If ever you needed motivation to sort through your old knickknacks, this is it.
A blue and white vase that was for years used as a doorstop by a family in Birmingham, central England, turned out to be a rare 18th century Chinese artifact — which sold at auction on Friday for an eye-popping £650,000 (around $860,000).
Derbyshire-based auctioneers Hansons said it's believed it was made during Emperor Qianlong's reign between 1735 and 1799.
The unidentified seller inherited the 26-inch high vessel from his antique dealer great aunt Florence in 1978.
Florrie, as she was affectionately known, had reportedly acquired it while living in Cornwall, in southwest England, during the 1920s.
"It is a quite spell bounding vase," said Charles Hanson, managing director of Hansons, via a press statement before the auction, adding it was "possibly manufactured by the Imperial kilns for the Emperor's Summer Palace."
The auctioneers had estimated the vase would fetch £300,000 to £500,000 (around $400,000 to $660,000).
But the sale price ended up topping those predictions after the auction house received "significant interest" from across China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Hanson told the BBC. The buyer's identity has not been revealed.
