The Guardian mentions a £1m valuation for the Ming-era vase that an elderly man brought into Duke’s auction house in Dorset in a cardboard box. The way Chinese works of art have been shooting well beyond estimates, who knows what it will being on March 12th when it is auctioned:

Experts at Duke’s in Dorchester, Dorset, were stunned when the 79-year-old man, who used to work for Cadbury, showed them the 29cm-tall vase, thought to date from between 1403 and 1424.

The vase was made during the reign of Yongle – the third emperor of the Ming period – features simple loop handles and appears to be influenced by Islamic design.

Guy Schwinge, from Duke’s, said he was stunned when he first saw the elegant blue and white piece.

Ming Vase Set to Make Retired Factory Worker a Millionaire (Guardian)