A CHINESE vase estimated to be worth up to £20,000 sold at auction for more than £500,000 after a tense bidding battle.

It finally ended up in the hands of an anonymous bidder, believed to be Chinese.

The 30cm by 14cm twin-handled porcelain falancia ruby-glazed vase with a Qianlong mark was wonderfully decorated with double gourd motifs, foliage and trailing vines and offered for sale by Hannam’s Auctioneers of The Old Dairy at Norton Farm in Selborne.

Auctioneer Harry Hannam said: "Its estimated value was low because there are lots of fakes about and we are always extremely cautious when cataloguing. But clearly it wasn’t a fake!

"It eventually sold for a record £520,000 plus fees, one of the highest prices for a Chinese porcelain piece sold outside London.

"The vase almost certainly came from the imperial palace in China and was possibly looted during the Boxer rebellion.

"It was deemed to be made between 1736 and 1795, and Chinese buyers are always keen to buy back historical pieces."