Vase found on chest of drawers in Northamptonshire could achieve thousands at auction

Antiques expert Paul Fox, valuer at Hanson Holloway’s in Banbury, Oxfordshire, discovered the 17th century Chinese object during a routine home visit.

He said: “It was tucked away among more modern Chinese ceramics on top of a chest of drawers. It took my eye and immediately struck me as important.

“I examined it and became excited. My hunch proved accurate. It has been identified as a Chinese blue and white bottle vase, Transitional Period, which means it probably dates back to 1640. Incredibly, that makes it around 380 years old.

“We traced the provenance and it appears to have come out of China well before the 20th century.

“This particular piece of porcelain is one of a number of items that have been in the family for eight or nine generations. They were brought back from the Far East in the early to mid 18th century.

“Our client tells us an ancestor went to seek his fortune in India and rose to become governor of Fort St George, a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English fortress in India. He later worked for the East India Company.

“Achieving such status led him to acquire some fine porcelain. His son, who was born and grew up in India, later returned to the UK as a mercantile agent. These objects came with him and remained in the family, handed down through the generations. They were displayed at the family seat in Wales from the mid 19th century until it was sold in the early 1970s. The important pieces have continued to be passed down through the family line.

“Beautiful historical objects like this are in huge demand with wealthy Chinese collectors. They are keen to repatriate important antiques to their homeland to honour and celebrate their country’s exceptional ceramics heritage.

“We are guiding the 38in high vase at £2,000-£4,000. Despite a crack on the neck, it could easily surpass that and surprise us all under the hammer.”

Auction: The 17th century Chinese vase, Lot 97, painted with scholars in a fenced garden below two bands of flowers to the bulbed neck, is in Hanson Holloway’s March 2 Silver, Jewellery, Watches, Fine Art & Antiques Auction in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Catalogue/bidding: hansonslive.co.uk

To find out more, or to book a free antiques valuation or home visit, please email: [email protected]