LONDON.-A newly-discovered - and extraordinarily rare – Chinese “dragon vase” sold at Sotheby’s in London this afternoon for £2,820,500 - establishing a new auction record for piece of Qing Dynasty blue and white porcelain. The vase, which had been dismissed as a copy in the 1970s and had subsequently lain neglected in the bottom of a wardrobe, was discovered by Sotheby’s expert Alastair Gibson earlier this year.

Its discovery came after a chance conversation with a collector during the recent Three Emperors exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. On seeing a fine blue-and-white moon flask in the show, the collector remarked that she thought she had something similar at home. Her description of it piqued Alastair Gibson’s interest and he asked if he could take a look. Last summer, he visited the collector’s home and saw something that - although dusty from years of neglect – was almost identical to the piece they had seen in the London exhibition.

Further research confirmed that the piece was, indeed, closely related to the piece in the exhibition – although the painted decoration and size were different. As the only known example of this particular “blue and white” design, the piece sold today ranks as one of the most important examples of Chinese porcelain to have come to the UK market in many years.

Its importance was recognised today as no fewer than 7 bidders fought to secure this unique piece of Chinese craftsmanship, driving the price well in excess of the £800,000-£1,200,000 presale estimate.

Alastair Gibson, Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Department in London, said: “I remember seeing the brother of this piece – a fantastic doucai vase, decorated with five-clawed dragons, in the Zwinger museum in Dresden many years ago. The memory of that piece has stayed with me always, and so to have come across the example sold today was for me the kind of dream that rarely comes true. It is an enchanting piece, and I am thrilled that so many collectors were prepared to fight so hard to get it.”