An Oxford family were stunned when an ornament dug up in a pub garden
decades ago turned out to be an Oriental treasure worth thousands of
pounds.
Not only that,
the bronze 19th century Chinese censer had been kept in
their hall for years decades and used to pop car keys in.
But that didn’t
deter keen bidders when the item went up for auction at Hanson
Holloway’s Ross in Banbury, Oxfordshire. It was contested to £2,100
from a guide price of £300-£400 and was snapped up by a Chinese
buyer.
Its route to
auction came about thanks to TV antiques expert David Harper. He
said: “I was doing a Facebook Live event about antiques when a
message came through from Abigail Pine whose family own the object. I
knew it could be worth a lot of money and asked them to send me some
pictures and information.
“The story gets
more remarkable because the censer, which is an incense burner, was
dug up in the 1950s by Abigail’s ancestors in the garden of their
pub in Northumberland when they were digging for potatoes.
“As well as the
censer they dug up a huge church candlestick. Quite why those two
items were buried together in the wilds of Northumberland we will
never know. But what a find. It just goes to show that these things
are still out there in people’s cupboards, living rooms, lofts –
even their gardens.
“I contacted my
old friend Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, to arrange
for the item to go under the hammer and the censer was bought by a
Chinese buyer and repatriated to its homeland.”
Abigail Pine, 39,
a self-employed jewellery maker, said: “We were amazed. We
still can’t believe it now. We watched the auction live and we
never expected it to reach the amount it did.
“Our family
inherited the censer. We weren’t sure if it was Chinese. It’s
something that’s been in the hall for years. It’s had car keys in
it and string.”
Charles Hanson,
owner of Hansons, said: “From the smell of hops in a pub beer
garden to the aroma of Chinese incense, this find has to rank as one
of our most remarkable to date. If you have an item at home, perhaps
an inherited piece, you’re unsure about, it’s always worth
getting it valued.”
The Chinese
censer was sold on March 6 at Hanson Holloway’s Ross, Banbury.
Items are invited for their next sale on May 1. To arrange a free
home valuation or home visit, email
[email protected].
