'Antiques Roadshow' vase rejected and found in dusty attic sold for £53million A vase dismissed by a BBC antiques expert ended up selling for an astonishing £53million after being stored in an attic for 40 years.
The item had likely been plundered from a Peking imperial palace by British and French soldiers during the Second Opium War when British troops were allowed to loot Emperor Xianfeng's Summer Palace of Gold before setting it ablaze.
When a working-class British couple presented their vase on the show for evaluation, the curator concluded that the 16-inch tall porcelain ornament was a "very clever reproduction" but not the genuine article.
The intricate Chinese vase was a family heirloom, so they stowed it away in their dusty attic for 40 years.
The vase was "sitting on the bookcase doing absolutely nothing" and Bainbridges Auction House manager David Reay instantly recognised it as something extraordinary, reports the Express.
