AN antique Chinese bowl, which had a guide price of £600, sold for more than £38,000 at auction.
The unassuming lot was a blue and white porcelain bowl showing a man ploughing a paddy field, inscribed with Chinese text.
Newcastle auction house Anderson and Garland put a guide price of £400 to £600 on the item, but interest came on the internet from China.
Auctioneer Steven Moore said: “To be honest, I was expecting it as I knew the amount of interest it had generated before the sale.”
The bowl bears the mark of Emperor Kangxi, who reigned from 1662 to 1722 in China.
Mr Moore said: “Myself and other experts felt that it probably wasn’t an original as the Chinese had a habit of making pieces in a period style.
“If they made a piece in 1850, they would then put the Emperor’s mark on it, not as a fake, but because it was a tribute to him.”
The bowl belonged to a doctor from Middlesbrough. A Chinese man living in the UK bought the bowl.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here