World War.
He admitted that he was planning to give it away to a charity shop. “But then lockdown came along and I finally had time to go through the boxes in the garage.”
“I spent time looking for information about it on the internet. One day I came across a similar item on a famous auction firm's website and the Chinese writing looked identical.”
Unaware of its value, he took it to Hansons where the auctioneers told him that it was “worth tens of thousands of pounds”!
Hansons Auctioneers said that there are high chances that it belonged to the famous Chinese emperor- Qianlong and dates back to the Qianlong period (1735~99). It could fetch between £20,000 and £40,000 although Chinese buyers may pay more.
“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," said Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers.
“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.”
The wine jug will now be sold in an online auction on September 24. The wine ewer has changed the Derbyshire man’s fortunes and he always knew that his little teapot as he called it was special.