Northamptonshire: Vase found at home could fetch thousands at auction

It is thought that the "beautiful" Chinese vase dates back as far as 1640

A rare vase that spent years sitting on a chest of drawers is expected to fetch thousands at auction.

The 17th Century piece was identified by antiques expert Paul Fox during a visit to a Northamptonshire farmhouse.

Mr Fox - a valuer at Oxfordshire-based auctioneers Hanson Holloway - said the item "took my eye and immediately struck me as important".

He said the Chinese vase could date back to 1640 and would have passed through generations of a family.

The vase was most likely brought back to the United Kingdom in the early to mid-18th Century, Mr Fox added.

"This particular piece of porcelain is one of a number of items that have been in the family for eight or nine generations," he said.

"Our client tells us an ancestor went to seek his fortune in India and rose to become governor of Fort St George, a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English fortress in India. He later worked for the East India Company.

"Achieving such status led him to acquire some fine porcelain. His son, who was born and grew up in India, later returned to the UK as a mercantile agent.

"The objects came with him and remained in the family, handed down through the generations.

"They were displayed at the family seat in Wales from the mid-19th Century until it was sold in the early 1970s. The important pieces have continued to be passed down through the family line."

It is thought the rare Chinese vase was brought to the United Kingdom in the 18th Century

Mr Fox said "beautiful historical objects" like the vase were still in "huge demand" with collectors.

A guide price of £2,000-£4,000 has been set for the 38-inch (97cm)-tall vase which will go under the hammer in Banbury on 2 March.

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