A CHINESE sceptre has smashed its expected selling price after being sold for £13,000 at auction.
The jade-mounted rosewood rui sceptre soared above its estimate price of £1,000 to £1,500 when it went under the hammer during Addisons Auctioneers’ Autumn Catalogue Sale, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, on Thursday.
This piece is elaborately carved in high relief with figures in landscapes, mounted with three jade plaques, each pierced and carved with a crane amidst foliage.
It also has a Chinese inscription on the reverse and an original beaded tassel.
A pair of Chinese porcelain bowls, featuring a five-clawed dragon and flaming pearl design also sold for £5,000 along with a pair of late 19th Century jardinières which were sold down for £3,000.
The items are believed to have been acquired in China by the Rev Jonathan Lees, of the London Missionary Society who served in Tientsin between 1862 and 1900.
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