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 LONDON (Nov. 12) -- A Chinese porcelain vase discovered during a routine house clearance has sold for $69 million, the highest amount ever fetched by a Chinese artwork.The record-breaking price bid Thursday at a London auction house shocked the sellers, an unnamed brother and sister, who had to step out of the room for some fresh air when the hammer came down, reported The Daily Telegraph Incredibly, that precious porcelain piece sat unnoticed for years in a modest suburban home in the west London commuter town of Pinner, which was owned by the pair's uncle. "[The owners] had no idea what they had," said Helen Porter of the Bainbridges auction house Auctioneers estimated that noble heritage would result in a sale price of between $1.3 million and $1.9 million.
– A Chinese vase found by an English family in the attic has sold for $69 million at auction, the Telegraph reports. A brother and sister from Middlesex found it while cleaning out their deceased parents' house. "It is a masterpiece," says one expert, a perfect example of a rare design dating from the Qianlong period of about 1740. The auctioneer Bainbridges figured the vase would sell for about $1.6 million, but a frenzied bidding war between what were assumed to be prominent Chinese businessmen pushed the value into the stratosphere over the last half hour. While the vase is certainly valuable, experts say the auction yielded a "freak price"—reflecting the growing disposable income of the Chinese business elite. The sellers have gone into hiding while they figure out what to do with the money. Click here for more.