Chinese ornament found in pub beer garden sells for £2,100

The bronze 19th Century censer was found in a pub beer garden in the 1950s

A Chinese ornament dug up in a pub beer garden and subsequently used to store car keys has sold for £2,100 at auction.

The bronze 19th Century censer was found in Northumberland in the 1950s and had a guide price of £300 to £400.

It was bought by a Chinese buyer at Hansons Auctioneers in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Abigail Pine, 39, from Oxford, who sold the item, said she was "amazed" at how much it went for.

The self-employed jewellery maker added: "We still can't believe it now. We watched the auction live and we never expected it to reach the amount it did.

"Our family inherited the censer. We weren't sure if it was Chinese.

"It's something that's been in the hall for years. It's had car keys in it and string."

The ornament (pictured with Sonya Marshall, from Hansons) will be returned to China

Antiques expert David Harper, from Bargain Hunt, said he was approached by Ms Pine about the object, which he knew "could be worth a lot of money".

He said: "The story gets more remarkable because the censer, which is an incense burner, was dug up in the 1950s by Abigail's ancestors in the garden of their pub in Northumberland when they were digging for potatoes.

"As well as the censer they dug up a huge church candlestick. Quite why those two items were buried together in the wilds of Northumberland we will never know.

"But what a find. It just goes to show that these things are still out there in people's cupboards, living rooms, lofts - even in their gardens."

He said the container would now be "repatriated to its homeland".

Charles Hanson, the owner of Hansons, said: "From the smell of hops in a pub beer garden to the aroma of Chinese incense, this find has to rank as one of our most remarkable to date."