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Fri 12 Dec 2010Brewing up a surprise: €100 teapot sells for €50,000
A little Chinese teapot, valued at €100, created a saleroom sensation yesterday when it sold for €50,000. The teapot, which would barely fill a mug of tea, was the unexpected “sleeper” in an antiques auction at Sheppard’s Irish Auction House in Durrow, Co Laois.
The buyer was a Chinese collector who bid by telephone from Beijing. The teapot was made in China during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng who ruled between 1723 and 1735. It was sold by an anonymous Co Carlow family who had inherited a hoard of Chinese porcelain which they believed was of only ornamental value. The “tea-leaf green” teapot had a crucial mark on the base indicating the imperial reign. It was one of many items to sell for thousands of euro.
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