Wedding gift vases turn out to be £500k 18th century Qing Dynasty originals

London, July 31 (ANI): A pair of Chinese vases that were given as a wedding gift to a British couple in 1965 has fetched 500,000 pounds at auction.

The 10in tall porcelain pieces, whose value had been a mystery, had been sitting on a shelf in the retired couple's modest home in Southampton.

An antique expert, who was inspecting the couple's home, discovered them and he reckoned the multi-coloured vases could fetch 50,000 pounds.

But the couple decided to go to a phone bidder, and they were offered ten times the amount.

"We are delighted. We're going on holiday. This has transformed our retirement," the Sun quoted the unnamed owners as saying.

The decorative vases date from the mid-18th century and carry the seal of Qianlong, a Qing Dynasty emperor.

They were spotted by Guy Schwinge, of Duke's auctioneers in Dorchester, Dorset, which sold them.

He said Qianlong ware was now more in demand than Ming. (ANI)