LONDON An 18th-century Chinese vase discovered in the clearance of a modest London house fetched a staggering £43 million ($69.2m) at auction.

The 16-inch Qianlong porcelain vase is understood to have been bought by a private buyer from China in the sale on Thursday at a small London auction house.

On top of the initial price, the purchaser will also have to pay 20 per cent fees, bringing the grand total to an eye-watering £51.6 million.

It is thought to be the highest ever price paid for a Chinese artwork at auction.

The item has made the brother and sister who inherited the vase following its discovery in their parents' north London suburban home instant pound multi-millionaires.

Helen Porter, of Bainbridges auctioneers, said “They had no idea what they had. They were hopeful but they didn't dare believe until the hammer went down. When it did, the sister had to go out of the room and have a breath of fresh air.” It is unknown how the vase — which dates from around 1740 — made it to Britain, but it is thought it was fired in the imperial kilns and kept in the Chinese Royal Palace.

The vase is decorated with a “humorous fish” motif and has an elaborate construction which allows one to look through perforations in the outer vase to see a smaller vase inside. It was initially expected to fetch between £800,000 and £1.2m but far exceeded the valuations as a new breed of Chinese investors snap up artefacts from their imperial past.

The auctioneers described the “exquisite” piece as “one of the most important Chinese vases to be offered for sale this century.”—AFP