LONDON — An 18th-century Chinese porcelain vase discovered when a house was cleared out was sold Thursday at a London auction for 43 million pounds ($69.3 million).
Bainbridges, the auction house, said the final price for the 16-inch vase — an imperially commissioned piece decorated with a fish motif — far exceeded the pre-auction estimated price, which was about 1.2 million pounds ($1.93 million).
The final amount was thought to be among the highest ever paid for any Chinese artwork sold at auction.
After fierce competition among Chinese buyers, the vase was bought by a Chinese bidder who bid on behalf of an undisclosed buyer.
The auction house, a small, independent company in the London suburb of Ruislip, said that the vase is of exceptional quality and that it knew the estimated price was “a bit conservative.” Still, the final price was beyond all expectations.
