Amid COVID-19 crisis, man hits jackpot with 'teapot' he found in garage box

Guwahati: In a surprising development, a man cleaning his dwelling hit jackpot in Derbyshire, UK. The lucky man found an age-old wine ewer, which is worth 100,000 pounds (Rs 95 lakh).

The imperial wine ewer was discovered by a 51-year-old semi-retired guide employee in his storage. "The teapot has been in my family as long as I can remember. My mum used to display it in a cabinet. We believe it was brought back to England from China by my grandfather who was stationed in the Far East during the Second World War and was awarded a Burma Star medal," he added.

He informed that following the death of his parents, the teapot was transferred to the garage. The 51-year-old retired man said that he was thinking of giving it to a charity shop.

He further added, "Due to the lockdown I could not give it to the charity shot and it was kept in the garage. I used to think of this teapot. This is quite special. I tried to find a lot about it on the internet. One day I saw a similar thing on the website of a famous auction firm, where the Chinese language was written there, which was written in this teapot."

According to Hanson auctions, the rare Beijing-enameled object which resembles a small teapot may have once belonged to a Chinese emperor. As per estimates, it is believed to be worth anywhere between £ 20,000-40,000, but it has been reported that some Chinese buyers can pay as much as £100,000 for it.

It can be dated back to the Qianlong period (1735–99) and is 15 cm. The auctioneers describe it as the "best lockdown find ever."

Owner of Hansons Auctioneers, Charles Hanson said "This has to be the best lockdown find ever. It is such an exciting discovery, an imperial 18th-century wine ewer which would have graced a palace in China and was, perhaps, handled by Emperor Qianlong, considered by some to be the greatest Chinese Emperor."

"Two almost identical teapots, both with Qianlong reign marks, exist in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, and the Palace Museum in Beijing, China. It's truly astonishing to find an Emperor's wine ewer in a Derbyshire home, an object used to serve warm wine during important ceremonies."

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